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Yesterday, Duaner Sanchez entered the eighth inning with a tie 
score, but let up two singles, a double, and an intentional walk, while getting no outs, which gave the Pirates a three-run lead.
…the problem is that his fastball is clocking in at around 86 mph, which is around 5 percent off from what it usually is…
Sanchez, talking to reporters following yesterday’s loss, said:
“I’m fine, physically, I’m totally fine…My arm feels good. Sometime, the firggin’ monkey has got to get off my back. I don’t know when, but, damn, sometime soon…
“I don’t know, bro, but something’s gotta happen soon. It can’t be like this. This is not me…I’m letting my team down, that’s basically what it is and this is not me. Something’s gotta happen and I’m the one who has to do it…It’s gonna take a lot, but it’s got to happen…My arm is totally fine. I’m not fatigued. I was more fatigued in the beginning, when I first came back. Now, I’m totally fine. It’s just not going my way…
“I’m not down on myself, I’m pissed. I don’t think any one would be happy. I’m not down at all, I’m just a little pissed off – and that’s about it.”
Sanchez has allowed three runs in his last two appearances, prior to which he had an eight-game scoreless streak.
tom glavine, take note. this is what fans want to hear.
I love how Duaner is taking accountability for his poor performance.
Now let’s just fix it…
Obviously you’d expect him not to be happy, but considering we don’t hear him speak that often, its at least encouraging to see that he has that fire within…Hopefully he can manage to turn it around…Maybe DL’ing him so he can get some rest is the best solution.
Hey D, join the club. We’re pissed too.
Stupid Taxi Cab….
Much more concerning to me is Maine’s continuing injury:
NJ.com:
“It’s going to get better,” Maine said. “It’s not getting any worse.”
That’s not true this year, though. Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen revealed as much when he analyzed that Maine will have to endure like this for the rest of the season. No amount of rest or muscle therapy is going to give the gunslinger back his favorite weapon.
“It’s probably going to be down for the remainder of this season,” Warthen said. “There might be some good innings and bad innings. But, for the most part, he’s going to be where we saw him today — 88 to 90.”
Interestingly, NYT quotes as follows:
After a few more questions on the subject, he said of his shoulder: “It’s not getting any better; it’s not getting any worse. It’s a playoff race. You’ve got to suck it up. I’m giving up too many walks. Too many 9-to-11-pitch walks.”
ugh..I wish he said he was hurt, that way theres a reason for him sucking. Now, its like he’s just not that good.
he needs to bring back the RecSpecs, no doubt about it
Duaner is actually the only guy I have confidence in down there right now. At least when he’s bad, he’s terrible, but then he ususally follows it up with 8-10 good outings. All of the other guys seem like they’re giving up runs every time they come in lately.
Both Maine and Sanchez are not good enough to pitch without their fastballs …they don’t have the percision nor the mental makeup to do it … They’re not pedro … they’re not even el duque.
They may not have the precision but you don’t have a clue about their mental makeup. To come back from an injury with a year and a half of rehabbing shows a mental toughness you couldn’t come close to comprehending.
I don’t know. I fractured a growth plate in my right shoulder from overpitching and worked to come back after a year to pitch again. I was 12. I wasn’t getting paid.
You also weren’t facing the best baseball players in the world in front of 50,000 people, in the middle of a pennant race
Reyes es el Rey, you sound just like the gamer we need…LOL!
John Maine doesnt have the mental makeup??
2007, he hurt his hip around the all star break and pitched through it the whole year
2008, he comes back from an strained rotator cuff, and is clearly still in need of time off, yet all he does is throw shutout innings.
John Maine is probably the toughest guy in the Mets clubhouse
maine may be tough, but he’s lacks poise and calm on the mound. That’s what I’m referring to … Duaner is a tough guy too. I think he has ice in his veins, but he’s just not smart enough a pitcher to live without his 90+ fastball, as we are seeing plain as day.
If all 5 starters are still doing pretty well by the end of the year and the Mets make the playoffs, how many starters do you go with? Obviously at least 1 moves to the bullpen, but I wouldn’t mind seeing 2. It would make the bullpen so much better and may be just what Maine needs; going all out for 1 or 2 innings instead of conserving energy to go 5, 6 or 7. As long as Pedro keeps progressing, I would like to see Santana, Perez, and Pedro as the starters with Pelf and Maine in the pen. If a situation comes up where you don’t want someone going on 3 days rest, give Pelfrey a start. Having either Maine, Pelfrey or both in relief makes an otherwise awful pen, a very solid one.
you go with 3 in the divisional round, and either 3-4 in the league championship and beyond
Why would we waste Big Pelf in the Bullpen..he’s been great for us.. Go with 4 and Maine to the BP
Normally I would agree with you but with as bad as our bullpen as been, I hardly consider it a waste. He would instantly become our best reliever outside of maybe Wagner if he even comes back 100%. Also, if we can get everyone on 4 days rest, 3 starters means you get Santana back on the mound sooner and him starting a game puts us in a much better position to win than Pelfrey starting a game, especially if Pelfrey is available to pitch in relief.
“Also, if we can get everyone on 4 days rest, 3 starters means you get Santana back on the mound sooner”
But that’s a pretty big if, isn’t it? This staff has worked on a 5 day rotation all season long; to suddenly switch them to 4 is not without its risks.
Especially coupled with the pressure from fans and the media (rightly so, mind you, but still) to go deep and pitch complete games if at all possible, a switch to a shorter rotation could be problematical.
Go with one starter – Santana pitches every game. Eliminate the entire bullpen. Screw it. Use your other four starters as relievers and throw the pen to the freaking wolves. Who needs em? Not the Mets. Just load up the postseason roster with bats and try to outscore the other team if Santana can’t handle pitching every game. For the money he gets paid, he’d better handle it Just shut up and do it, pitch til your damn arm falls off.
Obviously, none of this is serious, but considering the way people react after a 6-1 road trip, you’d think this would have been suggested already. I’m not saying the pen is not a concern – it certainly is, and a big one at that. But lets have a bit of faith that these guys will be able to turn it around. I think Sanchez will be fine, because contrary to popular belief, he can pitch without his best fastball. Maine showed in his two starts since the injury that he can as well. How many runs has he given up? None. I’m telling you, the pen is gonna be a strength for us down the stretch.
All they need is a little tequila. ;-)
I made it sound like Maine pitches from the pen, and obviously I know he does not. Just wanted to clarify before someone calls me out on it.
I’m not saying that I don’t think that a few of our struggling relievers have the potential to turn it around and I’m obviously thrilled with a 6-1 road trip, but keep in mind we won’t be playing the nationals or pirates in the playoffs. Right now the depth of our rotation is our biggest strength and it allows us to move 1 or 2 starters, who would be in other teams 3 man rotations, to the pen and make our bullpen a strength as well.
Of course a 6-1 road trip is a success, and if this meant we were likely to play .857 ball for the rest of the season, nobody would be talking.
But as others have pointed out, our 6-1 record came against the worst teams in their respective divisions, so expecting that winning percentage to carry over into the rest of the regular season, much less the postseason, is unrealistic.
Should we be running around in circles, flailing our arms and moaning about a coming apocalypse? Of course not. But to ignore the problems that we do clearly have would be sticking our collective heads in the sand, and that would be foolish too.
The bullpen is a problem. We know it, the media knows it, the other teams know it, and the bullpen itself (as evidenced by these comments by Sanchez and earlier ones by Schoeneweis and others) knows it. We need to look for solutions now. Calmly, yes. But we still need to look for solutions.
…the problem is that his fastball is clocking in at around 86 mph, which is around 5 percent off from what it usually is…
Does Metsblog mean 5 mph? I’ve never heard of using percentages. Bizarre.
Get pissed, Dirty. We need you.
With the exception of a few interludes, the Pen has been our Achilles Heel. Unless something miraculous happens, it’s going to be like this. Not even sure Maine could be the closer; his control has been erratic for a while. You want that in the ninth w/ a one-run or two-run lead to protect?
I suggested Smith a while back, but I agree that was a mistake. Now I’m leaning toward Feliciano.
Frankly, closer may not be the biggest role needed. Middle relievers and bridge have failed us just as much. It’s a problem with no easy fix. BP needs a good streak, and bats have to stop failing after inning four.
Take a deep breath Mets, suit up, and die trying if you must, but Win! WIn! WIn!
This is really why I like this guy. It takes quite a bit for a professional athlete to wear their emotions on their sleeve and this guy does and he has a ton of heart which you have to respect.
Hope things get better for him.
Love the response. No excuses. No blaming. Puts it on himself. Mets need more of that from their pitchers. Get mad and take it out on the other guys Dirty!
Like everyone else, I am pleased to see Sanchez taking responsibility for his own failures. But in another sense, I almost wish he had blamed his recent problems on injury or some other external factor, because without such an explanation, his recent poor performance and especially, his significant drop in velocity, sounds like it could be a long term problem.
I know that pitching, like all of baseball, is subject to streaks and luck and the toll emotions take on physical performance. But usually when a pitcher is having problems in his head, it manifests itself as control trouble, or breaking balls that don’t break. I’ve never seen a pitcher’s problems with confidence translate to decreased velocity.
I suppose anything is possible, but I continue to be worried about this…