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Since August 14th, Aaron Heilman has pitched eight innings of relief and has allowed only one earned run on six hits. On August 26th, he threw three innings of shutout relief in a 13 inning loss to the Phillies.
Despite his recent success, I feel that some players have to do more than others to gain the respect of the fans. I look at how Scott Schoeneweis was booed on Opening Day without even throwing a pitch, and feel that the same negative stigma has befallen Aaron Heilman whether it is justified or not.
In the roulette game that is the bullpen, I hope Heilman can remain effective because this is after all a team sport, and I root for the name on the front of the jersey. However, if all things remain equal, the Mets should explore trading Heilman when the season is through for a couple of reasons.
First, I think that some players just need a fresh start to maximize their potential. If body language is any indication of happiness, then Heilman is unhappy in Queens. This is all speculation, and I never saw him throw at Notre Dame, but when I watch him pitch I feel his anxiety. One could say the same about when John Maine throws, but where Maine comes across as confident in his intensity, Heilman looks like he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Second, the Mets may not be able to get as much value as they once could for the righty, but with pitching being in need nearly everywhere, the Mets still have a chance to bundle him with say Luis Castillo as noted earlier on Metsblog, and get something good in return. They could even market him as a potential starting pitcher.
Again, I wish Heilman the best and truly want him to succeed. If he remained a Met in 2009, I wouldn’t be disappointed. But sometimes players, a la Ryan Church, just need a fresh start.
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I predict my stomach will hurt when Heilman is summoned to pitch in a big spot this weekend.
my stomach hurts everytime i see a pic of his mug…
Metsblog should include a photo of Larry Linville (Frank Burns) with any post about Heilmann.
Brilliant, Gameball ! You hit that one out of the park!
But now the question must be asked………..who on the Mets looks like “Hot Lips” Houlihan?? :)
Mmm, I guess by default that would have to go to Joe Smith. The rest of the pen is pretty much a bunch of mullions.
Wonder what Hawkeye would think of Joe Smith? :)
LGM!!!
LF Daniel Murphy is expected to be asked to play second base in the Arizona Fall League after completing the major league season. Getting Murphy experience at second base appears to signal the Mets’ intent to trade Luis Castillo in the offseason, if possible. Castillo has underwhelmed since signing a four-year, $25 million contract last winter.
thats reads like a nice cut and paste.
yeah I got it from Yahoo sports.
or you could have gotten that when it was posted here two or three days ago.
I agree with you here. There’s just something about the guy coming out to pitch. And I can’t help put assume that fans are incredibly judgmental (and obviously impulsive) and will boo based on gut. When Heilman goes out and fails - it looks ugly, much uglier than when others go out and give up a few bombs. His body language looks just plain awful at times and I sometimes wonder if he’s lost faith in his own ability.
That being said the fans, again, are just way too impulsive for my liking. What’s the confidence rating now, 84%? If the Mets had just won 2 of 3 vs Milwaukee it woulda been less. Fans take way way way too much from what JUST happened. Sho was being cheered when he started the season off hot, as if the fans thought he was a different pitcher. It’s really just a reflection of the impatience and overrall lack of ability to see the big picture that has these mets fans booing and cheering their lungs out based on the last week’s worth of games.
Obviously, he’d be happier if he were allowed to start, and perhaps this offseason is the time to revive that experiment.
Now, before anyone writes in to say that the Mets have no intention of letting him start, recall that as recently as Spring Training 07, he was given the chance to join the rotation. He pitched very well that spring and would have been in the rotation on Opening Day were it not for a slightly better performance by Brian Bannister.
By the time Bannister went onto the DL, Heilman was proving himself (again) to be a valuable seventh-inning man. And so no move was made.
But it’s simply not true that the Mets were persuaded by his mediocre earlier results as a starter never to give him another chance. They were willing to overlook those results entirely and were fully prepared to make him starter #5.
*Of course I mean Spring Training 06
I wouldnt mind seeing him as the long man now, stretching him out in preparation for being a starter. In fact I wouldn’t mind one bit seeing him start a game one of these days, if Brian Stokes can do it, why not Heilman?
Heilman throws just as hard and has better movement on his fast ball. Plus he doesn’t pitch like a relief pitcher one bit, he’s a starter.
i guess you havent noticed we are in playoff race…
he walked in the winning run against florida without a single hit. that’s all i’m gonna say
He doesn’t have the mental makeup to be a reliever in pressure situations. Period. He needs to be a starting pitcher, if not here, than somewhere else.
It’s absolutely comical that the biggest reason to keep him in the pen for the past 3 years was because he was so necessary there. Now all those people who wanted him in the pen so badly have turned their back on him.
He should have never been put in the pen in the first place. He should have been allowed to start … or traded somewhere else.
This is one of the biggest blunders the Mets have made when it comes to the handling of a player.
I can’t believe that I am in total agreement with you. We should frame this post.
Heilman is and always will be a starter. If it is not for us then it will be for someone when he is a FA. Why not try it next season as a cost cutting shake up? If he sucks then Niese may be ready by then.
haha … we’re actually not that far off. It’s just one thing that you harp on constantly that I respond to often. (Castillo)
I actually agree with most of what you say, which is why I don’t bother responding to you most of the time.
Keep that in mind.
I really think he needs to be moved, especially if there is some team out there that values him as a starter. I would imagine thats how we would get the most value out of him.
Many teams have valued him as a starter for the past 3 years. Mets could have traded him and gotten so much for him, yet would rather stick a square peg in a round hole.
Ive always liked heilman but i truly believe he is unhappy here and he is just not succeeding here in queenz anymore. I dont know when the road turned on him but fact is fact. Look at ayala who basically has the same numbers as heilman and his success on the mets. A change of scenery and a change of position may be what arron needs. I respect his devotion to the team and wanting to help where help is needed, but he has always wanted to be a starter and i dont see him getting that opportunity here in NY. I think with the aquisition of ayala and stokes, losing heilman would not be the end of the world in the BP. I would like omar to seriously make a play to move heilman. Like i said i like heilman..always have..but i think his tenure in NY has run its course and he needs to thrive somewhere else..because it doesnt seem like its going to happen here.
I’m Xavier22 and I approve this message.
lmaooo…”I believe in change”
Change we can believe in!
Heilman-Castillo ‘09!
“I respect his devotion to the team and wanting to help where help is needed,”
whats his alternative?… nada he is not eligible for FA… his job is to pitch, not to decide when, where he pitches. Not that i would call …batting practice.. pitching
Ugh…can Heilman doing something right this season in the bullpen before we begin the lets him start campaign.
Ugh…What??
That’s why we want him to start, duh.
Yes that is brilliant, a guy who struggled as a starter in the minors and had ONE wow start as a major leaguer finds success in the bullpen and logically if you just move him back to where he failed it will be great.