Can Mike Pelfrey Bounce Back in 2012?

I was reading this great article by CBS Sports’ Rich Countinho asking if Mike Pelfrey can bounce back for the Mets this season.

Countinho stated that in order for Pelfrey to bounce back for the Mets this year, he needs to go back to his “old” roots.

I agree with Rich because the old way of pitching for Mike Pelfrey was what gave him the confidence to go out and be the pitcher he was in 2010 when he won 15 games and posted a 3.66 ERA.

I also think that for Pelfrey to have success this season, he needs to throw pitches all around the strike zone and not just in the middle of it.  Thats what got him in trouble. It may not be a bad idea for him to minimize nervous glitches like the glove-biting and the hand licking which hitters pick up like sharks sensing blood in the water.

He also needs to work on his cutter which as Rich said, is a big thing for him.

Pelfrey didn’t have a veteran presence in Johan Santana, and the fact that he had all the pressures of being the Mets ace was just too much for him to handle and his performance suffered because of it.

Hopefully with Johan coming back and the emergence of Dickey, Pelfrey can get that monkey off his back and just focus on his pitching. If he can overcome the problems he had in 2011, it could make the Mets rotation a lot more competitive than what many fans are expecting.