|
|
|
May 25, 2005
Mets Bullpen Report, May 18-24
Wednesday 5/18 through Tuesday 5/24 –
OVERALL
IP R ER IR IRA IRS% ERA
Manny Aybar 3.0 3 3 0 0 0.0 9.00
Heath Bell 3.1 1 1 4 0 0.0 2.90
Mike DeJean 4.0 2 1 2 0 0.0 2.25
R. Hernandez 3.0 3 3 2 2 100.0 9.00
Mr. Koo 2.0 2 0 2 0 0.0 0.00
Braden Looper 1.0 2 2 0 0 0.0 18.00
Aaron Heilman 0.2 0 0 4 0 0.0 0.00
Mets Bullpen 17.0 13 10 14 2 14.3 5.29
Eek, not so good this week. Roberto Hernandez appeared in four games this week but only through a total of three innings. Mike DeJean threw more innings (4.0) than anyone in the bullpen, and, on the surface, appeared to perform pretty well. Once again the strong point of the relief corps has been their ability to prevent inherited runners from scoring, allowing only two of fourteen to score this week. This only tells us what they’ve done and is in no real way predictive of what they might do in future appearances, but nevertheless it’s nice to see. The most troubling thing to me is the utter misuse of Aaron Heilman. He should be their #2 starter right now, and instead he has been relegated to bullpen duty while walk-machines Victor Zambrano and Kaz Ishii continue to get regular starts. As if that weren’t enough, Heilman isn’t even getting any action out of the pen. Our eyes would have told us this, too, but the Mets bullpen gave up three unearned runs this past week, a result of a number of defensive miscues. VS LIKE-HANDED BATTERS
TBF H K BB XBH AVG OBP SLG
Manny Aybar 5 0 3 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Heath Bell 8 1 4 2 0 .167 .375 .167
Mike DeJean 11 2 2 2 0 .222 .364 .222
R. Hernandez 5 2 0 0 0 .400 .400 .400
Mr. Koo 3 0 2 2 0 .000 .667 .000
Braden Looper 1 1 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 1.000
Aaron Heilman 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Mets Bullpen 33 6 11 6 0 .222 .364 .222
One of the most important parts of good bullpen management is knowing when to use your mediocre relievers. With dedicated closers rarely pitching before the ninth inning, middle relief is really more about getting the right matchups than anything else. The Mets’ bullpen is a good example of this, sporting a collection of so-so arms, their best chance for success is to make sure the right pitcher is out there in the right situation. This week, Mets relievers did a very good job of keeping like-handed batters (lefty-vs-lefty, righty-vs-righty) in check. That is, if you’re only counting base hits. Unfortunately, much to the chagrin of Dusty Baker, walks play a vital role in offensive production, and the Mets did a crummy job of limiting the bases-on-balls over the past six games. Mr. Koo was the LVP this week, walking two of the three lefties he faced. Like-handed batters only hit .222 against the Mets’ bullpen while picking up nary an extra-base hit. Walks killed the Mets, though, as those same batters put up a robust .364 on-base percentage. It should be noted that the Mets struck out exactly one-third of the like-handed batters they faced, an outstanding ratio. VS OPPOSITE-HANDED BATTERS
TBF H K BB XBH AVG OBP SLG
Manny Aybar 8 3 1 1 2 .429 .500 .714
Heath Bell 5 1 2 0 0 .200 .200 .200
Mike DeJean 11 2 0 3 0 .250 .455 .250
R. Hernandez 10 3 2 1 1 .375 .400 .375
Mr. Koo 4 0 2 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Braden Looper 5 1 1 1 0 .250 .400 .250
Aaron Heilman 2 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Mets Bullpen 45 10 8 7 3 .222 .356 .316
Even against opposite-handed batters (righty-vs-lefty, lefty-vs-righty) the Mets excelled at limiting the damage caused by base hits, to the tune of a .222 batting average against and a .316 slugging percentage against. That’s would be the equivalent of facing a lineup full of Brad Ausmuses. Once again, walks were their undoing here, and were a big reason why they allowed 35.6% (.356 OBP) of these batters to reach base. Mike DeJean is the biggest offender here, walking three of the 11 batters he faced while striking out none of them. The old adage is that it is unacceptable for a reliever to come into the game and start walking batters. The fact is, though, that it is just as bad for a starting pitcher as it is for a relief pitcher. The biggest problem facing the Mets’ staff this season has been their inability to limit the walks, and this runs up the ladder from starting pitchers to middle relief to the closer. It has become an epidemic and it will continue to be an epidemic until management decides to do something about it. 14 Responses to “Mets Bullpen Report, May 18-24”Leave a ReplyYou must be logged in to post a comment. D-E-A-D »» |
|
I can not agree more about Heilman…he absolutely should be the #2 or 3 starter…Ishii cost us the game on monday by walking the pitcher and then giving up the 3 run triple to furcal(with 2 outs!)…Zambrano is a disaster and has been since he has been a Met…This team is in serious danger of spiraling downward and out of contention…Randolph has done a decent job but he needs to make some tough decisions very soon!
So it’s damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Either we have starters who walk everyone or relievers who do it. Zambrano has to go to AAA.
I’m wondering how our record compares to last year. We sign Pedro and Carlos and we are about the same…
Other thoughts, is Buy Low, Sell High. Zambrano and Ishii will put together a couple of good starts (I am an optimist) and then we need to trade one. Why trade them now and watch them rebound and get nothing in return.
Should Diaz be our 2B of the future???
I heard we are converting Aarom Baldiris to 2nd. Why don’t we just trade our 3rd base prospect for a true 2nd baseman?
The last thing I would say about Randolph is that he has done a decent job — in my opinion he has been borderline terrible.
Can anyone in their right mind explain to me why Wright (batting over .500 the past 10 games) was hitting f@$%ing 7th last night?!?!? Last I checked your best all around hitter should be batting 3rd!
Can someone explain to me why (minus Beltran and Matsui) the line-up doesn’t look something like - Reyes, Cameron, Wright, Floyd, Piazza? Is Willie so fixated on the “pay your dues” mentality that he puts his best hitter at the bottom third of the line-up? A good manager knows how to play the hot hand - Willie has no clue. I have been growing more and more disappointed by the day.
On top of his inability to correctly order a line-up, his handling of the bullpen has been horrific! When Ishii melts down, it is hard, fast and thorough - can anyone tell me why Heilman wasn’t in the game by the third inning? Maybe then the Braves are stopped at 4 runs and we win the game? Last I checked he is a looong reliever - meaning he can come in early and stay the game.
As far as I am concerned, Willie is on thin ice - his game management better improve or we are in for a long season….
Don’t even get me started on the pathetic management decision that has Ishii and Zambrano starting over Heilman and Seo - this team, with minor changes from within - could win this division, as a fan, it is pathetic to me that the team management is going to keep that from happening. But after cheering for the Mets for 20 years, you would think I would know better!
Marty - Baldiris is supposed to be an awesome defensive player and a great athlete. I hear he was a better 3B than Wright, but he has no pop in his bat which makes him better suited for the middle infield. But the most intriguing thing about him is he is a potential .320 hitter - not something that grows on trees.
As far as Diaz at 2b - he was supposedly worse than Kaz there - plus he is shaping into a better than average outfielder and 2B would be a waste of his arm.
Sweetlew man, I’m with you. My opinion of Randolph is quickly spiraling downward. The Mets need to do do what’s wright and get the best players in the rotation and Wright up the lineup. Shit, what the hell is going through his mind?
here’s some interesting notes on the bullpen, why they didn’t sign Strickland and which ways they would improve the bullpen and news that thank god they are not going for Graves link
I was excited to see that he finally had Minkdoza in the 8 hole, then i looked up to see that Anderson was hitting behind Piazza. Willy!! BTW watching Piazza come apart like this is very painful. I have a very bad memory and I was not a huge Carter fan, but I remember him coming up to bat(at the end) and you still had the expectation of him doing something great and were just let down. He would just miss. That is what Piazza looks like.
Actually he really looks defeated b4 he makes an out. I kinda knew something was up in the spring when he was talking reminicently(sp?) about his career, which struck me as a little disturbing considering he is making 15 mil this year and is still the starting catcher. He has lost the competitive fire and the fact he is a split second slower is not helping.
Mike Cameron has no biz in the top 3. Play the hot hand, ok, but the guy is a .240 hitter who k’s 100+.
Sweetlew hit the nail right on the head. If management feels that Zambrano and Ishii have more potential why can’t wait for that potential to appear in the minors. Why does the team (and the fans) have to be subjected to awful outing after awful outing in the majors. It is not like either one of them has an incredible résumé where they deserve this chance. Heilman and Seo are pitching well and thus should be in the rotation, period! Willie should just go with the hot hand. Throw either Zambrano or Ishii down to AAA Norfolk and the other in bullpen until they get their acts together.
The scariest thing so far this season is that they have the same record now as they did last year after 46 games. Also, if you look at the last 5 years they have always been around .500 at this time and that includes the years they came in last.
Willie needs to shake up the lineup a bit too. I almost hit the roof when I saw that Marlon Anderson was batting 6th and David Wright 7th (he should be hitting anywhere from 1st-3rd). I mean, enough already. That makes absolutely no sense, Willie is just being stubborn now. It may also be time for Atz to move down to the 6 spot. He looked awful last night (3 K’s and a DP). Oooooh fah! Although he does look a little lost I still think he will turn it around and post respectable numbers.
Finally, with Beltran being hurt it has proved that sending Diaz down was a mistake. If they were worried he would not play enough there are ways to get AB’s, he should be in the majors. Not that it would make that much of a difference but I would rather Diaz than Anderson or Woodward in the OF.
A lineup idea for Willie:
1.) Wright 3B (a la Derek Jeter)
2.) Reyes SS (his poor OBP wouldn’t hurt as much)
3.) Beltran CF
4.) Floyd LF
5.) Cameron RF
6.) Piazza C
7.) Minky 1B (he will come around and bat .260)
8.) Platoon of Matsui and Cairo 2B
Headline on Mets official website today:
“Mets turn to Zambrano to salvage series.”
Yikes.
Hey, tonight against the Braves, lets give Piazza the night off and have Jason Phillips catch Scott Kazmir. Oh.wait.nevermind.
Feeling a little bitter today, sorry.
I’m not against that lineup, I mean something needs to done to shake things up. I do agree with the thought of dropping Reyes, but I think it should be further. Reyes profiles better @ #2 and may hit better with a guy on base and will have Beltran (when he returns) behind him. I can only think that helps and if Wright is on base 40% of the time, Reyes will get plenty of looks with a guy on base and hole in the left side of the infield with Wright being held on when he singles/walks. There is some merrit to that.
Why would you be bitter, Matt? The Mets have only lost four consecutive series to teams not named “Cincinnati” and posted a 2-8 record in their last 10 non-Reds games, what’s to be bitter about?
Joe’s lineup has merit. It works with the things Willie is unlikely to change (Reyes at the top/Beltran third/Piazza no lower than 6th) in the most effective way possible. Of course, Willie’s phobia about letting David Wright impact the outcome of games will probably scuttle it, but it’s a nice dream.