According to Mike Puma of the NY Post, Jason Isringhausen is “leaving the door open for returning next season”, even if he doesn’t fit into the Mets’ plans.
Izzy said he will wait until after the season to make his decision as he considers “the pros and cons” of pitching again in 2012.
“If I feel healthy, I’ll have my agent talk to some people and see what kind of interest is out there,” Isringhausen said. I’m not coming back for 500 grand again — I know that. But in the same sense I knew coming in, this year wasn’t really about the money. It was about proving to people I was healthy. We’ll just see how it goes. My wife and I will have a lot of conversations and we’ll see what happens.”
Isringhausen, who only two days ago notched his 300th career save, will probably not see too many save opportunities down the stretch as manager Terry Collins tries to see if Bobby Parnell and Pedro Beato have what it takes to close for this team in the future. So far neither of the two have exactly grabbed the bull by the horns in that regard.
I’m thinking if Isringhausen wants to come back next season, why not? At this point he’s the best end game reliever the Mets have on their roster.
Thoughts on this?
Original Post 8/16
The New York Mets snapped a five-game losing streak, and closer Jason Isringhausen nailed down the final three outs for his 300th save in a 5-4 win over the San Diego Padres on Monday night. He became the 23rd closer to achieve the feat.
His teammates celebrated the occasion by popping champagne in the clubhouse after the game and toasting Izzy who has been one of the nicer stories for the Mets this season, and one of the bullpen’s most effective relievers. Isringhausen also received several text from friends and family and even one from his predecessor Francisco Rodriguez who congratulated Izzy on his achievement.
Isringhausen low-keyed the moment and simply said after the game, “It’s the reason I came back was to get 300 — and I got it. So now it’s time to move on for myself and keep playing baseball and hopefully get some more saves before the end of the year.”
Izzy joins John Franco and Billy Wagner as the only other closer to get their 300th save as a member of the New York Mets.
Surprisingly, Isringhausen’s 300th save came on 10th anniversary of Trevor Hoffman’s 300th save which he collected against the Mets on Aug. 15, 2001.
Manager Terry Collins said that now that Izzy has gotten to 300 saves, he’s going to spread around the save opportunities for the rest of this season and manage the closer role with an eye toward 2012. However, he was very excited for Izzy, “It puts him in the elite group of closers that have ever pitched in this game, and he certainly deserves it,” Collins said.
Congratulations to Izzy!
