Hey there Mets fans, I'm back in action (unlike the sun here apparently).
That was a huge Braves series for Mets last weekend, with the Mets picking up the wins against Hudson and Smoltz. Those are big wins for down the stretch, especially since we beat their #1 and 2 even without matching up against our #1 and 2. Definitely a nice effort.
I'm glad Wags did what Willie should be doing - tearing Perez and the rest of the team. Granted, he probably should have kept it to a closed players-only meeting, rather than the press. But it is about time the starting rotation and the offense got a verbal kick in the ass. The predictability of this 5 IP, 100 pitches routine is absurd, and the anemic averages from Beltran and Delgado are killers.
Fredo made a point in an earlier comment that the starters are basically on a 100 pitch count, which is why they are pulled when they are. I agree, but I'd say it's time to push that count up to 120 for a few starts for Perez and Pelfrey and maybe even Maine. Force them to step up and know before a game they are going to have to find a way to pitch more effectively. Either these pitchers simply don't have an effective out pitch (in which case we are not going to win the WS with them), or they aren't staying focused (in which case Wags is dead on). The bullpen is right to complain that they can't be expected to pick up 4 innings of every game except when Johan starts. The only pitcher I'd excuse from this is Figueroa, because I don't expect a ton from a 5th starter (who is realistically our 7th or 8th starter on depth charts), and he has been above and beyond what I'd expect from him.
As for Perez specifically, he is staying true to form. He continues to have a very binomial distribution, although this year even his best outings haven't been good since they have never gone beyond 6th inning. He's probably managed to drop at least $5 M off the annual salary he will command as a FA with his performance so far. My guess is the Braves will show the most interest in him, since he's been pretty solid against them and they could use a younger arm in the rotation.
2 comments:
BTW, update on why Church should bat second, from mets.com.
And the Mets, after Friday's 7-2 win over the D-backs, moved to 6-0 with Church batting second.
That's just the thing -- Church's personal success has paled in comparison to his effect on Reyes. In the six games the Mets have played with Church hitting second, Reyes has hit .500. In the 19 games with someone else batting second, Reyes has hit .198.
I really think there is something to the pitches Reyes will see with Church in 2-hole vs. Castillo.
Good to have you back, SHK.
As for your proposal to up these guys to 120 pitches, I'm intrigued.
My first gut reaction is, heck yeah! After all, the old timers threw 120 pitches when they had to, b/c every starter was expected to go 9. And that was when they threw every third day.
Then reality steps in, and I remember that we now pay pitchers 8/10/12 Mil per year, while back in the day they got 20 grand and free hot dogs. If they burned out their arms, it was no big deal. Someone else would leave the factory for the free dogs.
GM's are evaluated on how they invest their owner's money, and GM's around the league seem to think that once starters get over 100 pitches, it's dicey territory, unless that pitcher happens to be Carlos Zambrano.
So while I would like to see it, I find it highly unlikely that Willie would push his pitchers that far on a regular basis, but if he did, he'd probably wind up with Omar's boot on his neck.
That said, there's no reason that Johan, Maine and Perez shouldn't be able to throw 120 a game, in my opinion. They've all been pitching complete major league seasons for years, and should have the arm strength. Pelf, not so much, as he will already be stretching himself just by pitching a full ML schedule, which he hasn't done yet in his career.
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