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In a report for Newsday, Ken Davidoff reports that the Yankees have met with 31 year-old Japanese RHP Kazuo Fukumori, who has drawn interest from 10 teams, including the Padres, Rays, Nationals, Royals, and Red Sox.
Davidoff cites a scout as saying Fukumori could be sixth or seventh inning pitcher, adding that he’s ‘not bad.’
Meanwhile, according to the New York Post, Luis Vizcaino is not likely to return to the Yankees, whose interest in the relief pitcher has seemingly cooled.
Last week, at her blog for Newsday, Kat O’Brien wrote that the Mets and Yankees were among several teams who had talked with Vizcaino, who is seeking a four-year, $19-million contract.
…i’m getting the sense that the Mets have no real intention of giving a long-term contract to a relief pitcher, and it’s about time…they have Billy Wagner, Aaron Heilman, Scott 
Schoeneweis, Pedro Feliciano and Duaner Sanchez, plus Joe Smith and a collection of young triple-a arms who could have an impact, plus he just picked up Steven Register in the Rule V Draft…i know some people will want to see a more established name acquired for the bullpen, but, seriously, when has that ever helped…look around the league, as i have pointed out before, every season it appears that the best bullpen in baseball popped up out of no place, with pitchers most people had no expectations for…it’s a crapshoot…
…frankly, i think improving the team’s defense up in the middle may be the single best thing the team could do to help the pitching staff…also, if the Mets really want to make a difference out there, they should listen to wagner and carve out set roles for these guys by at least mid-summer, which is something Willie Randolph has seemingly no interest doing…
Adam Rubin’s blog has a really good piece on Sanchez but it seems like he should be full boar for spring training, hoping he can complete the season. With that said, last year we had basicly a new bullpen and with all of the performances not being stellar, Willie really had nothing he could trust in any situation, they pitched bad. I hope we can get something this winter maybe look into Julian Tavarez from the Red Sox, but he wants to start, that may not be a bad option for a 5th starter either
o heck no..dont bring that hot head Julian Tavarez to the mets. STAY AWAY
What is the status of:
Dirty Sanchez?
Juan Padilla?
Shoenweiss (did he get that problem with his leg fixed? If not, why not?)
I got the same sense….same reason we’re looking at people like Dotel and Chacon because they’ll likely come on short-term, either 1 or 2 year deals because of health or suckitude concerns respectively.
“…should listen to wagner and carve out set roles for these guys…”
Why must there be set roles? Whatever happened to just plain ole pitching and getting the batter out? I, personally, believe the whole bullpen guys need to define their role stuff total BS.
And by the way I agree that the bullpen is fairly set, if Omar could get one hatd thrower to set up the 8th that would be great. I dont trust Sanchez coming back from the injury.
now i’m not expert on bullpens, and i’m guessing you’re not either, but when you continually hear bullpen pitchers (and this isn’t just Wagner) talking about having a role and how that helps, I don’t know, I buy it after a while. Who knows best how well they perform with roles and without? The guys who are actually doing the pitching. So hey, maybe we should listen to them. Or wait a second, TugTheMan, a poster on metsblog thinks its BS, so whatever, throw that idea out the window….
Just don’t forget to open the window first.
I hear what you’re saying and I’m going to disagree with you. I have read many of your posts and I tend to think youre’ oneof the few level headed posters around…until now. Just like all the other posts, mine was an opinion.
The whole bullpen roles is a recent occurance. For the most part there were relief pitchers and that ws it. Then developed the “fireman” which in turn was termed the “closer”. Until the 90’s there were no labels for set-up men or “specialists”…there were pitchers who pitched.
Which why so many of pitchers who closed in the 90s are questioned if they should be in the HOF…only a small hand full have made it.
This whole roles thing is a little overblown in my opinion.
Wagner closed, Heilman set up, and everyone else got situational work.
Those are roles, imo. And it was a pretty firm rotation Willie kept them on. Sure the others were used from the 4th to the 8th, but that happens when you arent the top set up guy on any team. I’m not really sure what guys like Feliciano and Sosa expect Willie to do for them.
if we can get Duaner back to be the 8th inning guy, that would be huge – aside from Reyes’ slump, arguably nothing hurt more last year than missing him
El Duque/Schoeneweis/Joe Smith/Feliciano + 1 TBA from spring training would likely be just fine for 7th inning and earlier
El Duque needs to leave the rotation, for his health and our mental health, which would let us move Heilman into the rotation
Aaron needs to get this chance, which would also give us more time to acquire the right additional arm during the season if necessary
Pedro
Maine
O Perez
Heilman
assuming they stay healthy, could be a solid front 4
and rotate Humber/Pelfrey/Mulvey in spot 5 until one of them grabs the brass ring…..
the Mets need to get off this assumption that Heilman can’t start – same assumption thinking lost us Heath Bell
give the guy a shot
I dont know that Heilman is any better of a bet as a starter than Pelfrey or Sosa, but I do think the Mets should let Heilman and Sosa start the spring on a starters plan and see where it goes from there. After years of being a proven reliever, I would be very hesitant to make Heilman as questionable starter especially when many people think the pen needs to be improved.
Welcome to the Mets, stop being negative. we’ve been through this a million times, and whether or not you are carrying a torch for heilman to start, the mets clearly feel they have given him a shot to start and he doesnt have the pitches and is better off in the pen. The Mets came to their conclusion when they let him stretch out his arm and start a few years back and his performances were underwhelming.
Heilman is not going to be a starter here. Everyone on here agrees we need a pitcher that will eat innings, some dont care if its the back of the rotation or the top. Well Heilman is not that man, I dont care what you feel about his stuff. He has been a setup man for about 3 years now. How many innings do you think he averaged over those years? 94 innings, 108(2005), 87(2006), 86(2007). You think all of a sudden he’s going to give you 180 + innings? The team needs him in the bullpen and the only way he’ll get a chance to start is with another team that wont be in contention. Can’t experiment here.
trivia question
who was the last New York Met to pitch a complete game 1 hitter
answer? (see below)
no, not Pedro
not Tommy Boy
not even 50 year old El Duque
Aaron Heilman
surprised?
and that was one of his last, if not last, major league starts
he can’t start exactly why?
as a reliever, he pitches every other game, so he hasn’t had a chance to pitch at length on 5 days rest
he starts in Winter League baseball and did just fine
he lost out to Brian Bannister in Spring Training and has pitched with dignity but he always wanted to start
He’s just like Heath Bell, another pitcher the Mets couldn’t figure out
sometimes you have to look at the heart of a player
and in Heilman’s case he even has a track record
still, most are blind on this
nice try but Heilman had 5 starts after his one hitter
In those five starts (including getting walloped by the same Marlin lineup he one hit five days later) he failed to get through the lineup for the third time.
its easy enough to look up .. i dont know why this keeps getting brought up./.
baseball-reference.com/pi/gl.cgi?n1=heilmaa01&year=2005&t=p
” he failed to get through the lineup for the third time.”
which puts him on the same level as our entire starting rotation last few years.
I also definitely like the direction Omar seems to be taking with the bullpen- bringing in a lot of guys with some talent- even if they don’t have the greatest track record of harnessing it- and letting the team see who shakes out over the course of ST and/or the season. While relievers aren’t a complete crapshoot- the odds, for instance, of Nathan being better than Mota next year are pretty high- it is certainly more of one than starting pitching or offensive players. Who would have guessed going into last year that Shields and Linebrink would be so horrendous over significant stretches of the season? Or that we would now be drooling over guys like Soria and Corpas? Doug Brocail suddenly became a premier middle man at 40 years old after being awful for years. Even look at our 2006 pen. Where did Oliver come from? Remember how many thought that Seo had way more potential than Sanchez? We just need to do what we’ve been doing so far this off-season- bring in lots of arms that we think may be able to help and hops that we get lucky enough to get a few great seasons out of the bunch.
I do not like the direction we’re taking in the bullpen. We’re basically praying for Juan Padilla and Duaner Sanchez to be healthy. If they’re not, we’re in deep trouble. Who needs a pitcher when the pen is going to blow the lead anyway. I have no problem giving Joe Smith a job right off the bat, but i do feel the Mets should need a reliever such as a Gagne, or a Dotel in order to be an insurance policy for when Sanchez/Padilla either don’t pan out or get hurt.
Considering how well the Mets pen pitched in the first half of the season, I’m not too conserned about standing firm. Of course, not improving the rotation will lead to the same overworked pen as late last year. But thats a different issue…
If the pen can avoid being overworked I have faith that Wagner, Heilman, Feliciano, Sosa, and Schoeneweis (yes even him) can get the job done. No prayers for Dauner needed, but all the better if he comes back all the way.
Looking at Stokes and Register as replacing Mota and Sele and even they dont look all that bad. The pen does need guys to pitch in blowouts and long relief and these two are fine in that role if they end up on the team.
So the way I see it, Dauner, Smith, Muniz, and potentially Padilla are backup plans who will likely start the year in AAA. (Dauner on a rehab) with the potential for Pelfrey or Duque to also move into the pen if they fail as starters or get hurt.
I dont see where they have room for more pieces that likely arent true upgrades and will cost compensation.
Matt, can you elaborate on your idea to improve the defense up the middle? Reyes, Castillo, and Beltran arent going anywhere, so what do you mean?
It seems like the Mets are making a real effort to avoid Type-A free agents. They resigned Castillo instead of Eckstien, went the trade route for a catcher, and seem to be exploring all other options except signing pitchers. I applaud them for it, and two first round draft picks would go a long way in re-establishing thier farm system, but I dont know if they can hold out all offseason.
i think he was referring to all the mediocre defensive catchers Omar has stockpiled.
Pelfrey and Humber should start the year in the bullpen.
Actually they should start the year in MInn!
HEHEHEHEHE
Santana baby…bring em home Omar!
I feel like Willie did indeed have roles in 2006. Last year however, no one EARNED a role. He would keep throwing them out there, trying to find a place where they succeeded. Except they didn’t prove they could succeed anywhere except New Orleans..if not Brooklyn.
I’ve heard him say, and this seemed evident in 2006, that he won’t get set in his ways early in the season, and likes to test his players and see who he can trust and when. But by the time September and October rolled around, I feel like he was more in the realm of having roles for guys.
Actually I think Willie may have to reconsider his; it’s early in the season, I’m going to see what they can do, attitude. Not caring about wins and losses early left them one game behind the eightball.
“…frankly, i think improving the team’s defense up in the middle may be the single best thing the team could do to help the pitching staff…”
Reyes and Beltran are here for a while, and you just signed Castillo. I dont get how it can really be improved that much.
Umm…didn’t they trade for a defensive catcher? And re-sign Castillo so he’s here for the full year? That’s how they improved the up the middle defense
I know, I was referring to the comment Cerrone made in his post