The Mets Have A Bad Case of B.O. (Bullpen Overload)

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• Metsie May 19, 2012 at 11:42 am

  It’s a very valid point Ed…I have said repeatedly we need to get our starters to the 7th inning more often or there is no way to keep your pen fresh…

  But I will point out two things (Well the same thing twice) regarding Dickey and Santana whose Average is severly brought down by a single 2 inning start from each.

  Dickey for the most part has gotten to the 7th as his above 6 average shows but would be above 7 if not for that one lousy start he had.

  Santana would still only be above 6 but considering that he has come back from an injury I can’t say that has as much to do with Santana’s ability as it does Terry’s insistence on not overworking him and keeping him to a much more stringent pitch count than the others.

  Niese and Gee are the two troubling ones listed. Batista you could also say was hurt by his spot start in that double header where he was not really stretched out to go as long as a regular starter would and the second start where he was still in the proccess of trying to get a feel for his pitches as a starter must have to be successful, He wasn’t very good and a quicker pull was needed. We will see what he does today to see if that problem is solved, he did pitch a pretty good game last time out.

  One of the reason Terry left Niese in as long as he did last night was to avoid blowing out his Bullpen and I think that was the correct decision. We are getting to where the first dead arm phase usually starts with Starters. Lets just hope it is over with fast and doesn’t take us out of the playoff race we seem to be in right now.

  We have 20 games in 20 days if I’m not mistaken and we are going to need our starters to carry a bigger load than they have to date.
  If they don’t we could be in for a very long month and very big gap in the playoff race.
  • Des May 19, 2012 at 11:51 am

    Hi Metsie — A couple of years ago I did an analysis of the starters ‘innings per start’ average. To my surprise, no starter got past the 6th inning. As I best remember, the best hovered around 6 and one-third innings. I think it was Santana but my recollection may be wrong.
    • Metsie May 19, 2012 at 11:58 am

      It’s been a problem for the Mets for a very long time.
      Now anything above 6.2 is probably pretty good as an average because it means at least they started the 7th for the most part….

      Part of it has to do with never having more than one Ace type who usually bumps the average up, In some cases it has to do with lack of offense meaning they get pulled for pinch hitters to try and get back in games.

      I bet the entire MLB only averages about 6.0 – 6.1 but the best staffs probably average about 6.2+
      In the case of the Phillies who have had a bunch of problems with thier Pen over the years it was solved by their starters avoiding them!

      Which is why I have said it might have been better to spend on a starter to avoid the pen instead of going all out on multiple pen arms in hopes of compensating for short Starter appearances.
      • Ed Leyro May 19, 2012 at 1:30 pm

        I would hope Dickey could give the Mets more innings, especially since the knuckleball doesn’t wear out his arm. But Gee really has to give the Mets more innings. It’s not like he’s 22 and his arm has to be protected. I am a HUGE Jonathon Niese fan (my wife and I fight over who gets to wear our Niese 49 jersey to games) but I’m getting frustrated that he can’t put together more than a couple of long outings at a time. I’ll give Santana a break since he’s coming off a year off. But if he continues to prove he’s fully recovered from his surgery, then I will expect at least seven innings from him per start. That might be the only way he can start to get some wins. (Still can’t believe he’s managed only one win in eight starts.)
        • Metsie May 19, 2012 at 1:40 pm

          Here is the deal I see with Niese…
          He has all the stuff and all the makings of an ACE…He just needs to learn how to pitch with that stuff, better location, better pitch selection etc….

          This is the year you hope he starts figuring out the headgame part of being a starter. I think he will but yesterday he was throwing meatballs up there almost all fat strikes.
          You can’t do that very often.

          Gee should not have issues going long in games he is not the type that relies on overpowering anyone! But he (even more than Niese) has to rely on smarts because he doesn’t have the nasty pitches Niese has and pretty much just throws a variety of junk at you.

          This is still just his second year and after a fast start last season it would seem they have adjusted to what he is doing and he has yet to reajust to compensate.

          I hate to harp on it for fear of boring TRS but I can’t fathom why Warthen still has a job here!

          Your right about Dicke6y, it seems his issues are more weather related than anything to do with approach! It’s pretty much Knuckleball all day with different speeds and an occassional fastball for shock therapy. And when he has bad days you can as easily attribute it to the weather being bad for the Knuckleball as anything Dickey is doing himself.
        • jerseymet May 19, 2012 at 2:50 pm

          Hitters usually catch up to Dickey on the third go round. He would be a dominant 3 inning closer. Three times a week we could have confidence in the bullpen.
• tampametsfan May 19, 2012 at 2:30 pm

  I would say that Collins has been a big part of the problem. He regularly pulls his starter and puts more strain on the already pathetic looking bullpen.
• Joe D May 19, 2012 at 5:38 pm

  It’s time for Santana, Dickey, Niese, Batista and Gee to eat up innings for the Mets. If they don’t, it’ll be the opposing hitters who will continue to feast on the bullpen. And that will leave a bad taste in the mouths of all Mets fans.

  Amen, Ed, and nice post!

  But this newly revamped bullpen that was supposed to be all the rage in 2012, has been problematic since spring training. Many of the pieces suck and need to go now. Acosta should lead the exodus and FAST.

  We have some nice arms in the minors that deserve a chance. Bringing up Hefner and Carson were steps in the right direction, but Jack Egbert and Fernando Cabrera are worthy of promotion as well.
  • Stick May 19, 2012 at 6:04 pm

    they so far are trying to juggle around the 40 man, but that won’t last long. once manny runs out of rope there will be a place to add one of those other guys.
• Joey D. May 19, 2012 at 8:09 pm

  Though it would only be of slight help, we must again ask why did Sandy not try to re-sign Isringhausen? Anyone notice that for $650K, he is doing more for the Angeles than what’s his name who is costing them about 40 times more?
  • jerseymet May 20, 2012 at 10:03 am

    So true. All these second chance players…the good ones leave.