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We Don’t Need More Offense

There seems to be a desperate need among some fans for the Mets to upgrade their offense. Some people are overly freaked out to the point (not that it takes much for some) of screaming and yelling about the Wilpons and/or Minaya and the inevitable ‘please spend like the Yankees’ pleas.

They’re off-target. The offense we have is fine. The one area I’d like to see improved is the bench, and this isn’t something you sign Manny Ramirez for. I’d be reluctant to sign an outfielder if it limits Murphy’s playing time, and I think Castillo is going to have a more than acceptable year. Even without those two positions, which was basically where the Mets were last year, they scored the second most runs in the National League (ahead of Philadelphia). Some of it was bad situational stuff, which you have to pin on both HoJo, and Manuel’s lineup and pinch hitting selections. Hopefully both of these get better, but one of the things that definitely will help is the better bullpen. For two years now, repeated blown saves have overshadowed the offense. The Mets weren’t flat in 2007, the bullpen just gave back the lead too often. The Mets weren’t unable to get a big hit in 2008, the big hits just were just obscured by the bullpen giving the lead back, or making the game so out of reach that the big hit that was needed was a 6-run home run.

The Mets will seem to hit better in 2009 even if the lineup stays the same. The Mets will be more capable of winning that 3-2 game, and suddenly their offense will be plenty.

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Trade Deadline Looms

I worry about John Maine, but I think he’ll be okay in the end. A little shoulder stiffness is really all it is, and apparently they knew about it before hand, which means that he was able to pitch with it without hurting it further. Maybe they skip him in the rotation due to the off day, but I’m hopeful it’ll be alright in the end.

More importantly, Johan Santana stepped up after an exhausting game on Saturday where the Mets used the bullpen so roughly that Oliver Perez was warming up in the 14th inning. Santana pitched a complete game, waylaid his critics a bit, and gave the bullpen a much needed rest. They have an off day on Thursday too, so if Pelfrey can give them a lot tonight, they’ll get a nice recharge.

Another thing I’ve been thinking about as the trade deadline looms is what the Mets are to do. I am not a fan of Adam Dunn, or the “Gets on base so strike outs don’t matter” group. While I think our bullpen is excellent, I know bullpen suckiness and exhaustion were the main culprits last year. Maybe another solid arm in there is the best solution the Mets can find. There is a lot of talk of a corner outfielder, and even yesterday I thought this should’ve been the priority. I think Carlos Delgado changes that, Delgado has been playing pretty amazingly for a while now, and I don’t think it’s something he’s going to lose midseason. This Delgado is more true to form than the ones fans grew to hate in 2007 and earlier this year. If Delgado is hitting, then the offense is not as big a problem as it was, and couple that with the possibility that Church will be back soon, and the success Tatis and Endy have had filling in, we might be okay.

So my (un)professional opinion is to get a bullpen arm, and keep an eye out for a cheap outfielder too, even if it’s just someone that can get hot for a week or two, or just needs a change of scenery. Even if the bullpen arm doesn’t end up being great, it’ll distribute the work load and hopefully keep the best guys healthy and fresh for the stretch run.

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Bullpen Exhaustion, Aaron Heilman and the Mets Classics

Tonight was a bad game, mainly because you can deal with one night when the offense struggles, but two nights starts to make a bad habit of things. At least the Mets are going on the road to three great hitters ballparks. The other issue is bullpen fatigue.

I think Schoeneweis was the right move in that situation. I think he sucks, and I wish he wasn’t on the team anymore, but given that he is on the team, and you can’t not use guys on the team, it was probably the right move. The problem now becomes fatigue. Two extra inning games have started to tax the bullpen. Willie’s kept his starters in longer than I think he would have probably would have any other time, to help save the bullpen for a taxing weekend in Philadelphia. The only other option I see for that inning is Aaron Sele, and I wonder if they’re entertaining the idea of him starting one of Friday’s games, and holding him back. Aaron Sele however hasn’t exactly been an excellent reliever anyway.

I think the Mets need to make some changes. I know it’s tough to find bullpen help, and I think Omar is working on it, but it can’t happen overnight. Maybe we traded away too many relief prospects in the spring this year. I think it’s drawing to a time where you have to do something with Schoeneweis. I doubt he can be optioned down to New Orleans, and from all accounts putting him on the disabled list isn’t going to heal his tendon, if it’s even the tendon that’s making him suck. I want to see some of these relievers that are down in AAA, if we can somehow get them up here on the roster. The Zephyrs have a couple of guys that might be decent. Willie Collazo has a 2.75 ERA, Steve Schmoll has a 3.18 ERA, and even Jon Adkins’ ERA is 3.68. Now, I saw some of Adkins in spring training, but I really don’t know anything about these guys, but in my mind they can’t pitch worse than Schoeneweis, or even Aaron Sele, who I think at least has options.

I’m kind of amused that Aaron Heilman has six wins and leagues the majors in relief wins. He has as many as the rest of the Mets relievers combined. He wants to be a starter, but it’s arguable that he’d actually have less wins if he was in the rotation. It’s probably just a statistical quirk, but I find it amusing.

The Mets NLDS win over the Dodgers is going to be played on Mets Classics on SNY. I watched one of these games a couple of weeks ago, and it was fun to watch, except for one thing. Especially as a replay, the ESPN and Fox announcers really take some of the juice out of watching these games. Part of the charm is having the guys that we know and have been doing the games all year, continue into the playoffs. I wonder if it’s possible to mute these games, and splice in the audio stream from the radio broadcast. I’d much rather listen to Tom, Howie and Gary’s radio broadcast while watching these replays.