The Mets Have A Bad Case of B.O. (Bullpen Overload)

The Mets gave up a couple of touchdowns to the Toronto Blue Jays in their 14-5 loss on Friday.  But I'm not going to talk about that.  I'm also not going to talk about the whiplash Jonathon Niese must have suffered from turning his neck so quickly to watch all the home runs leaving the yard.  Here, let me just show you what I'm going to talk about.

• R.A. Dickey: 8 starts, 50⅓ innings pitched, 6.29 IP/start
• Johan Santana: 8 starts, 43⅔ innings pitched, 5.46 IP/start
• Jonathon Niese: 8 starts, 42⅔ innings pitched, 5.33 IP/start
• Dillon Gee: 7 starts, 43 innings pitched, 6.14 IP/start
• Mike Pelfrey: 3 starts, 19⅔ innings pitched, 6.56 IP/start
• Miguel Batista: 3 starts, 16 innings pitched, 5.33 IP/start
• Chris Schwinden: 2 starts, 8 innings pitched, 4.00 IP/start

• Total: 39 starts, 223⅓ innings pitched, 5.73 IP/start

Do you see the problem there?  No?  Perhaps this will help you see.  The Mets as a team have pitched 345⅓ innings in 2012.  That means more than one-third of the innings pitched (35.3% to be exact) have been pitched by relievers.

And who are those relievers?  Well, you have Manny Acosta (10.53 ERA), Frank Francisco (8.04 ERA), the recently-ousted D.J. Carrasco (7.36 ERA), Jon Rauch (4.32 ERA) and Ramon Ramirez (4.30 ERA).  Only Bobby Parnell and Tim Byrdak have ERAs under 4.00 of relievers with at least four appearances.  (That's why you're not seeing backup catcher Rob Johnson's 0.00 ERA.  Oh, you didn't hear?  He pitched one inning of relief during Friday night's debacle, doing his best Desi Relaford impression by retiring the side in order.  Here's photo evidence...)

When Josh Thole returns from the DL, Rob Johnson might still have a role on the team as a reliever.

Anytime a bullpen gives up more than a run every other inning, you have a flawed bullpen.  But when that bullpen is getting as much use as the Mets are giving them, then you have a flawed team.

The Mets are still doing better than expected, with a 21-18 record, but in the stacked NL East, that's just barely keeping them out of last place.  (The Phillies bring up the rear with a 21-19 mark.)  If the starting pitchers can't give the team a minimum of six innings, and hopefully more, then all the positivity built up from the team's strong start will go out the window.  The bullpen, as it stands, is simply not very good.  Unfortunately, they're being given too many chances to show us that.

It's time for Santana, Dickey, Niese, Batista and Gee to eat up innings for the Mets.  If they don't, it'll be the opposing hitters who will continue to feast on the bullpen.  And that will leave a bad taste in the mouths of all Mets fans.

Mad Men

Jonathon Niese pitched six shutout innings.  Kirk Nieuwenhuis started yet another rally.  Mike Baxter got well-deserved respect as a premier pinch-hitter.  Justin Turner won another battle against Heath Bell.

And the Mets still lost.

After Nieuwenhuis started a two-run inning for the Mets in the fourth inning with a single, Niese continued to pitch shutout ball before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh.  Ramon Ramirez relieved Niese hoping to protect the lead.

Triple.

Home run.

Game tied at 2.

The Mets regrouped as they have been wont to do during the first month and a half of the season.  Against Marlins' closer Heath Bell in the ninth, the Mets got a one-out double from Daniel Murphy, Doubles Machine.  Two walks later (including an intentional walk to Mike Baxter, who carried a .438 batting average as a pinch-hitter into the at-bat), Justin Turner whacked a double to right to score two runs.  Then Frank Francisco came into the game to save it and give the Mets a series victory.

Triple.

Walk.

Single.

Hit the showers, Frank.

Stop sniffing yourself, Frank.  We all know you stink.

That was all for Armando Benitez-lite.  Frank Francisco was removed from the game by manager Terry Collins, but not before he stopped by home plate umpire Todd Tichenor to wish his mother a Happy Mother's Day.  (At least I thought I heard him say something about Tichenor's mother.)  Manny Acosta was summoned into the game to stop the bleeding but was "Acosta-ed" by the Marlins.

Sacrifice fly.

Tie game.

Pop out.  (I guess you can't put 'em all on base.)

Walk.

Hit by pitch.

Giancarlo Stanton.

Say hello to my little friend.

The Mets will now retreat to Citi Field after a 4-2 road trip against the Phillies and Marlins.  If you had asked me before the season started that the Mets would win four out of six against the two teams expected to compete for the NL East title, I would have been thrilled.  But I'm not.

I'm mad.

Very mad.

Smoke coming out of my ears mad.

Paul LoDuca mad.

Paul LoDuca SMASH!!!

Something has to be done about the bullpen situation.  Sandy Alderson did not have much money to work with during the off-season.  But what money he had, he used to upgrade the bullpen.  That "upgrade"  has now had a part in several late-inning meltdowns.

Both losses to the Marlins this weekend were charged to Frank Francisco.  Prior to Friday night's loss, the Mets' last loss was a 5-4 setback to Arizona on May 4.  That game was lost by Jon Rauch, who allowed three hits, two inherited base runners to score and a run of his own.  What about Ramon Ramirez?  He's allowed 31 base runners (21 hits, 10 walks) in only 19⅓ innings.

Even a certain holdover, wearing Oliver Perez's old No. 46, has pitched like dookie.  (And I'm not talking about Orlando "The Dookie" Hernandez, although I think he'd have better success right now than the current members of the Gasoline Brigade.)  Including today, Manny Acosta has faced 85 batters this year.  Almost half of them (36) have reached base.  Four of them reached base and then continued running around them.  That includes Giancarlo Stanton, who touched Acosta for a game-ending grand slam today.

The Mets have done quite well so far.  That doesn't mean they shouldn't play angry after games like today.  There should be 25 mad men in the dugout tomorrow against Milwaukee.  They should let it be known to each other that losses like today's will no longer be tolerated.  The bullpen must improve.  The team must improve.  They're better than that.  And they should know it.

Mets Have It Niese And Easy Against The Phillies

Before the season began, the Mets were picked by the general consensus to finish in last place in the NL East.  The main reason for the prediction?  The division was supposed to be so much stronger that the Mets would have no chance in head-to-head competition.  So if that's the case, then why are the Mets cruising with a 6-2 record, especially since all of their games have been against division opponents?

After today's 5-0 victory over the Phillies, the Mets are now 5-0 against Philadelphia and Atlanta, the two teams that finished atop the division in 2011.  The top three pitchers in the rotation (Johan Santana, R.A. Dickey and Jonathon Niese) have combined to post a 1.77 ERA in six starts, collecting more strikeouts (35) than hits allowed (28).  In addition, the bullpen has been superb, with the three new acquisitions (Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch and Ramon Ramirez) combining to allow one earned run in 13⅓ innings.

But the main reason why the Mets are playing so well is because each player is capable of picking up one of his teammates when that teammate doesn't perform.  For example, in today's game, Jason Bay came up to to bat in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and no outs.  He promptly grounded into a double play, scoring a run but leaving the Mets with two outs and a potential big inning squelched.  In the past, the next batter would have been retired and the Mets would be left to wonder "what if".  But not the 2012 Mets.

After Bay's double play, Lucas Duda smacked a two-run homer to give the Mets a 4-0 lead, which gave Niese all the cushion he needed.  The Phillies never really threatened after Duda muscled Vance Worley's pitch out of the ballpark.

The teams that were supposed to compete in the NL East all have flaws.  The Phillies and Braves can't hit.  The Marlins can't field.  The Nationals have fewer flaws than the other teams in the division, hence why they're in first place.  But the Mets are not far behind.  They know they have flaws but they're finding ways to play around them.  Whereas past Mets teams continued to repeat their mistakes, this Mets team is learning from them.

Jason Bay and Ike Davis are not hitting well over the first eight games of the season.  But Ruben Tejada, Daniel Murphy and Josh Thole are.  David Wright is not swinging and missing as much as he has in the past.  The result of his better approach at the plate is a 10-for-17 start with only one strikeout.  And the pitching staff has excelled during the first week and a half of the season.  Even when it experiences hiccups (such as Mike Pelfrey and Dillon Gee's first starts of the season), the bullpen has kept the damage to a minimum.

No one expected the Mets to do anything in the NL East in 2012.  No one except the Mets themselves, that is.  With continued belief in their ability to perform well on the field, plus a dash of good health (which hasn't exactly been the Mets' forté over the past few years), don't be surprised if the Mets shock the league this year.  The Mets might not make the playoffs in 2012, but they won't be pushovers either.

The first eight games have me believing in the team.  Are they making believers of you?

The Mets' Winter Meeting Transactions: Pros And Cons

The snow hasn't begun to fall yet, but we saw a flurry of activity yesterday for the Mets in the Late Fall Meetings (winter doesn't start for another two weeks, so the Winter Meetings are a misnomer).  The Mets needed bullpen help so they stocked up with three veteran relievers.  They also made a "change-of-scenery" trade, acquiring one centerfielder coming off a down year for another.

Let's take a look at what these three separate transactions will do for the Mets and what this will do for the team in 2012 and in the future.

Jon Rauch

Sandy Alderson made it clear that the Mets were in dire need of relief help.  He admitted as much when discussing how the team suffered in the pen after the trade of Francisco Rodriguez last July.  The hodgepodge bullpen featured a combination of inexperienced career minor leaguers and washed-up veterans, and the Mets blew many late inning leads because of it.  A change was definitely needed for the 2012 season.

In his first acquisition of the night, Alderson signed Jon Rauch to be the Mets' primary set-up man.  Before Pedro Feliciano led the National League in appearances for the Mets, that distinction belonged to Jon Rauch.  Rauch made 85 appearances for Washington in 2006 and followed that up with a league-leading 88 appearances in 2007.

His career has been a series of ups and downs since leaving Washington in 2008.  In parts of two seasons in Arizona (2008-2009), Rauch was 2-8 with a 4.87 ERA and 1.42 WHIP.  Then he went to Minnesota for 1½ seasons (2009-2010) and flourished with the Twins, going 8-2 with a 2.82 ERA and 1.28 WHIP.  He also racked up 21 saves as a temporary replacement for closer Joe Nathan.  Finally, as a member of the Blue Jays in 2011, Rauch had a subpar season (5-4, 11 saves, 4.85 ERA, 1.35 WHIP).  He missed time in August due to an emergency appendectomy and ended the season on the disabled list with torn cartilage in his right knee.
 
Pros:  Rauch is nicknamed "The Wookie" for his tall frame and sometimes resemblance to Chewbacca, instantly making him R.A. Dickey's best friend in the clubhouse.  He also has excellent control, walking only 28 batters over the last two seasons (in 109.2 IP) and possessing a career ratio of 2.7 walks per nine innings.

Cons:  Sometimes Rauch can be a little "wild in the strike zone", as evidenced by the 11 home runs he gave up last season in only 52 innings pitched.  Also, as seen in his career recap above, Rauch's performance has varied drastically from team to team.  He can be very good, as he was in Minnesota, or he can be maddeningly inconsistent, as fans of the Diamondbacks and Blue Jays can surely attest.  Will another change of scenery bring out the good Jon Rauch?

 

Frank Francisco

A teammate of Jon Rauch in Toronto last season, Frank Francisco has been a very consistent pitcher since 2008.  Over the past four seasons, his ERA has never been higher than 3.83 or lower than 3.13.  He has also given no fewer than 40 hits and no more than 49 safeties in each of the last four years, while allowing between 20 and 22 earned runs per season.  He has achieved this level of consistency despite having different roles from year to year. 

Francisco served as the set-up man in Texas in 2008, before saving 25 games as the Rangers' closer in 2009.  He went back to the set-up role for Texas in 2010, before becoming a closer for the Blue Jays in 2011, saving 17 games in Toronto.  Francisco will not be continuing his set-up man/closer roller coaster ride for the Mets in 2012, as Terry Collins has already anointed him as the team's new closer.

Pros:  Francisco is a fireballer who will rack up a ton of strikeouts, something that has not been a strength of the Mets' bullpen in recent years.  His 10.5 K/9 IP rate over the past four seasons is among the best in baseball.  Francisco has also proven that he can handle any relief role in the bullpen and finished the 2011 season strongly (1.37 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and held opponents to a .188 batting average after the All-Star Break).

Cons:  Although he is a strikeout pitcher, his strikeout rate has gone down slightly from year to year (11.8 K/9 IP in 2008, 10.4 K/9 IP in 2009, 10.3 K/9 IP in 2010, 9.5 K/9 IP in 2011).  His WHIP has also increased annually since 2009 (1.12 in 2009, 1.27 in 2010, 1.32 in 2011).

 

Angel Pagan traded for Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez

After an outstanding second half in 2009 and a breakout season in 2010, Angel Pagan took a step back in 2011.  After managing to keep his batting average around .300 for most of '09 and '10, Pagan could only muster a .262 average last season.  He also had his lowest on-base percentage in four years as a Met (.322) and made too many questionable baserunning decisions.

Andres Torres had a similar situation to Angel Pagan in 2011.  Torres shocked everyone with his breakout 2010 season for the World Champion San Francisco Giants (.268 batting average, 43 doubles, 8 triples, 16 HR, 63 RBI and 26 SB in 139 games).  But he had a miserable follow-up campaign in 2011 (.221 batting average, 24 doubles, one triple, 4 HR, 19 RBI and 19 SB in 112 games), causing him to lose playing time once the Giants acquired Carlos Beltran from the Mets.

Ramon Ramirez had a shaky start to his major league career in Colorado, but has flourished since he left the Mile High city after the 2007 season.  In the four years since his departure from the Rockies, Ramirez has compiled a 2.77 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP, while holding the opposition to a .220 batting average.  But since becoming a Giant at the trade deadline in 2010, Ramirez has been one of the most unhittable relievers in the majors, compiling a 2.07 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and a .194 batting average against him.  He also didn't give up many long hits as a Giant, holding opponents to a .267 slugging percentage and allowing only two home runs to the 388 batters he faced.

Pros:  Angel Pagan for Andres Torres straight up would have been a bad deal, as Pagan is younger than Torres and even with a down season in 2011, still performed better than Torres did for the Giants.  The addition of Ramirez, a quality arm in the bullpen with an extended period of success, makes the deal more attractive.  Plus, Andres Torres can serve as a stopgap in center field until Kirk Nieuwenhuis is ready for the majors (hopefully by late 2012), similar to the way Rey Sanchez held shortstop warm for Jose Reyes until his call-up in 2003.

Cons:  The Mets acquired a centerfielder with 27 HR and 118 RBI.  That's not his total for one season.  That's what Torres has amassed in 1,423 major league plate appearances over parts of seven seasons.  Torres also has 4,444 plate appearances over 1,035 minor league games.  That means Torres has over three times as many plate appearances in the minor leagues as he has in the majors.  When a player who will be 34 by Opening Day can say that about his professional career, that's not something to be proud of.  It also doesn't say much about his ability to stay in the major leagues.  Pagan has a better chance of replicating his 2010 season than Torres has of doing the same.

We owe (the fans), we owe (the fans), so it's off to work we go!

The 2012 Mets improved themselves at the Late Fall Meetings by adding three quality arms in the bullpen.  Jon Rauch will be the primary set-up man and can be counted on to pitch as many days as he is needed.  Frank Francisco may not have dominant numbers, but he has been a model of consistency over the past four seasons and is a legitimate strikeout pitcher.  Ramon Ramirez has the potential to be the best reliever in the Mets' bullpen.  He doesn't depend on the strikeout to retire batters.  Rather, he makes opposing hitters swing at his pitch, and allows mostly singles when he does give up hits, which over the past few seasons has become a rare sight.

I can deal without Andres Torres in the outfield, but at least he does possess some speed, which the Mets will need now that Jose Reyes is no longer on the team.  Plus, there's always a chance that he might be able to find some of that 2010 magic in his tank, although is .221 average and 19 RBI in 398 at-bats last year reminded me a little too much of Luis Castillo.

For now, it appears that Sandy Alderson is trying his best to mold this team in his image.  He is getting quality players without spending top dollar or too many years of commitments.  It's still too early to know what this will mean for the 2012 Mets.  But at least it shows that it won't just be 20 Buffalo Bisons and a handful of veterans sitting in the dugout at Citi Field next season.  For the amount of money Sandy has to play with, I'd say he's doing a pretty good job.