Monday, August 25, 2008

Who do you trust?

As I have previously discussed, the Mets bullpen is abysmal. For us fans, when we hear "this call to the bullpen" we collectively cringe. Since Billy Wagner's injury, the Mets have played Russian roulette with the bullpen and most of the guys in the pen have failed miserably. With the stetch run coming, the Mets have me freaked out that they will collapse again because of their bullpen. I hope I'm wrong. They have seven guys in the bullpen right now and I trust a grand total of 2 of them.
Here is the breakdown:

Heilman: Simply put, he has been awful. Heilman has been the King of Inconsistency and no reliever speeds up my heart rate like the Heil-man. He throws hard and has a great change, but for whatever reason, cannot get anyone out this season. Jerry Manuel continues to use him because he supposedly can get both lefties and righties out. However, we have yet to see him get anyone out.
NO TRUST

Feliciano: I like Feliciano, but I think that the current state of the Mets bullpen is detrimental to Feliciano. He should be a lefty specialist, nothing more. However, with all of the injuries and bad performances, Feliciano has been thrust into a bigger role, one which is not suitable to his strengths.
NO TRUST (thanks Mr. Manuel)

Smith:
Smith is another guy who I like alot and for whatever reason, I feel good when he comes in the game. His numbers aren't good (4.06 ERA), but he's been great against right hand hitters
TRUSTED

Sanchez: Duaner is coming off shoulder surgery and his velocity has suffered big time. He routinely tops out at 86-87 MPH and like Heilman, struggles to get out lefties and righties. He needs to perform better for the Mets to survive Wagner's injuries.
NO TRUST

Schoeneweis:
Probably the best thing I can say about Schoeneweis is that he is not getting booed like last season. The Mets gave him $11 mil to do basically exactly what Pedro Feliciano does. Not a smart move. Anyway, Schoenweis has not been bad and actually has good numbers, but I won't trust him in a big spot because I have seen him blow it many times before.
NO TRUST

Stokes:
He throws hard, but I haven't seen/heard enough about him to actually develop trust.
?????????

Ayala:
He has been good in the past against lefties and righties despite his horrible numbers this season. What I like most about him is that he wants to take the ball everyday and has shown a great ability to get out of big spots. Yes he is new, but I like what I see so far.
TRUSTED

Overall:
Looks like watching the Mets down the stretch will be brutal and painful again this season. Get well soon Billy!

So I ask you, the readers, who do you trust in your team's bullpen? The funny thing about trusting a pitcher is that the numbers don't really tell the whole story. A reliever might have blown a lead or given up a big homer that could have permanently scarred the fans' trust. It's a personal thing.
With so many close races, the bullpen will be the determining factor into who makes the playoffs. Jorge Says No! will be examining the playoff contending bullpens to determine: who do you trust? We will look at the hated Phillies bullpen next. And again, Mr. Wagner, please get well soon.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good stuff here- linked from Baseball Musings-Keep writing

Luis
Adenzeno@yahoo.com

Jorge Says No! said...

Luis,
thanks so much! I hope you enjoy!

thanks again.