Mets Merized Online - Get Metsmerized - New York Mets

Let me first say that I am very impressed with how well the starting pitching has been so far this season. Aside from Mike Pelfrey, our rotation has met or exceeded my expectations. John Maine and El Duque have been phenomenal, while Tom Glavine and Oliver Perez have been solid. If I had to rank them, it would be in that order. My one problem with the rotation is with the number five spot that is currently occupied by Pelfrey.

I'm glad we gave Pelfrey a shot to contribute after some moderate success in Spring Training, but I think it's now time to do what is best for the team and for Mike Pelfrey and send him down to Triple A New Orleans or even Double A Binghamton.

It is obvious that he is not suited to be a major league pitcher just yet. When the worst hitting team comes into a pitchers park like Shea Stadium, and hits you like a piñata surrounded by a hundred candy-crazed kids, then it's time to do the right thing.

"I just kept throwing fastballs and they kept hitting it," Pelfrey said. "It's a bad combination when I'm not locating my fastball and I was too stubborn to throw anything else."

What really agitates me most about Pelfrey is that he refused to stop throwing fastballs to the Rockies despite the fact they were hitting him like crazy. It's OK to be that stubborn when you have already etched a name for yourself in the majors, but he has earned no such right. He persisted in shaking off his catcher again and again in each of his starts. He is in serious need of an attitude adjustment in addition to a full season in the minors so that he can learn how to pitch at this level.

Aside from throwing fast balls with no movement at all on them, Pelfrey has yet to show that he can throw anything else with any confidence. He was never a prospect with over-powering stuff to begin with, so why he went from the college level to the Mets with less than a couple of months of minor league experience is beyond me. Maybe it was just wishful thinking. Who knows. The scary thing about this whole situation is that if those fastballs (aka: meatballs) are supposed to be his best pitch, then why are the Mets brass raving about his stuff all the time?

The point is that the Mets are not in a position to give Pelfrey, and while we are on this subject, Ambiorix Burgos, "on the job" training.  We are here to win a title in what's probably the toughest division in all of baseball, the NL East. Unlike last year, where the Mets ran away with the division, this year will be much different and the difference between first place and second place might only be one game.

With that in mind, I urge Omar and Willie to stop dabbling in the uncertainty that surrounds Mike Pelfrey, and give someone else who is more deserving the same shot that Pelfrey got.

At Triple A New Orleans, Jorge Sosa is 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 26 innings. Jason Vargas and Philip Humber are also having a solid starts in New Orleans, both sporting 2-1 records with ERA's around 3.00. Haven't they earned the right to get a shot at this level also?

How many more wasted opportunities do we need before we make a change?

Like I said in my opening paragraph, the Mets' starting pitching has been great, but does that mean we shouldn't try to make it even better?

I'd really love to read your thoughts on this matter.