Mets RHP Mike Pelfrey told the New York Post he lost 25 pounds, he also discusses the team’s chances in 2010, as well as what went wrong for him in 2009.
“I’m going to come out and have a good year, not only for myself but for the team,” Pelfrey said. “We need to come back and start off good and get the ball rolling.”
In mid-January, I was able to talk with Pelfrey about a variety of issues.
Here is an excerpt, in which we talk the idea of being a No. 2 pitcher, and pressure from fans and media.
Matthew Cerrone: We talk a lot about who is a No. 1 or No. 2 pitcher, or how the team needs a fifth starter, etc., but do those terms mean anything to you guys?
Mike Pelfrey: There’s not really a difference. If you’re one of the five, you are taking the ball every fifth day. When your day comes up, it doesn’t matter if you’re the fifth guy, the fourth guy, the number one guy, whatever, for that day you’re the ace. So, every fifth day, as long as you’re able to take that ball and get the opportunity, it doesn’t matter where you’re slotted in… Say you’re John Niese, when you’re day comes, you’re expected to go out there and give your team a chance to win no matter who you are… You want your teammates to think, ‘Pelfrey’s taking the ball today, we expect a win today.’
Matthew Cerrone: There has to be a job security mindset, though, I would think. I mean, I don’t think that you or Johan Santana, or Oliver Perez probably worry that way, because of the contracts. But, if you’re maybe somebody that’s on a minor-league contract or a young guy, you have to at least be aware of the concept of status, right?
Mike Pelfrey: Sure. When I first come up, I knew that I was the odd man out… I think you’re distracted a lot more when you first come up. I was, I would think about things, “This is a big game for me. If I don’t do this, I could be out of here.’ It weighs more on your mind at that time. But, as you gain more experience, you learn to not worry about that stuff. You learn not to read what the media writes or what people say.
Matthew Cerrone: Did you read that stuff when you first came up?
Mike Pelfrey: I did. Yes, I did.
Matthew Cerrone: But you don’t anymore?
Mike Pelfrey: No, it ate me alive. I wasn’t doing very well. There was a lot of negative stuff. I think mentally, if you hear a lot of negative stuff all the time, you’re going to start to believe it.
Matthew Cerrone: Right, you’ll second guess yourself too, I would think?
Mike Pelfrey: Yep, you start to think, ‘I am bad. I’m not very good.’ You start to believe that stuff. It’s tough. I think the best thing, good or bad, is just to keep it out. I know we kept newspapers and stuff out of the clubhouse last year, and that was Jerry’s thing. I think that was great. Not be able to see that stuff and read it.
Thank you to SMG Transcription for transcribing this interview.
Did he just lose weight or did he put on muscle too?
I think some of his motivation is the contract situation. His contract expired and he was renewed, which means his contract dropped from over 2 million last year to 400 or 500K this year. That’s gotta irk him.
That is how it was negotiated by his agent, Scott Boras, back when Pelfrey was drafted. The contract was going to decrease with or without a bad season last year.
how long until he is arbitration eligible?
I thought it expired and they just renewed him at the major league minimum or something.
Doesn’t really do anything to dispell the notion that he’s a big headcase…. “it ate me alive”. Ugh. Man up Pelf
When you were 21 and you saw everyone writing in news papers, reporting on TV etc… That you were no good at what you do, you’d get upset as well.
Good point. Especially growing up in Kansas, the whole situation would probably scare the crap out of me.
Still though, he’s been in the majors for a couple of years, hopefully this means he’s learned to ignore that stuff and just focus on himself.
Isn’t that what he just said? lol
Good things from Big Pelf this year…Back to 2008 form!
I have hope that Pelfrey will rebound and progress this year. He was healthy, albeit ineffective, last year. I think he can be a solid #2 and win games, provided the Mets can field ground balls.
Pelfrey was having an good 2009 in the first half, then all the injuries happened, the AAA defense ended up on the field and the rotation relied on him and he crumpled
You can put a little weight in that. I went to look at his stats and his BABIP was a little high at .330 and his FIP was at 4.23. So when you take the defense out of the game he was better as his ERA would have aligned around the 4.23 mark, but it still isn’t great. Meaning like he said he was still not very good, but he was better then what his numbers looked.
I like that he’s learned it’s not important what people write, and that it’s good to tune it out. But Manuel’s “Don’t look at it, maybe it’ll go away” philosophy is pathetic. The reporters are still going to ask you the questions, so while it’s good that he’s not seeking it out, I want to hear about how he doesn’t care, how he laughs it off. Better to be aware than to be blindsided by it when a reporter asks you about a nasty report just before your start.
Pelfrey is going to be good this year. I can see 15 wins for him this year, pending Murphy’s work with Keith does allow him to play off the bag more and reduce Castillo’s need for range.
I can see it now, groundball to castillo, murphy gets to it, Pelfrey hustles over for the out.
With the fundamentals that this team has shown in the past few years? No way. Here is the more likely scenario:
Groundball to the right side, Murphy comes off the bag to field, Pelfrey fails to cover, but Murphy throws the ball to first anyway and it bounces into the dugout.
LOL i can see that too…
Surely, you meant to say that both Pelfrey AND Castillo fail to cover – right?
Yep. Then on the next play, the batter hits a slow routine groundball to Castillo, who just stands there and waits for the ball to come to him (instead of charging), and lobs a lazy throw to first, which the runner beats for an infield hit.