Can Mets Pelfrey Ever Make It Big In NYC?

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• Prismo March 19, 2010 at 8:49 am

  I believe he will find success in NY. Honestly, I think all this talk about his anxiety problems are likely overstated (in general, not just by you).

  He had a pretty good season in 2008, with over 200 innings pitched and he was only 24 at the time. I see no reason why he can’t do it again, or hopefully even improve on those numbers.
  • Prismo March 19, 2010 at 8:52 am

    Hopefully that’s not just the blind optimist in me…

    But I have more faith in Pelfrey than in Maine (specifically his ability to go deep in games) and Ollie (nutjob).
• oldtimer March 19, 2010 at 9:30 am

  Mental toughness? People said the same about Perez last year when he had trouble hitting 90. Look at Pelfrey’s strikeout rate. Does that indicate he has good stuff? Starters with low strikeout rates are usually below average starters.
  • DK March 19, 2010 at 10:07 am

    Pelfrey needs to improve is his K/BB ratio, not his K rate. Plenty of control pitchers haven’t had high K rates — just ask Tommy Glavine. The problem is Pelfrey puts too many on base, so he’s often pitching from a disadvantage. If he can cut down his WHIP, who cares about his Ks.

    That said, I agree with Prismo re Pelfrey’s potential to be a horse, even if not a star. And every rotation needs those kinda guys, who aren’t easy to find nor cheap to acquire nowadays.
• METS62FAN March 19, 2010 at 10:15 am

  Pelfrey, more than any of his compatriot ENIGMAS will be best served by Warthen(whom he’s got to learn to trust more than Peterson), Barajas & Blanco, even more so than the obvious Ollie. These “3 FRUSTRATIONS”, unfortunatly at young, impressionable ages experienced their best results using Peterson’s formula for success”CONTROLLED CONTACT” pitching. due to injury, Maine was the last of the 3 to be approached by Warthen & as such the last to get an approach adjustment. Peterson’s methdology of pitching solely to strings aka kness is a surefired proven method for pitchers to survive with 89-91 fastballs. Unfortunatly we didn;t have any of those in our young rotation, they all were capable of sustaining 95+ when letting it go. Peterson’s approach is single planed and the primary reason to have his students skuttle their effective curveballs, which tend to knot be knees friendly; but more effective using full vertical K-ZONE(ltrs to knees); Peterson’s insisted upon slider is knees oriented thrown right. All previous catchers taergeted by these 3 were Petersonized to the same approach. Now, curveballs are back in vogue hopefully opposing batters now need to expand their focus away from that 3″ strikezone. Elevating the preferred strikezone to full allotment increases the allowable effective pitching areae from 18″Wx 3″H to 18″WX 24″H, a significantly huge increase openning up pitching options esp when ump isn’t giving the low strike(2 me the true cause for Maine & Pelf anxiety) How many times did we read about Petereson’s not proclaiming his pitchers as ready until they hit those strings in his blindfold exercise?
  very subtly Omar has improved the rotation by giving Warthen the real impoortant tools to use “in-game” catchers who support the full strikezone approach. We’ve been excused to death as to why Schneider & Castro must depart. PC doesn’t allow for the brutal total honesty our eyes indicate are true causes. In my humble, fasn’s opinion our Enigmas were stung by Peterson’s strings simply due to it not complimenting their natural talents/strengths as Maine’s biggest asset is his sneaky high rising fastball, Pelf’s his hard sinker. the results have typically been by forcing these pitchers to become ‘stringers’ their natural strengths quickly became weaknesses as rising fastballs aimed at knees rise up to wheelhouses & get deposited as souveniers. Sinkers, tend to slide under strings creating the need to flatten the movement to keep it aimed true to the ‘cords’. That leaves the truesT enigma of them all as Oliver Pewrez, my candidate for #5 SP as his best/most productive slot. here’s my reasoning; Ollie isn’t consistant enough to match the opposing offerings of typical #3 starters as the season goes forward His opponents slot gets adjusted to one above or one below, 2s or 4s, most #2′s pitch better & more consistantly than Ollie is capable of. That leaves Ollie struggling to match numbers with the #2s & #3s he’s matched against as a $5 to begin, Ollie will most often face 4s,5s or 1s. most astuYe opposing mngrs like Cox & La Russa will push their #1 BACK FROM BESTING OLLIE TO MATCHING JOHAN the next day meaning Ollie, in those instances matches against a swing starter or longman-spot starter, an opportunity he should master, leaving him only at struggles when matched against #3s, increasing his odds at success. If Ollie is my #5, I make Takahashi, my #3, much more befitting his established pedigree as a #2 in Japan for a REGULAR CONTENDER..
  • NCMetFan March 19, 2010 at 1:39 pm

    I agree in the sense that The Jacket tried to make all his pitchers the same. Change without mastery erodes confidence and fails to play to the pitchers strengths. Not to mention that hitters are smart and figure out that all Met pitchers have the same strategy so if the pitcher fails to execute his margin for error is diminished. My college coach used to say baseball is 90% mental. 90% may be an exageration, but it’s definitely a high percentage and if you doubt your ability or waiver in your approach as a hitter or pitcher then you are giving your opponent a marked advantage.
• gregga March 19, 2010 at 10:56 am

  Pelfrey would not be the first guy not to cut the mustard in NY. Its a good question whether or not he has the mental toughness. I don’t know. The Mets have brought in Barajas and Blanco as veteran guys to help him out, but wasn’t Schnieder also a vet?
• Alan March 19, 2010 at 1:08 pm

  It seems to me that the Mets have a home grown resource that would probably love to go to Spring Training and relate his knowledge of what he termed “his profession” to Mike Pelfrey and all the young pitching talent we have on our roster. When Tom Seaver arrived in camp in 1967 he brought with him a maturity and a work ethic that was further enhanced by Gil Hodges and to this day is still revered as “the Franchise”

  If I am Fred Wilpon, I would pick up the phone and open my wallet to # 41 to come and teach these young men how and what to do to get over the hump and be able to reach their potential. Who could do it better?
  • jes March 19, 2010 at 7:42 pm

    Unfortunately, Seaver has never been interested in mentoring young pitchers, even when he was a veteran players. See Ron Darling’s book, where the only use Seaver had for Darling was to make him do his crossword puzzles.
• NCMetFan March 19, 2010 at 1:33 pm

  Big picture, Pelfrey was rushed to the Majors before he had even one adequate secondary pitch let alone the two needed to be a front end starter. He had the fastball only. Developing a splitter/change-up that he can throw for strikes and have confidence in is a hugh step forward. Whether he goes back to his curve or slider as his third pitch is an open question but hopefully the Mets coaching staff will guide him to pick one and focus on three pitches. His sinking FB is good enough that his third pitch can be an infrequently used average pitch. I believe that Mets pitchers underachieve because they are rushed to the MLs before they have developed adequate secondary pitches that they have confidence in. The confidence comes from many innings of minor league experience & success. Parnell has a similar problem in that he is a one pitch pitcher and as ML hitters figured out that they don’t have to fear a second pitch his effectiveness eroded. Heilman was the same story (couldn’t throw his fastball for a strike consistently so hitters sat on his change-up). This is why I think Parnell should go to AAA and master command of his secondary pitch (slider) & come up mid season as a new arm in the pen. It is why Mejia should go to AA and work on two secondary pitches so he can become a front end starter. It’s why Neise would benefit from a half season in AAA. It is why Holt may need two more years of development. Pelfrey developing his spilt finger change-up may be the single most positive development in the Mets starting rotation this year. Not just that he has it, but that he can throw it for a stike and that HE believes he can. Without confidence pitchers tighten up and choke the ball. Movement goes away, command goes away, era goes to crap, with Pelfrey we call it the Yipps because he wears his emotions on his sleeve. Pelfrey is going to have a good and possibly very good season in 2010. Takahashi should be the #3 because although he doesn’t have incredible stuff, he commands his pitches and much like Glavine before his fastball dipped to the mid to low 80′s, he will not let a game get away from him. Neise can come up once Perez or Maine are injured or become ineffective. I fully expect one of them will do so and Neise will be ready. Parnell will be the mid season call-up when Green hits his wall. I think the Mets pitching will surprise people this year.
  • kevin March 19, 2010 at 2:12 pm

    I agree with much of what you said. I think Pelfrey first got the opportunity because we were beset with injuries at the time, but then the Mets made the worng decision to keep him up and baptize him by fire which did nothing but completely demolish any chance they had at developing a front line starter who was drafted ninth overall. They did it with Parnell too and now it’s Mejia’s turn.
    • NCMetFan March 19, 2010 at 2:17 pm

      I hope you are wrong about Mejia, but if history is any indicator……
• Shamik March 19, 2010 at 10:54 pm

  I know whats wrong with Pelfrey – he plays on the Mets! What other pitcher plays under this much pressure from a fanbase so desperate for some sort of success? The team around him knows nothing but letting eachother and the fans down in creative ways. I mean, remember in 08 when he finally put things together. He had a fantastic game in Shea and left in the 9th to a standing O. Shea was absolutely rocking and he even got a curtain call! Of course, Wagner steps into the game and promptly blows it for him. That epitomizes everything right there. He knows that the slightest slipups could result in runs, and he knows that the team just isnt good enough to bail him out. It may be, but it sure hasnt been his experience over the last two years. So he pushes, he overthinks every pitch and every movement until he’s falling off the mound, balking, developing tics (the licking) etc. Its sad really, how the team has literally given him a disorder.