29
2008
The Mets Should Make A Move On Joe Beimel
An article by 
As soon as the Dodgers decided to non-tender left handed reliever, Joe Beimel, I remember thinking to myself, this guy will be signed within a week. Wrong again…
The 31 year old specialist had a solid season last year after posting a 2.02 ERA in 71 games.
During the 2007 season, Beimel set a record for the Dodgers by making 83 appearances, the most by a left-handed pitcher in the Dodgers history.
I took a look at his three year average as I believe it’s more reliable than just looking at one season.
In 216 games he has a 3.04 ERA, but more importantly he held left handed hitters to a .232 batting average and has only allowed two homeruns in 280 at bats against him. That’s pretty impressive. In that same span, J.J. Putz allowed 10 homeruns.
While with the Dodgers, he was not only used as a lefty specialist, but also as the team’s setup man and emergency closer.
Currently, the Mets only have one left hander, Pedro Feliciano, in the bullpen. Some have said that’s okay because of the additions of J.J. Putz and K-Rod. If one of the two were left handed I would agree, but if you were able to bring in Joe Beimel to face Ryan Howard and Chase Utley instead of Putz, wouldn’t you have to do it?
Barry Bonds who destroyed mostly all relievers in his career, even left handers, was only 1-16 against Beimel.
Left handers had an .803 OPS against J.J. Putz last season, while Beimel held them to .641 OPS. That’s over a .150 difference…
Would it be so bad to hedge our bets and bring in a guy like this?
The real question is, would he upgrade the current makeup of the back-end of the bullpen?
If the answer is yes, and all he is seeking is $4 million per season, which is not much more than we gave Schoeneweis, why not?
I’d rather not tempt faith and have this discussion after a game winning homerun from Ryan Howard off of J.J. Putz.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
Went to my first Mets game, a Mayors Trophy game at Shea, in '73. We beat the Yankees 8-4 and I was hooked. I marched in two Banner Day parades, and before the Grand Slam single, there was the "Hendu Can Do" grand slam - I was there. I've collected Mets memorabilia all my life and started Mets Merized Online to feed my addiction.
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Joe Beimel would be a decent acquisition, I just think its really not a high priority to add another lefty. The specialist role is extremely overrated. Add in the fact that the strike zone is much smaller now then the rule book documented zone, nothing above the belt is ever called these days. This puts these 1-2 batter specialist in a lose-lose situation. They have to be almost perfect in a game that is built on failure. If a team has a solid rotation 1-4 and 2-3 sold arms in the pen then that’s all you need.
I agree with Christian, spending anything close to $4 million on someone like Beimel would be a waste of money, especially considering we are paying some of Schoenweiss’ salary too.
We need only look to the scrap heap for plently of cheap guys like Eddie Guardado, Ricardo Rincon, Ron Villone, etc. Amass a few of these guys and stash whoever doesn’t win a job in spring at AAA.
Paying Beimel to be a lefty specialist would not be prudent, especially since we still have to get at least one starter and a bench guy or two and who knows what else?
For the record, Beimel was not non-tendered, he has been a legit free agent since whenever he filed.
It looks like Manny and Lowe will be falling onto our laps. On Espn it has been reported that the Dodgers have contacted Adam Dunn and with the Red Soxs signing Penny I think the Mets could get Manny and Lowe for a better price…Lets Go Omar make this happen!!!!
I do seem to recall mentioning this possible outcome
) ha ha ha where are the naysayers now 
yeah, we should sign him. it would be a good addition. and he wasnt non-tendered. hes been a free agent this whole time. maybe you’re thinking of Joe Nelson, who signed with the Rays
I’ve always liked Joe Beimel. I think our bullpen is definitely better now than last year. But adding Beimel along with K-Rod and Putz would give us some much needed depth–especially considering Putz has spent some time on the DL
Most likely Putz is here for 1 year only. Beimel could then move into the 8th inning role.
Good call Joe