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Prior to yesterday’s game, Jerry Manuel essentially told reporters that he will not use one of his starting pitchers as a replacement for Billy Wagner as the team’s closer, adding:
“John Maine was really a guy I was thinking about, but I think he needs more rest. He needs those days off more than he needs to be a bullpen guy right now. I thought I’d see it a little differently when he came back, but the days off do him a lot of good.”
Meanwhile, according to Manuel, Oliver Perez has been pitching too well to remove him from the rotation, and he does not feel Mike Pelfrey has enough experience to handle the adjustment in the middle of a pennant race.
Nevertheless, in the New York Post, Joel Sherman explains why Pelfrey would be the ideal candidate, writing, “He has the best combination of skills to re-enact for the Mets what Chamberlain did for the Yankees last year: essentially flip from the rotation to address an area eating at both the Mets’ confidence and success.”
By the way, the Mets are 12–3 in Pelfrey’s last 15 starts.
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MLBTR reports the Rockies just put CP Manny Corpus on waivers.
Well I think someone has to be moved to the pen. Theres no way it can be kept as is w/o Wagner.
How can we take Pelfrey out of the rotation? He has been our second best starter this year. So who is his replacement in the rotation?
The key reason for the surge we have been on has been the starting pitching, which has been anchored by Johann and Big Pelf going out and winning or pitching 7 great innings just about every time out for a while now.
We need more arms in the bullpen, but surely we try Heilman or Ayala as closer before taking Big Pelf out of the rotation?
Can we stop with comparing everything and everyone to Joba? Not that it surprises me from Sherman and the Post.
Well in this situation it is a 100% relevent comparison
Yeah?,how you figure?
Both throw incredibly hard and have perfect “stuff” to be a lights out setup man or closer.
I don’t know how you can move any of the 5 SPs to the pen right now. Don’t think you can pitch Maine or Pedro on 4 days rest. Don’t know who you would replace that 5th starter with.
Not unless, for the next couple of weeks, there are enough off days to go with a 4 man rotation. I’m showing 28 Aug, 4, 8 & 11 Sep as off days (unless there are make up games there I’m forgetting about)….
Whither El Duque? He might not be a closer candidate but he was effective for the White Sox in the pen the year they won the title and might offer some depth. Last I heard he was rehabbing. Is he relaxing under Pedro’s mango tree or trying to come back?
El Duque has foot issues. There are 1000 questions about him every day and every day the answer is repeated 1000 times….El Duque’s gone. Move on…
Anyone have any idea why my comments won’t go up? I hate typing up paragraphs and then having them seem to be submitted and then not appear at all.
copy the text before you click on add comment. there must be one word that’s setting off the filter. look for anything that can be misinterpreted…
How about Pedro?
Let’s sign Usain Bolt.
I’d rather the Jets sign Usain Bolt.
Unless he can throw as fast as he can run. (although that would be like 20mph fastball, so maybe not)
Man we wouldn’t even need pitching with this guy because all the runs we would score. We can teach him how to bunt and play outfield, have him bat leadoff and Jose second.
;)
Apparently Eric Gagne has cleared waivers. Would Milwaukee be willing to move him and if so do you think he could help? I know he has kind of sucked since he left Texas but he was once one of the best in the game and sometimes that cliche “change of scenery” makes all the difference. Before I get attacked I agree he will not save like 80 straight games again but worth a shot? Why not? Everyone thought Brad Lidge had lost it right?
At this point, we should be open to taking chances on anyone. The price may not be right to take the flier on Gagne though. But we should at least try and sign Reyes. We need to pull out all stops, b/c I don’t think we have someone right now in the pen that can be trusted as closer. and closer by committee will not work in the playoffs.
I kind of agree…at this point, I’m thinking just throw stuff on a wall and see what sticks….
The problem is, Gagne is signed by another team. So you’ll have to trade someone to get him. Who are you willing to trade for a guy who hasn’t performed well in 2 years and has been injured for most of that time? Anyone close to a “prospect” tag would be too much for something that may or may not “stick on a wall”…
I’m pretty sure we have enough “Eric Gagnes” in our bullpen already.
maybe so, but we dont have anyone with closers experience.
Yeah but we’ve got enough guys who cant get outs.
this the same joel sherman who outlined a 30 player,
30 team a couple years ago. Really, I dont know why
mr.cerrone even bothers w/ this nonsense.
as I stated here a couple weeks ago(and was hammered–
–for it) IF you can get a weathers for next to nothing fine.
If not, well then thats fine too. Any talk of moving a starter
to the pen to close at this point in the season is crazy.
Heilmann has bitched and complained over the yrs about
getting back in the rotation. This of course is all about money. Well, nows his chance to clean-up in free agency.
He, by default is our closer.
He’s been inconsistent, but when he’s on, Heilman is our best reliever right now. If only we could get Dunar back to normal. If he could regain 2006 form, he would be great for us.
maybe Omar is right. the answer is in our clubhouse. Maybe he is telling someone there may be some steroids in a cabinet or closet somewhere.
haha lmao
Or may be he’s telling Heilman to grow a sack and throw strikes to opposing pitchers…
Let’s trade for Mariano and then trade him back to the Yanks in the winter.
Why would you trade him back??
I think the best chance the Mets have (and I’m sure I’ll get some pushback here) is to keep the starting rotation as is, and try to continue to find a solution within their bullpen that can work.
The one decisive competitive advantage that the Mets have over their competition right now is their starting pitching. On each day, the Mets have a good chance of being in the game, and probably leading after 6 or 7 innings. I realize they have squandered leads, but to move one guy into the bullpen, replace him with a 5th starter that makes it tough to go out and win, we would be left with a still below average bullpen, and worse starting pitching than we have now.
In other words, we’d level the field a bit when we have a distinct advantage in one very important aspect.
Keep the rotation as is. Find solutions otherwise. Let’s face it guys, if people like Heilman and Feliciano (i’m not even going to include Sanchez, because I don’t think he’s able to pitch any more) don’t perform for us, the Mets aren’t a WS caliber team anyway.
+1
Big Pelf is the only logical choice. He throws hard, has a heavy sinker and doesn’t give up gopher balls. Pedro has 1st inning issues and relies on guile and BB’s and has given up a ton of HR’s. Ollie is too wild and schitzo…and Maine falls behind everyone and doesn’t have an out pitch. Go Big Pelf!!
O.K. so, you want to make our #2 starter our closer?
Why don’t we move Johan to the bullpen? That would address the problem, right?
Oh, and lets move Wright to LF. That would address that hole as well…
Let’s go Joe Smith!
I think the Mets need to use what they have until the playoffs and not move any of the starters. Then in the Playoffs Big Pelf becomes the closer and we win it all.
I am so glad that I live in the middle of the country and don’t have to see Post articles all the time. The only time I hear about them is when they are posted on this site.
I think that I have figured out how they cover the Mets though. I believe it starts with putting a bunch of different ideas into a hat and then they have the office goat eat all them until one is left. Then they take a dart and throw it at the appropriate section of the roster to come up with a player’s name. From there they just put words together and hope that it can make sense.
Is that about right?
There’s nothing lucky about living in the middle of the country….
Of course there is.
I don’t know of a single Phillies fan around here. It is wonderful.
Oh, that and not getting shot.
/sarcasm
It’s heartening to see most agree that Pelf is more valuable as a starter. I’d rather get to the late innings with a lead and take our chances with the pen, than get hammered because we’re starting Brian Lawrence (or whomever) and have no chance.
Joba has a flat slider and a flat fastball. Bill Pulsipher had a 2.98 ERA and then disappeared. DON’T SAY ANYONE IS THE NEXT [whoever] UNTIL THAT PLAYER HAS AT LEAST 10 YEARS UNDER THEIR BELT.
They could be the next Ramiro Mendoza!
(or Mario Mendoza)
no sh1t his fastball’s flat. how many 100 mph fastballs have movement on them? as for his slider, it’s pretty nasty. don’t be a homer.
also, albert pujols has only played for 8 seasons, so i’m not allowed to say he’s the best hitter i’ve ever watched?
You guys have zero common sense. There are no good relievers out there right now on waivers. Gagne is a bust and Corpas is no better than the guys we have. I would take Weathers, but he isn’t that good either. However, it is much easier to find a 5th starter (either on waivers or in the minors).
We MUST shift Big Pelf to the pen if Wagner doesn’t come back. Hell, I’d say we put Pelf out there even if Wagner is ok.
We can get by with Johan, Ollie, Maine, Pedro and a 5th starter (Niese, Figueroa, Vargas, etc..) I’d love for the Mets to try to get Randy Wolf from the Astros. He’s be a perfect #5. We play them this week-get on the phone Omar!!!!!
Maine is a little scary because his arm is bad, but we will have to hope he can give us 5-6 innings in the playoffs. With our 4th and/or 5th starters in the pen come playoff time, we will be in good shape.
It is just getting to the playoffs that is the major problem. Once there, I think our boys could hang with anyone!
why would you trade 11-14 quality innings a week for 4-6? especially with the concerns about Maine’s elbow (not to mention that there’s still no certainty how pedro will continue)? If we don’t have quality starts, there’s nothing to protect.
Why not just make Schoenweiss the closer? He’s the only decent bullpen guy we have right now, and he proved last night he can handle save situations.
We need Pelfrey (11 wins) in the rotation and I wouldn’t risk Maine’s rotator cuff over a lack of a closer. Perez could be an option, but we’d be losing a starter in the middle of a playoff race.
He said he doesn’t want to be the closer.