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Desperate times call for desperate measures. With the Mets bullpen currently a disaster, manager Jerry Manuel acknowledged,
“I’ve got to use all the options that I have here… Everything from here on out is a possibility.”
If Manuel is serious about “everything”, I have a wacky idea: reverse the game.
In other words, start the relievers at the beginning of the game, and have your “starter” finish.
For example, tonight’s starter is Johan Santana. He’s counted on to throw at least six innings. So, instead of throwing the opening pitch, you hold him out until, say, the bottom of the fourth.
Meantime, Aaron Heilman starts the game and pitches the first inning. That’s right — Aaron Heilman. He always wanted to be a starter anyway, so here’s his big chance. He hasn’t shown the chutzpah necessary for the pressure of the late innings, so put him into the most tension-free situation — the first frame. When the second inning starts, split it between Pedro Feliciano and Joe Smith, depending on the batters due up. In the third, Eddie Kunz comes in. When the fourth inning rolls around, hand the ball to Johan and tell him, “it’s your ballgame from here.” Johan can then pitch his masterpiece, finish what he starts, and get the W (for a change).
The trick, of course, is to get through the first three innings without allowing too many runs — ideally, none at all. Essentially, that’s the same role the bullpen is handed at the end of the game — the only difference is, there’s less pressure at the beginning of the game.
Crazy? Of course. But then, 25 years ago, Tony LaRussa had this radical idea of using one guy for the ninth inning every game. And yes, there are flaws in the plan. For one, the idea looks really dumb if the other team scores six runs in the first three frames. The possibility of extra innings presents a problem as well.
But hey, it’s all about being creative — thinking “out of the box” as middle managers like to say. Continuing to do the same thing every day, and expecting different results, is just as crazy — if not crazier.
Next ideas on the agenda: moving Carlos Delgado to shortstop, coaxing Doug Flynn out of retirement, and batting Brian Schneider in the leadoff spot!
hey, sorry guys this is really off topic……but i have heard that Brett Favre is in madden 09 and i have heard he is not. people have said that you will have to go to my madden and release him from the nfl greats list , then sign him to the jets from free agency…..i would like to know if anyone knows 100 percent if hes in the game…..and i am planning tog et the game for ps2…yea i know im not updated….but it would be really cool if someone could get back to this. again sorry for the random comment
Why don’t you go to Gamefaq’s and post this? This has absolutely nothing to do with the Mets!! Very weird.
yea i know sorry….but i went to so many sites…..and there are different answers……anyway getting back to the mets then….our bullpen just sucks…what else do we have to say
he is not on an active roster at the time you buy it. he is playable under the all-time greats team.
But, if you have online, they have a download-able up-to-date roster available now. And then Brett is a Jet.
You can also print out a cover that shows Brett in a Jets uni
Well I’ll be the first of many to say that this is way too ridiculous to be a realistic option.
I’m on my way out to get food, so I don’t have time to explain why. Can someone else handle it?
I’ll give it a whirl… In a perfect scenario, its a great idea. Everyone pitches a perfect inning, hands it over to the starter, and we never lose again.
In reality, its not the brightest of ideas. Lets not forget this is the same team that temporarily thrived when the bullpen was given specific roles. In fact, a lot of the bullpen’s struggles as of late have come when those roles have been scrambled to due Wagner’s absence (not to say it has been a completely effective bullpen since the AS break).
Also, considering that our starters tend to throw a lot of pitches early, what if we use three or four pitchers to get to the starter, and he can only give you three or four innings. Maybe its an extra inning game, and you’ve already blown through half your bullpen by the sixth inning…. What do you do then? Warm up David Wright in the pen? Where’s Brooks Kieschnick when you need him?
Not to mention that this would also probably remove the option of pinch hitting for the pitch in late, close games.
And, if these guys stink, which clearly they do, why would you want to give other teams an opportunity to jump out on top of you. Its not like the Mets have been a fantastic come-from-behind team all year long.
The bottom line - there’s a reason why the starter starts the game, and the relievers come in later. Its been done this way for 150 years, and there’s probably more reasons than i’ve listed.
You might as well have suggested that the Mets try and pry Nolan Ryan out of retirement to pitch the ninth.
The only time I would consider this is in a Game 7 type scenario where I’d pitch Pedro for 4 innings and then put Santana in for the 5th and on.
The concept of “bullpen roles” is also a great idea in a perfect scenario.
But how often do we see the perfect scenario?
If Scho and Pedro Lite can’t get out the lefty, then their role as LOOGY goes out the window. If Duaner can’t go three days in a row, you don’t have a setup man. If Heilman’s throwing gopher balls, then everything is screwed up.
This reverse idea is pretty dumb, but so is putting your worst pitchers in the game during innings 6-8 to protect a lead.
Well, you have to put them in sometime… Somebody has to bridge the gap between the starter and the end of the game.
Unless the starters are going to throw 150 pitches a game, you have to put your worst pitchers in at some point. After all, aren’t most middle relievers/ set up men not good enough to be a starter or closer?
There are very few Mariano Rivera circa 1996 situations in BASEBALL HISTORY! Eventually, you’re going to have to put in a fresh arm, but at the same time, and arm that is considerable less talented than the guy who started the game.
At least doing it at the back end of a game gives you some flexiblity. For example, as you said, Smith is the first guy out of the pen and can’t get the outs, so Manuel can go to any one of five other guys. Maybe they’re a bit luckier (if not better).
Doing it at the beginning of the game limits the flexibility at the end of the game, when you need it the most because the margin for error is so much smaller.
I don’t know whats dumber…the relievers up first in the game idea or the idiot who asks a Madden question on a Mets blog. Both are dumb and neither should have been able to waste my time, yet both did.
wow, um this is metsblog not maddenblog. anyway im pretty sure tony larussa tried this with the A’s and it didnt work out that well. I have this whacky idea let me know what you guys think. the starter throws AT LEAST 7 innings against pitiful lineups, and the offense actually scores against AAAA pitchers.
Hip, hip, hooray!
I don’t mean to be mean, but on the heels of rambling posts in the past week about Steven Register and about the pros and cons of trading prospects, Janish has outdone himself with this one.
I wouldn’t even know where to start, other than that there is a line between radical thinking and what would appear to be a complete lack of understanding of the sport you are covering. We’ll leave it at that…I don’t think I need to enumerate the reasons why this is a ridiculous suggestion.
I am as frustrated by this pen as anyone, but this does not call for a reinvention of the games. It has been clear all year that the Mets bullpen is made up, with hte exception of Sanchez and Wagner, of chronic nibblers. How often are 0-2 counts quickly turned into 3-2 counts? These relievers are all afraid of contact - plain and simple. Either change their mindset, or bring in new faces.
Last I checked, Kunz hadn’t blown a save all year for the Mets. Give him a shot. The Niese idea is a good one also…sure worked for Joba Chamberlain and Adam Wainwright, to name two.
The solutions are there, and they certainly don’t involve essentially ruining your 5 best pitchers.
I think the pen is full of nibblers and afraid of contact because I swear they have thrown some pitches that haven’t landed yet. They suck!
its a joke…right joe?
Dude, that sounds crazy. but at this point, they should be willing to try anything, but Barry Bonds has to be out of the question.
i like the creativity of the idea…
is this a joke or is this guy serious?
Even if this is toungue in cheek, which seemingly it is..It is still one of the dumbest things I’ve ever heard
this the dumbest story ever on metsblog
I’d love to see this tried at least once. Get the heartache of the last 2-3 innings out of the way first.
Because of this post, I feel like this blog has lost some credibility.
Eh…i know what you’re saying, but i wouldnt say the BLOG has, just the BLOGGER.
Janish had little in the 1st place. Not to be mean spirited, but his posts are pointless and seem to ramble. And then this.
How about the idea throwing out Robinson Cancel top pitch when we’re in the 11th inning and have no relievers left? That’s outside the box.
I’m honestly more entertained listening to seemingly crazy yet interesting ideas than hearing the same people whine and complain about problems they have no control over.
iawtc.
I actually don’t think the idea if horrible, a little out there and unrealistic but not horrible.
other than a desperation scenario where you have to win in a Game 7 and all hands are on deck, it’s pretty bad.
This is certainly a creative idea…doesn’t make it good
It reeks of desperation thinking