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In a report for Newsday, Ken Davidoff takes a closer look at the team’s bullpen following last night’s win, which, despite pitching quite well, may be the team’s ‘Achilles heel,’ as Davidoff puts it.
…i agree…it’s just, i suspect it is more or less every team’s Achilles heel, you know what i mean…
For instance, at his blog for the New York Post yesterday, Joel Sherman wrote the following:
“Sometimes in New York we get so parochial about our teams that we
forget others have problems, too, including those in the same division. Atlanta, for example, is off to a 3-6 start…their first five losses this season were by one run and they are 37-62 in one-run games since the beginning of the 2006 campaign. When I saw Atlanta GM Frank Wren in spring training, he was confident the club had finally fixed those longstanding pen issues. The initial read is that is probably not correct. Atlanta relievers are 0-4 with a 6.00 ERA and a major league-high six homers allowed.”
…to me, just because every one else has a shaky bullpen doesn’t justify having one in new york…however, i can accept the reality that it will be a long season with these guys, and that i should expect them to repeatedly make me upset, a lot, during the year…i get that…my hope, instead, is that Omar Minaya moves fast…to me, that’s what is most important…signing a starter-reliever like Claudio Vargas, quickly putting Matt Wise on the disabled list and promoting Carlos Muniz, signing guys – any guy – to minor-league deals to increase depth while limiting how tight the cuffs are on being able to jockey men up and down from Triple-A to Shea and back for flexibility…this is what the Rockies did so well last year…it’s Bullpen 2.0 for major-league baseball…and i hope omar is with the program…
…by the way, according to davidoff, Young MC’s Bust a Move played in the Mets locker room following last night’s win…to which i say, ‘Bravo,’ to whomever controls the boom-box…
…and yes, i said boom-box…long live the 80s…
You’re old school, Matt.
Bust a move . . . . . . . troubling . . . . .
problem with people complaining about the pen is that the only guys who dont get booed or hated on by fans are Heilman and Wagner and Heilman has been by far our worst reliever actually costing us one game, and a questionable call @ home in the 12th from costing us 2.
Duaner cant get healthy quick enough. And if Heilman cant get through one inning without getting smacked around maybe we can all realize that he has one-pitch and one-pitch only and he is not a major league starter.
You’ve never been to Shea. The SECOND Heilman throws a ball, he hets booed.
Aaron will be fine; he usually comes out to a slow start in April, and improves as he gets deeper into the season. True, the Rick should probably talk to him earlier in the year to get him pitching like it’s September, but that’s the pitcher that Heilman is. Lousy first half; excellent second half.
for all the heliman worriers and people who kill the pen, I’d like you to name 10 set up men you would rather have. One that comes into mind is scott shield of the angels who has been nasty, but I seem to remember a horrifying patch for him last year. All bullpen guys go through this, even the great mariano rivera. Heilman will be fine, guys almost always catch up to there numbers and his numbers aren’t dominant but they are better then most. If he conitinues to falter over and over again, pedro is around as is duaner (eventually). Bullpens don’t always shake out in week 2….relax enjoy the ride.
brewers can rake, good luck to figgy, not gonna be easy. looking forward to johan sheets on sat.
Don’t worry, the pen will get a nice rest tonight with the complete game from Figgy Figgylicious! I’m rooting for him!
How’s the weather in NY?
cloudy, but with sun peeking through…I think they’ll get it in tonight, at least.
though now, with low fog and increased humidity (not to mention my knee aches), maybe not
Speaking of Figgy, how long will it take Vargas to get ready? He pitched 18 innings in ST so it should not take but a couple of starts in extended ST should it?
Can we play Bust A Move after each win? Anything but Takin Care Of Business.
I hope Heilman gets righted, but its not like a game like last night won’t happen again with him, its inevitable, in fact, its inevitable for all relievers, its why relievers have an era that isn’t 0.00. And those runs always hurt more and you remember them more because they’re late in the game when the game is close. Relievers will give up runs, its just a matter of time, the more pitches they throw, the more likely they are to give them up. Obviously Heilman is off to a bad start, but like I said, hopefully he can right himself, he’s done it before.
Can you blame Heilman for giving up a dinger to one of the best lefty sluggers in the game? Why was Feliciano not left in to face Howard, even if it took a double-switch?
How many lefties is Heilman going to be left in to face? Just a terrible move.
I think they pinch hit for Feliciano, I could be wrong though…
Hence the double-switch comment. I’d like to see Feliciano kept in that game.
You can’t keep him in the game by double switching. You have to plan on that when you put him in the game. That’s 2 innings worth of hitting that you have to base that on. How do you even know who to take out so you don’t have to use a pinch hitter? Actually he almost made it but with 2 outs and a guy on 2nd Willie had no choice.
When Willie brought Feliciano in Delgado had made the last out. It would have been a good double switch if Willie had thought about it. He knew that the pitcher’s spot would be up forth the next inning and he knew that Utley and Howard were going to come to bat soon.You don’t lose any defense with Anderson at 1B. Too bad he did’t think about it because I’m pretty sure Feliciano could have faced one more batter(Howard). Since we have 3 lefties we really should never pitch a RH against Utley or Howard in any late inning close game
Church made the last out before he was double switched out so how is it possible that Delgado made the last out the inning before, yet we would not have seen the pitcher’s spot come up?
Heilman pitches just as well to lefties as he does to righties. in 2006, the BAA for both sides was .231; He did walk lefthanders more often (22 to 6). Last year, lefties hit .234 off him, compared to .213 for righties, and he evened out his walks (11 to LH, 9 to RH).
You answered your own question as to why Feliciano wasn’t left in. He was double-switched out. It was a good move. Heilman needs to grow a pair and rise up to the situation. And even after the Howard homerun, we still had the lead! However, Heilman just couldn’t end the 8th inning with that lead. It was all on Heilman, not Willie there.
Heilman in the 8th inning guy, you can micromanage all you want, but Heilman historically gets out lefties pretty well, his change up usually neutralizes them, however, on an off day, it really don’t matter. It wasn’t necessarily a bad move theoretically.
I really try to like Heilman, but it seems the only time he doesn’t give up runs is when the game is already out of reach for either team. If we’re up or down by 6 runs he’ll throw a 1-2-3 inning. Up by one or two runs? Bank on him giving up at least one homerun. I know it can’t really be like that, but it sure does feel that way. I can’t remember the last time I felt confident with Heilman coming into the game.
I think this is a problem across major league baseball. There just isn’t a plethora of reliable relievers anymore to go around. Thats why you see alot of team’s bring up their starting prospects to pitch in relief initially. Ala Joba chamberlain. This isn’t an isolated problem to the Mets, there aren’t alot of rock solid bullpen’s out there.
Papelbon and Rivera were also starting prospects, and Eckersley was a starter for a few years before he closed games.
Starters have been converted for years.
I know that, but most of these situations are just temporary. Its a one year fix, now sometimes it sticks, like with Papelbon. i think it just shows a trend.
I would of went with ghetto blaster, but boom-box will also work.
I am actually quite happy with the pen.
I am too lazy to go back and check the old comments section, but after Heilman made the Marlins looks silly in his two appearances in that series, there were a lot of people annointing him the next closer for the Mets. And when you look at it, he is the only one who has had more than one rough outing in the pen, unfortunately they were against the Phillies and Braves. And the homerun by Teixeira barely cleared the short wall in right.
Schoenweis has come in and gotten two double play balls on tough lefties, although one was botched. He has only allowed one earned run and is being used properly by Willie.
Smith has looked pretty solid, allowing only one run to score in 3.2 innings, and that was a guy he left on second with two outs when he was out of the game.
Wise, gave up the homer to Andino, but looked good in spring and should be a decent sixth inning guy.
Sosa gave up all four of his runs in one inning, and he has pitched in six games (seven innings).
Feliciano and Wagner haven’t allowed a run in 5 innings.
Indeed. The Mets seem to have an excellent bullpen, IMHO, if it is well used.
Willie managed it well in the rubber game of the Philly series, making no obvious blunders. I believe Schow was the last man in the pen–save for Muniz–which is as it should be.
If Duaner Sanchez becomes an effective set-up man again, our bullpen should be close to top-of-the-line. Wagner, Sanchez, Heilman, Feliciano, with Smith and Schow as our (RL)OOGYs. and Muniz or Sosa as our long man looks pretty sweet to me.
I wouldn’t give up on Heilman yet. Schow was interviewed yesterday and set the record straight. Heilman has been a very effective reliever throughout his career, to the point where he is a borderline starter. He should be fine. People who rely exclusively on anecdotal evidence to talk about how he “only pitches well when the game is out of reach” or how he “always blows that really big game” or selectively recall games where he performs poorly should be greeted with a good dose of skepticism, to say the least. We’ll see how this season plays out for Heilman.
My point is this, if Show, Feliciano, Sosa, Wise, or anyone else in that pen but Wagner or Heilman blew two games in one week most poeple would be calling in to shows and on this website absolutely crushing them for being so terrible…however fans give Heilman a pass….I just dont know why when he was just as much at fault for last years collapse as Mota or Sosa (Show was great the last month) but he never bears the wrath….
Heilman had an excellent September last year. He allowed 5 runs, 4 earned in 17 and 2/3 IP while striking out 14.
Does anyone know what happened to Rincon? Did he refuse to go to New Orleans? I don’t see him on their roster. Did he sign elsewhere?
He had a good spring and certaily has had a real good career as a lefty set-up guy….
I think our bullpen will end up being one of this team’s strengths. Heilman will be fine – pitchers go through slumps just like hitters do – and when Dirty comes back, he’ll hopefully add some depth and reliability.
Sosa’s rubber arm will come in handy for situations just like last nite, when even though he only threw one pitch, he was available to give 4 or 5 or however many innings, even though he had pitched in the two previous games, including two innings on Wednesday.
If Schoenweis is utilized properly, meaning against lefties, and for the most part lefties only, he’ll be an asset. Feliciano can get lefties and righties out, and as we all saw last nite, is looking as nasty as ever. Heilman should rarely pitch more than one inning, and despite his struggles so far this year, will prove himself a valuable commodity, as will Matt Wise.
Wagner will be Wagner, which will be fine, especially if he can close games late in the season without his arm falling off.
Lets be patient, folks. Our bullpen will prove, I think, to be the best in the division.
Bust a Move………I just grew a mullet involuntarily!
More like a Kid n Play flat top!
The best part about last night’s victory was that Schoe came in and got the big outs (like he would have two nights ago if Delgado doesn’t hit Utley). I think that if he has a couple nice apperances and some of the doom-and-gloom fans actually give him a chance he will turn into a very important lefty in the bullpen.
I actually happen to think the bullpen will be fine… Heilman goes through these spells from time to time – he has every year since hes been here – and if you havent’ noticed Ryan Howard is a top power hitter in the game – so its not the end of the world that he took Aaron deep on a changeup. Heilman will face him again at some point this season and get it done.
give these guys a chance
also lost in all this – in addition to shoenwiess – joe smith was great last night – lets not forget
The problem is the Braves and Phillies both have better lineups than the Mets, so while they may be struggling with their bullpens as well, it’s imperative for the Mets to have a good one in order to make up for those other teams strengths.
I was really proud of Feliciano last night. Giving up the Howard homerun happens, it just does. It’s Heilman who’s not my favorite Met…and hasn’t been for a REALLYYYYYYY long time. Still don’t like the guy and I don’t trust him in a one run lead game in the 8th inning. 7th maybe, but not 8th.
Funny nobody’s talking about the Atlanta bullpen…they blew that Monday night game in Colorado after Glavine pitched a gem and lost Soriano for some time. Who’s losing for them now? Oh well, who cares? Glad to see the Braves have almost as many loses as the Nationals. (Speaking of the Nats, they’ve lost a weeks worth of games!!)
Who’s closing for them now?***
I think Manny Acosta.
PLEASE don’t tell Omar that someone was listening to rap in the Mets clubhouse, unless it was Castillo
I don’t think our bullpen’s going to be a weakness for us.
At the moment things are close to as bad as they could be – Wise and Sanchez on the DL, Heilman having a poor start and Sosa’s numbers distorted by one bad inning on a small sample size.
Even still, the bullpen’s ERA is a bad-but-not-awful 4.55
If you subtract Sosa and Heilman, the rest of the ‘pen has a very respectable 2.70 ERA so far.
Calling the BP an Achilles’ heel is close to panicky.
Also, to back up the exchange between Wagner and Heilman that “It could be worse”… just look at Trevor Hoffman’s line so far this season.
0-2, 3.2IP, 5ER (12.27 ERA), 1BS
i think that’s called cherry picking. you can’t just arbitrarily remove 2 guys to prove a point. but i agree that the bullpen will be fine. 2 runs in 6 innings against a loaded philly offense isn’t bad at all.
Talk to any good statistician, and they’ll tell you that when looking for trends, you should remove outliers.
Yeah I’m juggling numbers and 7 pitchers is not a statistically significant number, and you can’t remove outliers when calculating a mean and probably a dozen other reasons why what I did was kinda bogus
… But the point is that the current overall 4.55 ERA of the BP is not likely to be a good predictor for the rest of the season.