To hear, read and watch anything related to the New York Mets is like rereading the book “The Worst Team Money Can Buy” and then realizing that the story was about the 1992 Met team that flopped tremendously.
It seems like three days are not allowed to go by with another Mets related drama. Whether it is Carlos Delgado not giving curtain calls to the fans. Jose Reyes not hustling. Carlos Beltran’s inconsistent play. Billy Wagner’s mouth. Mets fans booing of everything. Now Willie Randolph thinking that his performance is being evaluated in racial terms, and David Wright is (or is not) calling out his teammates.
It does not stop. And it certainly does not appear to end anytime soon. At 23-25, the Mets have continued the inconsistent trend that carried them through must of last year and culminated in the biggest collapse in the history of baseball in September. Johan Santana was supposed to remove the stench of 2007, but he is only one man. He cannot make up for the games that feature Mike Pelfrey, Claudio Vargas and Oliver Perez.
Santana also cannot make up for an offense that is littered with age, and inconsistency. Six of the every day eight hitters in the lineup have an OPS (on base plus slugging) of .800 or less. Or those six, three of them have an OPS of less than .700. Jose Reyes, the driver of the Mets offense, is falling off the planet offensively. If it were not for the hot start of Ryan Church, the record would be much worse. The offensive is in need of a Viagra type boost, but help will not be able to come from the outside. Bad contracts have the team stuck with what they have in left field, second and first base. Catchers that can hit are not available. Personally, they do not need any reinforcements. They have the pieces necessary, but are not playing to their abilities. Reyes needs to hit. Delgado has to prove that he is simply in a slump and not old. Beltran and Wright need to supply the power. Church needs to be steady. And Alou needs to find his way on to the field.
The problem with the Mets and their fans this season is that they will not be bad enough to be out of the race because Atlanta and Philadelphia are not good enough to run away from them. But they will not be good enough to sustain any long-term success. Hovering close to first place but not showing any signs of really being a first place team. It makes each game and each inning as if it were football, rather than the marathon that is the baseball season. It is a very uncomfortable way to watch these games.
The Great Debate: Starter or Reliever
Much discussion took place before the season as to whether the Yankees would be better off with Joba Chamberlain as a starting pitcher and being able to dominate over a course of seven innings, compared to the one inning he would pitch in the eighth inning. He has been so dominant in that role, that it would difficult to replicate that kind of success as a starting pitcher. This led to the following question:
What is more valuable? #1 starter or #1 relief ace?
What you are asking is who is more important to one’s team? The Josh Beckett type starter or Mariano Rivera coming from the bullpen to end the game. On the surface, the answer would be a starting pitcher. However, with the evolution of pitch counts taking starters out of games after the 7th inning or 100 pitches (whichever comes first), it makes getting the last six out of a game very difficult to navigate. The road is even more treacherous when you have no confidence in the people you have in the bullpen to get those outs. It can be a deflating feeling for a ballclub to get a great pitched game only to have victory snatched away in the late innings.
However, let’s be real about this. No relief pitcher can ever be as valuable as starting pitcher. Think about it, how many failed starters and mediocre relievers have been able to channel their energy into pitching one good inning and be an effective closer? Now, how many of those same pitchers have been able to become number one type starting pitchers?
The answer: None
Finding that type of pitcher is so rare and that’s why it costs so much. It is almost never available for a trade. And teams that have it exhaust all means to lock them up financially.
Answer these simple questions:
Is Jon Papelbon more valuable than Josh Beckett?
Is Billy Wagner more valuable than Johan Santana?
Is B.J Ryan more valuable than Roy Halladay?
The answer to all those questions are no. This is especially true in postseason baseball when one tremendous starting pitcher can win a game all by himself.
Remember, you cannot utilize a bullpen ace unless your starting pitching can get the ball to him. Mariano Rivera doesn’t get into the game when the team is trailing.
Instant Replay: Took long enough
Let’s see...if you have the technology, why not use it? Seems like a novel concept to me. If people in the stadium can see it on a monitor, and people at home can see it within the span of 30 seconds, wouldn’t it make sense to use this to correct obvious faults?
In the last seven days, at least four homeruns could have been called correctly had instant replay existed. Major League Baseball has always been slow to administer change, so it no surprise why it doesn’t exist now. What they are really waiting for is a team to lose a playoff or World Series game before having an epiphany on the matter.
It seems like three days are not allowed to go by with another Mets related drama. Whether it is Carlos Delgado not giving curtain calls to the fans. Jose Reyes not hustling. Carlos Beltran’s inconsistent play. Billy Wagner’s mouth. Mets fans booing of everything. Now Willie Randolph thinking that his performance is being evaluated in racial terms, and David Wright is (or is not) calling out his teammates.
It does not stop. And it certainly does not appear to end anytime soon. At 23-25, the Mets have continued the inconsistent trend that carried them through must of last year and culminated in the biggest collapse in the history of baseball in September. Johan Santana was supposed to remove the stench of 2007, but he is only one man. He cannot make up for the games that feature Mike Pelfrey, Claudio Vargas and Oliver Perez.
Santana also cannot make up for an offense that is littered with age, and inconsistency. Six of the every day eight hitters in the lineup have an OPS (on base plus slugging) of .800 or less. Or those six, three of them have an OPS of less than .700. Jose Reyes, the driver of the Mets offense, is falling off the planet offensively. If it were not for the hot start of Ryan Church, the record would be much worse. The offensive is in need of a Viagra type boost, but help will not be able to come from the outside. Bad contracts have the team stuck with what they have in left field, second and first base. Catchers that can hit are not available. Personally, they do not need any reinforcements. They have the pieces necessary, but are not playing to their abilities. Reyes needs to hit. Delgado has to prove that he is simply in a slump and not old. Beltran and Wright need to supply the power. Church needs to be steady. And Alou needs to find his way on to the field.
The problem with the Mets and their fans this season is that they will not be bad enough to be out of the race because Atlanta and Philadelphia are not good enough to run away from them. But they will not be good enough to sustain any long-term success. Hovering close to first place but not showing any signs of really being a first place team. It makes each game and each inning as if it were football, rather than the marathon that is the baseball season. It is a very uncomfortable way to watch these games.
The Great Debate: Starter or Reliever
Much discussion took place before the season as to whether the Yankees would be better off with Joba Chamberlain as a starting pitcher and being able to dominate over a course of seven innings, compared to the one inning he would pitch in the eighth inning. He has been so dominant in that role, that it would difficult to replicate that kind of success as a starting pitcher. This led to the following question:
What is more valuable? #1 starter or #1 relief ace?
What you are asking is who is more important to one’s team? The Josh Beckett type starter or Mariano Rivera coming from the bullpen to end the game. On the surface, the answer would be a starting pitcher. However, with the evolution of pitch counts taking starters out of games after the 7th inning or 100 pitches (whichever comes first), it makes getting the last six out of a game very difficult to navigate. The road is even more treacherous when you have no confidence in the people you have in the bullpen to get those outs. It can be a deflating feeling for a ballclub to get a great pitched game only to have victory snatched away in the late innings.
However, let’s be real about this. No relief pitcher can ever be as valuable as starting pitcher. Think about it, how many failed starters and mediocre relievers have been able to channel their energy into pitching one good inning and be an effective closer? Now, how many of those same pitchers have been able to become number one type starting pitchers?
The answer: None
Finding that type of pitcher is so rare and that’s why it costs so much. It is almost never available for a trade. And teams that have it exhaust all means to lock them up financially.
Answer these simple questions:
Is Jon Papelbon more valuable than Josh Beckett?
Is Billy Wagner more valuable than Johan Santana?
Is B.J Ryan more valuable than Roy Halladay?
The answer to all those questions are no. This is especially true in postseason baseball when one tremendous starting pitcher can win a game all by himself.
Remember, you cannot utilize a bullpen ace unless your starting pitching can get the ball to him. Mariano Rivera doesn’t get into the game when the team is trailing.
Instant Replay: Took long enough
Let’s see...if you have the technology, why not use it? Seems like a novel concept to me. If people in the stadium can see it on a monitor, and people at home can see it within the span of 30 seconds, wouldn’t it make sense to use this to correct obvious faults?
In the last seven days, at least four homeruns could have been called correctly had instant replay existed. Major League Baseball has always been slow to administer change, so it no surprise why it doesn’t exist now. What they are really waiting for is a team to lose a playoff or World Series game before having an epiphany on the matter.
I guess getting the call right is not as important as the "drama" of being upset over a blown call. How sad is that?
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