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Old 01-25-2010, 07:39 PM
 
Location: Omaha, NE
852 posts, read 1,352,511 times
Reputation: 351

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I'm a little confused about the Mets starters. A year ago the "experts" predicted the Mets would give the Phils a run for their money in the division. Now, all of a sudden, they have a lack of starting pitchers. Maybe because it's a result of the collapses but this team hasn't changed that much. That doesn't mean that they couldn't use another quality arm in the rotation but they aren't terrible. In fact, they're far from it. Santana is the ace that few teams have and the others covet. When healthy, John Maine is a solid starter. I realize that health is a big question mark but the guy is a major league pitcher. Mike Pelfrey is erratic but has age on his side and some skills. A year ago he had a solid 3.72 ERA. Oliver Perez is decent four or five. He has the skillset to be a top of the rotation guy but is way too inconsistent to be anything other than a bottom of the rotation starter. To me, Perez needs to re-discover 2007 or even 2008 and Maine needs to stay healthy for the Mets to compete. Sure, they really could use a fifth arm in that rotation. A number two would fit in nicely but the closes things out there are Ben Sheets and possibly Chien Ming Wang. Both are iffy but Wang would probably command less salary wise. I think he's worth a shot and if he re-discovers his years as the Yankees ace, they're in pretty good shape. Maybe they can't steal it away from the Phillies but they can compete for the Wild Card with a few breaks and the return of Wright's swing and Reyes' legs.

What are your thoughts?
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Old 01-25-2010, 07:58 PM
 
Location: Brooklyn
40,049 posts, read 34,477,670 times
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As a lifelong Mets fan...both Perez and Maine have to go. A starting pitcher who can't get beyond the fifth inning will do nothing more than destroy the bullpen over the course of a year. In the Mets' case, any and all problems are complicated by a belief in the front office that the team is basically a playoff contender, requiring only the return of the players who were injured last year.

That act doesn't play any more (except, apparently, within the walls of the Met offices), which is why I am more dispirited going into the 2010 season than I can ever recall.
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Old 01-26-2010, 07:55 AM
 
2,500 posts, read 2,916,293 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yman97 View Post
When healthy, John Maine is a solid starter.
He's not healthy. He's also not that good. He has no out pitch, so once the league adjusted to him, hitters could stand in the box and foul pitches off him all day until they got the pitch they were looking for, or they could draw a walk. And once Maine walks a couple of batters his mind turns to mush, because he also completely lacks focus. By the time he gets through four or five innings he's already thrown around 100 pitches. His only accomplishment in the majors is his 15-win season, and wins are simply not a good way to judge a pitcher's value. John Maine is at best a "AAAA" pitcher in a major league uniform.

Quote:
Oliver Perez is decent four or five. He has the skillset to be a top of the rotation guy but is way too inconsistent to be anything other than a bottom of the rotation starter.
Perez has all of the physical tools in the world. Unfortunately, he's also a major head-case and is not willing to learn until he thinks he has to because he's already in the doghouse. Johan Santana and Pedro Martinez both tried to get through to him, and both said he wasn't all that interested. What pitcher wouldn't jump at the chance to talk shop with those guys? One of them said, on the record, that they couldn't get him to put his Gameboy down.

Quote:
Maybe they can't steal it away from the Phillies but they can compete for the Wild Card with a few breaks and the return of Wright's swing and Reyes' legs.

What are your thoughts?
Until MLB introduces a Wild Card for third place teams, this team isn't competing for anything. When the organization talks about everything they expect to happen for them to be able to win something, they list pretty much everything other than a return of Tom Seaver in his prime. They needed to shake things up, not sign one big free agent. Until they do that, they're going to be on the outside looking in, and they'll be looking at a lot of empty seats too.
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Old 01-26-2010, 08:01 AM
 
Location: NE PA
7,931 posts, read 15,750,994 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yman97 View Post
Oliver Perez is decent four or five.
???? Are you serious? The same Ollie Perez who couldn't put the ball over the plate last year? The Mets COULD have a good staff, but that would mean starters 2 through 5 would have to pitch to their highest potential at the same time. That rotation is very shaky beyond Santana.
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Old 01-26-2010, 08:20 AM
 
Location: Omaha, NE
852 posts, read 1,352,511 times
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Maybe not decent but certainly no worse than what some teams are throwing out there as their five. Not to say a more consistent pitcher wouldn't be better but at least he has the potential to dominant. Obviously, you can't say that based on last year's performance but the two prior to that were solid. At this point, he isn't going anywhere so you may as well throw him out there when you need a five and keep your fingers crossed.

I disagree on Maine. The guy has a career ERA of 4.22 which is better than Ted Lilly, Jeremy Bonderman, Joel Pineiro, Brett Myers, and a bunch of others. Take out last year and the previous years were under that with two of them under 4. I'm not saying that's great but he's not bad. He's a solid number four.
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Old 01-26-2010, 09:08 AM
 
2,500 posts, read 2,916,293 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yman97 View Post
I disagree on Maine. The guy has a career ERA of 4.22 which is better than Ted Lilly, Jeremy Bonderman, Joel Pineiro, Brett Myers, and a bunch of others. Take out last year and the previous years were under that with two of them under 4. I'm not saying that's great but he's not bad. He's a solid number four.
You can't take out last year. That's the problem. The guy is breaking down. He's never healthy. If you take out the last year of anyone whose body is breaking down you can make them seem better than they really are. Even in his best year, 2007; 15-10 with a 3.91 ERA in 191 innings pitched, there was still the issue of him lacking focus. Prior to that he never pitched more than 90 innings in a season, and since then he has been hurt. The Mets were actually considering non-tendering him this winter, but they didn't have anyone to take his place. If they do land a #2, Maine's going to compete with Jon Niese for a spot in the rotation, and the team is higher on Niese right now for whatever that's worth.
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Old 01-26-2010, 10:21 AM
 
Location: Back in the gym...Yo Adrian!
10,163 posts, read 20,705,357 times
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Pelfrey, Maine, and Perez are done! I don't care about past performance or potential. They need to go. Mets need to pump some young talent into the bullpen if they ever wish to see the post season again.
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Old 01-26-2010, 11:08 AM
 
3,219 posts, read 6,560,378 times
Reputation: 1852
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coolhand68 View Post
Pelfrey, Maine, and Perez are done! I don't care about past performance or potential. They need to go. Mets need to pump some young talent into the bullpen if they ever wish to see the post season again.
Don't worry they'll sign more "has beens" to replace Pelfrey, Maine, and Perez.
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Old 01-26-2010, 01:38 PM
 
Location: Brooklyn
40,049 posts, read 34,477,670 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by njguy View Post
Don't worry they'll sign more "has beens" to replace Pelfrey, Maine, and Perez.
So long as they're healthy has-beens!

Besides, let's face it: a has-been is one up on a never-was.
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Old 01-26-2010, 03:45 PM
 
2,500 posts, read 2,916,293 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fred314X View Post
So long as they're healthy has-beens!

Besides, let's face it: a has-been is one up on a never-was.
I can see it now... The Mets next slogan. We know how much they always liked to use a good slogan, but sadly they stopped doing that after 2007. It doesn't really fit for 2010, but if they shake the team up and bring in some of those kind of players for the following year... Get the banner ready!

YOUR 2011 NEW YORK METS
Let's Face It: A Has-Been Is One Up On A Never-Was

Right now this year's slogan, if they had one, would be...

YOUR 2010 NEW YORK METS
Pray For A 14-40 Start So We Can Start Firing Some People And Maybe We Can Get This Thing Turned Around

Anything to move on from last year's slogan, if they would have had one...

YOUR 2009 NEW YORK METS
Bring Your Glove. You Might Catch A Foul Ball. Hell, You Might Get To Play Tonight
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