![\"\"](\"http:\/\/lh3.ggpht.com\/_WiYnnqmj-NY\/S8tBnHY7G0I\/AAAAAAAAIv0\/WhZVLl52ObU\/s640\/IMG_9692.JPG\" "\\"Pelfrey\\"")
<\/p>\nPitching wins.\u00a0 That\u2019s the common refrain around baseball, and there is a lot of truth to it.\u00a0 So while many Mets fans may have been upset that the Mets offense is struggling, even against position players in a 20 inning game, I\u2019m ecstatic that the pitching has been so good.\u00a0 It\u2019s too early to tell for sure on the starters.\u00a0 Some velocity numbers seem suspect, but static numbers do not tell you everything.\u00a0 Pitch counts, and pitch speeds, are something that many managers and baseball experts are still working on.\u00a0 20 years ago these things were barely more important than who won the airplane race.\u00a0 (On a side note, I kinda miss the airplane race.\u00a0 It was so perfect for the Mets, since Jets from LaGuardia fly over constantly.) Let\u2019s give some guys a couple of starts to build up arm strength and get the early season jitters out of the way before we judge what they\u2019re capable of for the season.<\/p>\n
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If the pitching is going to be this good, the Mets are going to rise to great heights.\u00a0 Santana is going to win games; I really don\u2019t think there is anything to worry about with him.\u00a0 He\u2019s had a little less velocity than we would like so far, but he\u2019s also fresh back from surgery, and a slow starter.\u00a0 He did get up to 92 by the end of his appearance Saturday, and I hope it\u2019s just a matter of getting his arm strength up to mid-season form.\u00a0 You could probably say the same thing about Oliver Perez, who looked masterful the night before.\u00a0 Perez mixed and matched pitches and location and speeds like a pro.\u00a0 Like Santana.\u00a0 He was _nothing_ like the Ollie we know.\u00a0 He wasn\u2019t good Ollie, or bad Ollie.\u00a0 He was just a pitcher doing his thing.\u00a0 There wasn\u2019t wildness, or getting unfocused. \u00a0He was pitching, not throwing, as the adage goes.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s not enough to say about Pelfrey.\u00a0 He\u2019s amazing.\u00a0 He leads the team in ERA, in wins, even in saves!\u00a0 He threw a masterful game in the low-oxygen Colorado game, threw a bullpen early Saturday and then still demanded the ball from Manuel in the 20th<\/sup> inning for the save on Satuday.\u00a0 If there\u2019s anybody on the team you\u2019re ready to say \u201cThrow out 2009, it\u2019s 2010 now and that\u2019s what counts\u201d with, it\u2019s Pelfrey.<\/p>\n Now, the offense hasn\u2019t been great.\u00a0 However, the offense is also underperforming.\u00a0 Bay, Pagan, Castillo, Reyes are all better players than they\u2019ve played so far, and there is little reason to think they won\u2019t get better.\u00a0 That will win games. They\u2019re 4-7 right now and once the offense clicks they could easily rattle off a winning streak.\u00a0 Once we get Murphy back, or Murphy comes back and doesn\u2019t improve and Ike shows up, the offense will get a boost as well.\u00a0 Like Murphy or not, he\u2019s not the automatic strikeout that Jacobs is.<\/p>\n A lot hinges on tonight.\u00a0 Every other pitcher has shown that they\u2019re going to put up some good games this year.\u00a0 Even Niese\u2019s quality start is perfectly acceptable out of the 5th<\/sup> guy.\u00a0 Maine is the only holdout, and after scrapping the changes that didn\u2019t work this spring, he\u2019ll revert to what\u2019s given him success in the past.\u00a0 It might be too soon to expect him to have that nailed down and for him to pitch a gem, but a competitive game over six innings or so that gives the Mets ample opportunity to win the game would be a great start.<\/p>\n The offense will work itself out, but if the pitching can do what it\u2019s started to show it can do, this 4-7 record will be a mere slow start in a great season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pitching wins.\u00a0 That\u2019s the common refrain around baseball, and there is a lot of truth to it.\u00a0 So while many Mets fans may have been upset that the Mets offense is struggling, even against position players in a 20 inning game, I\u2019m ecstatic that the pitching has been so good.\u00a0 It\u2019s too early to tell … <\/p>\n