Can Pedro Feliciano Be The Mets Setup Man?

Considering he’s relied upon so heavily in the Mets’ bullpen, Pedro Feliciano was given a nice little break recently. Now, with about a week and a half remaining in Spring Training, he’ll be used rather steadily as he aims to prepare himself for what will probably be another 80-appearance season in relief for the Amazin’s.

But the veteran left-hander has something else in mind.

“I just want to be the setup man,” Feliciano said prior to his club’s game against the Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium, which resulted in a 2-1 loss. “I don’t want to be the lefty specialist. … I want to be the setup man. I want to be the eighth-inning guy, and I want to prove to the organization that I can pitch to righties like I pitch to lefties.”

Feliciano has been one of the key cogs in the Mets’ bullpen for a while.

Over the last four years, he’s put up a 3.04 ERA while appearing in an average of 79 games per season. In 2008 and ’09, he led the Major Leagues in games pitched with 86 and 88, respectively. And last season, he put up a 3.04 ERA with a career-best 3.28 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Read more at mets.com

Somehow, I don’t see this is as a good idea. Feliciano may feel up to the task, but didn’t we try this once before with disastrous results?

Didn’t we already learn that Feliciano is not a crossover reliever who can be effective against righthanded as well as lefthanded hitters?

In his career, Feliciano as an OBP against of .279 against LH and .364 against RH.