Last night, Nelson Figueroa, Duaner Sanchez, Brian Stokes, Pedro Feliciano, Joe Smith and Luis Ayala combined to pitch seven scoreless innings in relief.
Technically, Figueroa allowed a run to score in the fourth, but it was charged to Jon Niese.
Manuel told reporters that ‘his plan,’ or ‘the idea,’ given the number of relievers on the roster, is to use lots of pitchers in short stints – as long as they continue to have success.
By the way, Ayala is 5 for 6 in save opportunities, while posting a 3.00 ERA in nine appearances for the Mets.
The Mets bullpen has not allowed a run in it’s last three appearances, spanning 13 innings.
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The bullpen is on a roll. They completely shut down the brewers(a playoff team) last night and so far in the series. I think the sept callups are going to pay off big for us and give people some breathing time. Good job Bullpen keep it up.
To me, it looked like a few of them struggled but got out of the innings because (gasp!) they threw strikes and put the ball in play. Walking people never works. You hear that Heilman??
Wow..never though id hear that
Safe to say Ayala has already acheived “great acquisition” status – even if he appears hurt and a tad shaky. Definitely holding down the fort for Wags…though I am sure Heilman will get the call today.
Surpirsed to see Figgy get two appearances already while Reyes is sitting…
I think he has earned “great aquisition” status..just dont expect the omar bashers to recognize that tho.
I think when wags comes back, ayala will be a very solid 8th inning guy.
being able to pretty much shorten games to 7 innings would be huge!
i 100% agree with you and i actually said that on FAH thread farther down lol. I think ayala is going to be a good set up man for us this year and next. Imagine if duaner can work in the offseason and get back to pre taxi injury form….It would definatly ease the blow of taking heilman out of the bullpen and either starting him or trade him. I like stokes too.
Plus, Ayala would make a great backup policy to Wagner if he gets hurt again. Now we know he can do the job and just mix and match the rest of the bullpen.
considering he’s been hurt since the first pitch he threw in pelfrey’s game vs. the marlins he blew. ayala’s proving he’s tough as nails and will take one for the team as well.
Ayala has certainly showed he can be a somewhat capable closer with some guts to pitch the 9th inning in save situations. We saw games get away from the Mets way too often before Ayala got traded to the Mets and it seems, at least for now that Ayala has that role of closer until Wagner gets back.
Last night, I think I lost a heartbeat for a second in the ninth but I’m feeling pretty confident that more times than not Ayala gets the job done and closes out the game.
I am sick to my stomach each time they warm up Heilman.
Even my 13 year old son will say, “why do they continue to
run that guy out there?” Enough is enough, I have had enough of him and his walks and homeruns. We have
enough arms now in the pen to let this guy not be a
late inning pitcher.
not quite true about only two runs in sixteen innings both to Ayala. You forgot about Saturday night’ s loss . One run chared to Heilman and one to Feliciano.
That ball that scored a run on Figueroa was a bloop hit as well, so it’s not like he got hit hard. For some weird reason, I’m enjoying the Mets making the games exciting and the bullpen isn’t as strong as it was two years ago.
Maybe it’s just Jerry Manuel not relying on one guy and more the fact that he is trusting some fresh new faces to get the job done in important roles. (Ayala/Stokes.)
I mean, with Willie, I felt he always put too much faith in a bullpen that wasn’t as good as he said it was and kept going to Sanchez and Heilman far too much.
I also like the fact that Jerry Manuel jokes around instead of seeming so uptight and if that the whole world is out to get him and that he is not afraid to be critical of this team when he needs to be.
There is a certain spark to this team that it did not have when Willie Randoplh was around. Maybe it’s the way Manuel puts each bullpen guy in a role that they can be more successful in and the fact that he isn’t afraid to sit guys in favor of others.
Great point. If Willie were still here, Stokes and Figueroa probably would never have gotten off the bench last night. Instead, we probably would have seen Heilman for those 3 innings.
I hate to say it but I have more faith in Ayala (as long as he isn’t hurting) than Wagner at this point in the season.
I don’t trust Wagner, not just because he has a lot of Benitez in him, but also because his stuff is diminished at his age and at this point in the season.
They cannot count on Wagner next season. Either go after K-Rod or have Ayala or someone else share closing duties with Wagner.
And trade Heilman or put him in the rotation. Free him from the pen.
lol your year long free heilman campaign. I would still want wagner closing games for me honestly but i do like that come next year we have a pretty good set up man for wags or krod(imo its not going to happen but i didnt think we would get santana so…im not ruling anything out). I agree they should trade heilman or start em..i think heilmans tenure in the bullpen has run its course and its over.
heilman’s tenure on the team has run its course and will end in the offseason.
i hope your right….I honestly dont see heilman starting for us so that leave only one other option….
If Heilman goes the team will need a new union player rep.
I nominate Mr. Met.
As long as Wagner is on this team, he’ll be the closer. If Wagner is healthy, Wagner still has the stuff to get guys out. It’s not like he forgot how to pitch and if you forgotten that before he got hurt, he was closing out most of the games. Yeah, the injuries have hurt but to say you trust Ayala over Wagner is a bit questionable.
Wagner got hurt at the end of last year, just like he did this year. I think age and stamina are a big issue with him at this point in his career. If they pencil him in as the fulltime closer next year it will be a big mistake.
If they can’t trade Wagner, maybe Ayala will at least be a safety net. Though I think they should acquire at least 1 solid setup or closer type reliever over the winter through trade or free agency.
Putting Heilman back in the pen next year is like hitting your head against a wall.
Agreed, Wagner is the closer if he comes back. Especially since he’s completely inept when he’s not in a save situation.
How about this Brian Stokes kid. He’s been nothing but solid. As KHern mentioned during the broadcast couple days ago, Stokes is not afraid to go after hitters with his 95-97mph fastball. I like his demeanor on the mound. I think him and Ayala can be very good help for the Mets down the stretch
Coming down the stretch it looks like Stokes and Ayala will get the later, important innings while guys like Heilman, Sanchez and Feliciano get the rest of the outs before them and they have proven to be more successful that way.
Here’s the stats on Stokes,
If you exclude the first game which he started and gave up 4 ER in 5.2,
In relief appearances, 16IP 2ER 12K 3BB 14Hits
That’s not too bad. Considering that he was pitching mostly in tight situations.
Ayala’s pattern is get 2 quick outs, then have trouble.
I’d hook him after out #2 and let someone else close the door
That’s kind of a self-defeating strategy. He’s obviously pitching well if he got the first two outs, and that’s about the best way I can think of to pi– a guy off. Yea, hit the showers, no save for you tonight even though you got the first two outs.
If he showed a pattern over the course of a year that he only got the first two outs, go for it.
I see the shaky bullpen as a positive for the hitters lately. I think the offense has gone out of its way to get that one extra run when it presents itself, late in the game, to provide a little more insurance.
I know it sounds wierd saying it but the shakiness of the bullpen seems to be a positive for the focus level of both the late inning offense and the overall late inning defense.
You might be right. Maybe Manuel should have a countdown in the dugout as to when Heilman or Sanchez will be brought into the game. That way, the offense has a deadline as to when they need to score the necessary runs. :)
The Mets bullpen has not allowed a run in ITS last three appearances, spanning 13 innings.
Sorry, but this site REALLY needs an editor.
ok, Stacey Stickler…
Then sign up to help and be on call every time there is a post. Otherwise, let it go. They provide a great service.
To me, Ayala looks just like Heilman. He’s had a bad year, pitched too many innings, and is capable of putting together a little stretch of a couple of good outings w/ some shaky ones. Just we haven’t seen Ayala up close all year so some seem to think he’s something different and more reliable than Heilman. Ayala has been OK so far, but I wouldn’t rely on him.
“Ayala has been OK so far, but I wouldn’t rely on him.”
well whynot?
If not Ayala, who?
The Mets have the best record in baseball since July 1st. Imagine where we’d be if we had a better pen!
Enough with all this talk about Manuel using his pen better and Willie not. Willie would have been blasted for the way Manuel is using the pen! This is like overuse on steroids! It’s not like the Mets have a better alternative. If anyone saw the splits on the Mets relievers during last nights game, it’s downright frightening. There is not one guy in the pen that can get both lefties and righties out which is why Manuel and Willie were forced to use the pen like this.
Then pen hasn’t gotten any better or worse since Manuel took over. It is what it is.. A very inconsistent pen. Streaks of brilliance followed by streaks of implosion. What’s the over and under on which day the pen will implode again?
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