4
2012
Collins Has A Lot To Think About
An article by 
Terry Collins spent much of the day deliberating his options regarding Chris Schwinden and the Mets’ rotation. After two rocky starts in place of Mike Pelfrey, Schwinden has proved not to be the answer.
After yesterday’s blowout, Collins wouldn’t say if Schwinden would come out of the rotation. He didn’t say he’d remain, either.
The Mets’ tissue paper thin depth was always going to be an Achilles Heel this year and it has come to pass. There are pitchers doing better than others on the minor league level, but nobody screaming for a promotion.
One option might be to keep Schwinden in the rotation in the hope he works out of this or if Chris Young is ready.
Whether it be on the minor league level or unsigned scrap heap free-agent, the odds against the Mets landing a workhorse in the rotation seems slim. I would have liked the Mets to sign a pitcher in the off-season, but that’s 20/20 hindsight.
There wasn’t a lot of things to like about the Houston series, although listening to the “Eyes of Texas,” during the seventh-inning stretch was good to hear, including David Wright’s comment the Colorado series drained the Mets.
That can’t happen, which Wright acknowledged and is a good sign. No excuses, said Wright, the Mets just played flat.
“You know, we knew we were going to have some ups and downs, especially with a lot of the young guys that we have on this roster playing right now,” Wright told reporters. “But this is what we need to fix if we want to become the team that we think we are capable of becoming. There are way too many inconsistencies right now. It seems like we play great for a series and then poorly for a series. And we’re going to have to straighten that out.”
One of the flaws of recent Mets teams has been their inconsistency. Win three, lose four. Managers constantly say they want their teams to just win series, one at a time. Win two or three, win three of four.
That is what the Mets did in 2006 and for five months in 2007.
Of course, consistency is easier to attain with better pitching which leads us to the hole in the rotation. The key game in the Houston series was the Jon Niese game. R.A. Dickey pitched well the previous night and Schwinden was awful. The game they needed to salvage the series was Niese’s start and he was anything but solid.
Growing pains? That all depends on how the Mets respond. Coming up are Arizona and Philadelphia, both good tests.
About the Author: John Delcos
I am an active member of the BBWAA and have covered Major League Baseball in several capacities for over 20 years, including ten in New York working the Mets' and Yankees' beat. I covered the Baltimore Orioles for eight years and the Cleveland Indians before that. I currently serve as an editor and senior staff writer for Mets Merized Online. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 24 | 18 | .571 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 20 | .535 | 1.5 |
| Phillies | 20 | 23 | .465 | 4.5 |
| Mets | 16 | 24 | .400 | 7.0 |
| Marlins | 11 | 32 | .256 | 13.5 |
Last updated: 05/18/2013
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Young teams will have ups and downs, the end.
As for a replacement starter, there are some guys in the minors you can throw and see what happens. Hefner, Owen… I am sure there are also a few scrap heap guys they are looking at to fill the void until Young is ready.
Hefner should have been the choice right after Pelfrey went down. Anyone who has even seen Schwin pitch knows he’s not a MLB pitcher. He just does not have the goods. I haven’t seem Hefner pitch in major league action as of yet. All I knew was that he pitched really well this spring and so far in AAA. I actually thought he pitched well enough this spring to unseat Pelfrey for his spot.
Any trade speculation right now is ridiculous , especially any consideration of moviing Dan Murphy ,who should be considered an intricate part of this teams future.
Chris Young is maybe 6 rotations away from consideration Hefner and Batista should be able to give us those starts with DJ Carasco taking Batista spot in the pen. God forbid anyone else goes down I would assume Dylan Owen , who has actually pitched quite well, get a shot
For now,no way should we expect any trades. We have already gone from a team with no expectations to a team of underdogs and as fans we are starting to expect more. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and remember that this isn’t team 1985 waiting for 1986. We are more like the 1984 team with last year hopefully being our ’83
There is a pecking order to how this is done. If they had brought up Hefner and he looked just as bad as Schwinden, the truth is everyone would be saying they should have brought up Schwinden who had a 2.04 ERA/1.02 WHIP at the time.
Hefner is the next guy on that pecking order and that’s no guarantee that he’s a hit aklthough we all hope he is.
I agree Joe, however I feel Hefner should have been considered higher in the pecking order than Schwin . His stuff is below avg and he’s just not a major leaguer . Hefner may not be that much better but Schwin showed last season that he wasn’t a serious prospect and this spring that he hadnt improved enough. Sure ,many would argue the same if Hefner had been called up first but its also possible that Hef pitches well enough to hold the fort down until Young is ready. Overall I just feel that the Mets knew what they would get from Schwin which is what we got
Looking at the 40 man there is not a lot of dead weight for guys to be moved up. Obviously they can place Pelfrey on the 60 day DL and free up a spot. I would also assume that guys like Acosta or Batista will be released instead of sent down and that will clear a spot. They may choose to stay with the Mets but it would still clear a spot.
I also ask about Cesar Puello and Juan Lagares. Both are on the 40 man but don’t appear close. What are the long term outlooks for these two?
Why haven’t they done that already with Pelf?
No need yet. I expect they are trying to find someone to bring INTO the organization first instead of promoting one of their own to that spot.
for pelf, haven’t needed the spot yet, but I’m sure that happens first when they need to add someone.
lagares and puella? Both seem to be in the plans. Probably being given every chance to show they should be kept and given a shot at winning a job in the majors in the next couple of years.
but, there is actually a logjam, with them, Vaughn, Dendekker. and a few others. All at around the same level/potential time frame for arrival.
so, combing that with 40 man limitations, and you have to expect a lot more player movement this season, and some of these guys are going to have to be traded to fill other needs. Just hopefully, they pick the right ones to keep and trade!
The Braves are looking to move Jair Jurgens. They sent hom back to Triple AAA to work out his problems and tried to move him in the off season. This was an all star pitcher last year before his injury and the Braves are so deep in starting pitching that I think they would like to move him while at Triple AAA. If cheap enough he could be worth a try. Just sayin’.
for a reasonable cost, then heck yeah, worth taking a shot on. Unless he is damaged goods (and the Braves know it) I don’t really see him traded, and certainly not cheaply.
I think he IS damaged good but would still garner a decent prospect and most likely would not be traded to the Mets.
No way would the Braves trade him within the division where he could come back and bite them in the a$$!
And if they did the cost would be enormous as far as losing a top pitching prospect in return.