Matthew Cerrone

PSL: El Duque Cancels Bullpen Session
By Matthew Cerrone - Mar 3, 2008 1:03 pm

Before he could even start a bullpen session, Orlando Hernandez shut it down after only warming up with a weighted towel.

it’s getting to the point now where i will be surprised to see el duque crack the opening day roster…i mean, these guys are about 50 percent through camp and he still hasn’t even thrown batting practice

Meanwhile, Pedro Martinez looked strong, throwing 40 pitches to Brian Schneider during a live batting practice session.

…he was having fun, laughing a lot, while hitting his spots and with decent movement on his fastball

Martinez will start Thursday in Viera against the Nationals.

50 Responses to “PSL: El Duque Cancels Bullpen Session”

  1. mikey_FF says:

    Yeah … at this point forget about this guy. He’s not going to be ready. Lets go Pelfrey. The job is yours for the taking.

  2. helicopter ben johnson says:

    agreed, lets put him on the 60 day dl and move on…

  3. can_of_corn says:

    The only questions now are: (a) 15-day or 60-day DL; and (b) roll the dice with Pelfrey or roll the dice with Lohse?

    • Tidewater says:

      Regardless, I think we need another arm. Even with Hernandez healthy (should we ever see that again) pitching depth is an issue.

  4. Tidewater says:

    Keep the ball down, Mr. Pelfrey. Keep the ball down.

  5. robmenna says:

    Sign Lohse also, just for insurance. Too much riding on this season without a backup plan. 1 year deal, 2nd year team option.

    Try to trade Schowenweis to Yankees for Betimit. Yankees, no Lefty in bullpen, Mets no true backup 1B

  6. professor met says:

    put el duque in the lazarus chamber and resurrect him in october.

  7. ChiliGTC says:

    With what they are talking about money-wise for Lohse now, I can’t believe the Mets are not signing this guy for a 1-2 year deal. We need insurance baby! Please no more Lima time!

  8. robmenna says:

    Why will the Yankees not trade with the Mets? They have done deals before.

    Yanks have a surplus at 1B with Giambi Duncan and Betimit and no lefty in their pen.

    • sepmets says:

      Since the Rafael Santana trade to the Yankees (1987?), what other trades have the Mets and Yankees made with each other? Signing free agents from the other team happens often, but that is not a trade.

      • Peter says:

        David Justice?

      • Andrew says:

        December 3, 2004

        Traded Mike Stanton to the New York Yankees. Received Felix Heredia.

        July 16, 2003

        Traded Armando Benitez to the New York Yankees. Received Jason Anderson, Anderson Garcia, and Ryan Bicondoa (minors).

        December 7, 2001

        Traded Robin Ventura to the New York Yankees. Received David Justice.

        September 17, 1993

        Traded Frank Tanana to the New York Yankees. Received Kenny Greer.

        June 9, 1992

        Traded Tim Burke to the New York Yankees. Received Lee Guetterman.

        July 10, 1989

        Traded Marcus Lawton to the New York Yankees. Received Scott Nielsen.

        • Hit The Weights Zeile says:

          someone on metsblog didnt think or do research before posting an obviously wrong statement? what is the world coming to?

  9. ChiliGTC says:

    Come on Omar…..need to step up now before it’s too late! El Duque cannot be counted on this year and the starting pitching in New Orleans and Binghampton must now be light with Guerra, Humber, and Mulvey going in the Santana deal. I agree with robmenna, there is way too much riding on this season! Plus with Pedro and Ollie possibly leaving after this year to free agency, we need some extra insurance for next season as well!

  10. bigvin86 says:

    I am looking at El Duque almost the same as we did Pedro last year…whatever we get from him is a plus. In my mind, Pelfrey has the #5 slot. Now that the Mets are shopping Showenweiss and Sosa, it would be smart to just plug The Duke in the pen. And if we could sing Lohse as a reserve, or possibly as someone to fight for the #5 slot, I’m all for it, as long as it’s a short-term deal.

  11. bigvin86 says:

    In Omar We Trust !!

  12. Magooley says:

    I was willing to give El Duque the benefit of the doubt for a while, but this is just getting ridiculous. I think we should just sign Lohse (as long as it’s a 1-2 year, sensible deal) and move on. If El Duque recovers later in the season, great. It’s a good problem to have, but if we’ve seen anything the last few years, it’s you can never have enough pitching.

    And while I don’t think Lohse is great by any means, he should be serviceable as a 5th starter — especially pitching at Shea. This also alleviates the need to rush Pelfrey. Let him develop for the first 1/2 of the year in the minors.

    I agree, this season is too important not to have adequate pitching insurance.

    • Boondock Saints says:

      Just give the spot to Pelfrey.

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  13. huge_mets_fan11 says:

    Anybody know what starting pitching is starting this upcoming weekend because I am going down to see a couple of games?

  14. batsinthepelfrey says:

    where are all the el duque supporters who were ripping pelfrey a couple weeks ago in the #5 starter discussion? The guy is being held together with scotch tape and crazy glue. Pelfrey needs to be #5 starter with El Duque out of the pen/on the DL/spot starting when one of the top 5 has a stint on the DL.

  15. dave27 says:

    Schoeneweis for Betemit makes alot of sense actually. The Yankees only traded Scott Proctor to get him, if you want a sense of his value, and it would fill needs for both teams.

    If it’s up to Cashman and Minaya, any deal that makes sense will get done. All depends on whether Hank will let it fly, but he’s too stupid to realize that he should be concerned about the Mets.

    Another possible swap for Show would be Hatteberg, who could provide good insurance at 1B as well as a 3rd C to free up Castro to PH.

  16. bigchart333 says:

    with pelfrey STILL a question mark (rememeber this guy EARNED his #5 spot last year and look what happened), and el duque all but on the 60 day DL, wouldnt trading show and sosa NOT be the move if we’re lookin for depth?

    I would like betemit, and if it meant show, fine i guess, but show is a true lefty specialist and should not be given up on.

    The move that makes sense is sign loshe to a 2 year deal with a 3rd option year, move duque to the 60 day DL, so he can come back in the summer (like everyone pining for us to sign Freddy Garcia, so we can have him in the summer) and let loshe be the 5 while sosa is the long man and pelfrey continues to develp in the minors…
    i honstly wouldnt be surprised to see loshe on this team within the next 2 weeks, if el duque is indeed this bad…
    like someone also mentioned, if we lose OP, then loshe can take his spot in the rotation next year too

    (not that loshe is THE ANSWER to our prayers, but at this point, why not go with a sturdy young guy who COULD develop into a dependable 4 or 5)

    • Constnza81V2.0 says:

      Sadly, with every bit of news coming out about El Duque, even without a real suitor, Loshe’s price tag goes up to us since he’s a Boras guy. This whole situation is not going to end nicely for us unless Pelfrey finally makes the leap and becomes that guy, or Omar pulls some back-alley deal out of his pocket that nets us a solid 180 IP, 4.50 ERA type 5th starter.

  17. Constnza81V2.0 says:

    Putting aside whether or not we should have even signed El Duque a year ago, I think this situation has progressed to the point where we have to plan 2008 without the guy or at least significant chunks of it.

    Another nice pitching line from Pelfrey today, but can they guy please start striking hitters out? We saw the same thing from his last spring….

    • shea_guevara says:

      They say the same thing about Chien Ming Wang, another pitcher who relies heavily on a sinker ball, but it doesn’t seem to bother him too much (except in the postseason).

    • The Stache says:

      The problem with Pelfrey last year wasn’t so much that he wasn’t striking people out, but when he was inducing outs he was getting batters to swing at garbage ala John Franco. Pelfrey’s stuff enables him not to be a nibbler. He doesn’t have the control or the mindset to become that pitcher. So far, it seems like this spring he has been keeping his pitch counts lower and throwing more strikes. I have not actually seen him pitch, but that seems to indicate he is either more confident in his stuff, locating better, or both.

      Hey, a Mets fan can only hope.

    • Another Matt says:

      The beauty of Pelfrey is he doesn’t have to strike people out - he can get them out quicker swinging at sinkers.

      Pitching for Ks would just up his pitch count, which is definitely not what he needs.

  18. JohnMilner says:

    What indication has Loshe given that he can develop into a dependable starter? Please, stay away from this guy. We’ll be at a four man rotation for a while. Don’t panic, and wait until we see what develops.

  19. helicopter ben johnson says:

    looks like pelf was good today, 2-0 mets in the 4th

  20. Commander says:

    I don’t see anyone taking Schoeneweis off of our hands, especially not the Yankees. To answer on of the questions above, the Mets have made a few deals with the Yanks in this decade:

    - Robin Ventura for David Justice (remember he was a Met on paper before we turned him into Mark Guthrie)
    - Armando Benitez for minor leaguers (before the Yanks dumped him on the Mariners).

    I also am DONE with these daily injury updates on El Duque, his bunion, arthritis, whatever else his 60-year-old body is going to develop. That 2 year contract Omar gave him was ridiculous. I would love to see Pelfrey get a chance, but I think they should sign Lohse for a 1 year deal if they can get him at a reasonable price, as you can never have enough pitching. I’m sure Pedro will end up on the DL (or need to skip some starts) during the season.

  21. robmenna says:

    Why should anyone care iIf Lohse takes a 1 year deal for about 5 million? If he stinks, he stinks and he is delegated to AAA or mop up duty. But the benefits of pitching in Shea and having Peterson as a coach, who has a good track record of improving starters (sans Zambrano) outweigh any of the risk.

    Lohse is not a great starter but he is basically a backup plan.

  22. robmenna says:

    And don’t forget the Mets and Yankees were talking Sheffield for Cameron before Sheffield went roid rage on the Yanks to the media.

  23. mrmet it is says:

    I wouldnt even worry about Duque at this point. With Pelfrey looking good, it may make sense to DL Duque at the start of the season and let him set his own timetable.
    At this point he may need to go on a Clemens schedule: June through October.

    And if he can come back in mid-season, it will be like trading for a veteran pitcher.

  24. stickguy says:

    If today is an indication of where Pelf is at, just let him have the job.

    The bigger issue then is to get some reinforcements for AAA.

    He looks much better than last spring. Plus, last year he did not do good the last few starts, so that will be the acid test this year.

    Hey, maybe Neise will be ready to come up mid season if needed. Look at Kendrick last year for the Phils. he was pitching like crap in AA, they called him up, and he had a great 2nd half (10 wins, ERA in the mid 3’s, after putting up ~5.00 in AA).

    • metsin080910 says:

      Niese was very impressive, I would like to see him called up if needed.

      • kendychavez says:

        After two spring training innings and a year of A ball? this is an insane statement

  25. stickguy says:

    60 day for Duque sounds fine, but i am starting to think he can’t pitch without surgery, which means he is done for the year (and career).

    Betemit for Sho? I do that in a second, and pay his salary too.

  26. robmenna says:

    With pelfrey looking good?

    He’s pitched 4 innings in the spring. I am all for Pelfrey but you can’t make that assumption after a couple of innings.

    • stickguy says:

      It isn’t just the innings in the games. It is his attitude, demeanor, how he looks in all the BP work, etc. The coaches are obviously looking for certain things from him, beyond what he did in these games.

  27. mrmet it is says:

    Pelfrey only needs to be the #5 starter. and with the off days to start the season, the team wont need him until mid april.
    If he can pitch at a .500 W/L record, he should be enough until other options emerge.

    If Duque is healthy, then he should start, but if its better to shut him down for a month or so and hope he comes back mid season, so be it.

  28. stickguy says:

    Back and forth on the Lohse idea. You really are making a decision on Pelfrey there.

    At this point, I say no, but only if they can get some semi-live arms on board for AAA. Armas every make it to camp?

  29. metsin080910 says:

    I’ll say it again, Pelfrey for the 5th….. ESPECIALLY if he keeps pitching this effectively in spring. Forget Lohse. We have enough emergency starters, Sosa, Armas Jr, Figuroa could be an emergency starter, and oh yea EL DUque too.

  30. cver says:

    I hope VIerra is close. I hate the thought of Pedro on a long bus ride.

  31. Santanaman says:

    Ok, after reading all of these posts, I have to finally agree on Pelfry for the five spot. Don’t get me wrong, I think he is and will be great but my concern all along has been what happens if someone else goes down.

    Pelfry is going to have a hell of a year and will be our number 4 next year, maybe number three but I think Pedro will stay.

    I conceed to the majority and won’t waste a comment on Duque.

  32. FBones24 says:

    Last year is last year. Yes, Pelfrey performed great in the Spring last year and he stunk it up to start the year. That should have no bearing on this year. If he continues to throw well this spring, he should be awarded the 5th spot and then it’s his to lose once the season starts.