Harvey on the hill tonight. Go Harvey.

My feeling about Rauch is that his settling down came way too late and ff he was pitching like this all season long and we just took those seven losses and reversed five of them into wins (forgeting the other games that he contributed to losing by not holding the lead or giving up more runs just enough to short-circuit our comeback) our record – despite all that has happened since the all-star break – would be 65-64 instead of 60-69

Even though that would still mean at this point having no shot at the wild card, being 10-1/2 out with seven clubs ahead of us vying for two slots, 2012 could still have been a most satisfying season with the team expected to do nothing trying to finish above .500 (i.e. “competitive”) and in third place (which is more satisying than finishing third by default with maybe 76 wins since the Phillies and Marlins are playing even worse).

That’s why though Rauch should not be singled out as one of those who contributed to making this a losing season, he should also not be seen as a good acquisition either based on a second half that means nothing. He deserves credit for getting his act together and if he was a young pitcher his second half performance would definately be seen as a positive sign going ahead to 2013 but as one who will be 34 in another month his place on the roster was not worth the money.

Looking to send someone to the minors to improve means you have faith in them and want them improve it is not bashing them. HUGE difference. Many HOF players struggled and went back to the minors, temporarily, it is not a negative thing.

Keeping him here, worked, this time, as Mets fans we are lucky, as is Davis. He was awful the first half, so was Rauch, but lucky for us BOTH have improved a lot.

Great work by Parnell, he showed what he was projected to be against a tough lineup.

Great to see opposite field hits by Ike and Duda, as stated here, when Duda was hitting the team was playing great.

I’d find a way to keep Shoppach at season’s end.
I’d also part ways with Young.

since June 12th, Rauch has pitched 22.1 innings, giving up 9 hits and walking 6 (so a whip of about .666). A 1.19 ERA, and a .374 OPS against. 2 saves, and 9 holds.

so yes, in roughly the last 1/2 of a season, he has been very, very good.

and yes, he had a bad patch early in the year (which did coincide with having to get shut down with his knee problem).

but looking at the season as a whole, overall he has been more good than bad, and certainly worth the money paid. He has also been more than doing his job while the rest of the team fell apart.

I NEVER said you root for this team to fail! I do believe that you often find the negative in most situations regarding the Mets. I do believe you are a true fan of the Mets either that or you’re a masochist (aren’t all Met fans, myself included) with too much time on your hands. Judging by your comments, if a player goes through a slump or a momentary time of suckiness he could never recover. Yes Rauch helped us loose 7 games (Hardly ever is ONE player EVER solely responsible for a loss.) But he appears to haved turned the corner and I for one am rooting for him. We are a billion games back, I don’t need to reminded of how bad Rauch was for an extended period, I watched the games just like you did. I’m not against criticism, in fact I welcome it just be fair about it.

BTW, I love your play on my handle. Sloath as in maybe loath, or loathe, or Sloth. I get it. Good one!

Personally, I think considering what middle relievers get paid, and the fact that he has exceeded expectations based on his overall stats that it was a good signing. It has nothing to do with Anti or Pro Sandy. Ramirez for some reason didn’t work. Frank was a bad signing. Look at things individually. Rauch for most of the season has been very reliable.

As for your point on Ike, not sure you can get on anyone about panicking a little when he was hitting below .200. Hell I had him ready to take the reigns as the NL East best 1B this year. I wasn’t ready to panic but I was close for sure and I am still not over the fact of how his holes in his swing have been so exposed. Hopefully the sophomore slump is over and we can move on with what he is now. Otherwise the Mets are in even more of a heap of trouble. If Duda and Davis aren’t going to provide the HR pop we need, it’s uh oh time.