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| OK, count myself very flummoxed by the moves the Mets have been making. This is a team with a lot of talent, and yet the front office is finding different ways to screw things up, even before the season starts. Argh it makes me so mad! Let us count the ways:
1) The decision to start Anderson Hernandez over Jeff Keppinger at second base. Yes, Hernandez is a better fielder, but there's one big problem: HE CAN'T HIT! The guy has absolutely no power; he'll be lucky to slug .350 in the majors. Keppinger is a far superior hitter and can turn the double play well.
2) Xavier Nady over Victor Diaz in right field. What about the fact that Diaz clearly outhit Nady last year? Again, Nady is the better defender, but he ain't no gold glover either. Batting Nady-Hernandez-pitcher in the 7-8-9 holes will lead to a lot of quick 1-2-3 innings. And the Mets talk about giving their young players a shot (part of their rationale for move #4), which is pure nonsense. Diaz hit well at the tender age of 23, and deserves to have his growth as a power hitter keep going. But of course, the Mets have to justify their silly trade of Mike Cameron, so they have to start Nady (for a parallel case, see Zambrano, Victor). By the way, Nady is in a deep slump in the spring (like 1-for-his last 27), but hey, the decision's been made, yeah?
3) Jose Valentin on the bench. Every time I see him play, I see this huge fork sticking out of him. And get this: he knows he's done! How do I know this, you ask? He decided to go back to switch-hitting after giving up it up a few years ago when he finally realized he couldn't hit a lick from the right side. Now why would he do that? Because he knows that this will add to his "versatility" which is another way of saying that "I suck, but hey, I suck at a variety of things." He doesn't belong on this squad. If he makes the bench, while Diaz is sent down to AAA, please keep all sharp objects out of my hands.
4) The big one. The Mets today decided to move Aaron Heilman into the bullpen and make Brian Bannister the 5th starter. *Slaps hand violently upon forehead* STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!
This move is so dumb on so many different fronts. I will try to cover them all:
a) Heilman went to the winter leagues after last year to stretch out his arm to become a starter for this coming season. Then he showed up in spring training and has pitched lights out and proven that he can start. He has (or had) an excellent chance of being the Mets' 2nd best starter this year. But now, the Mets screw around with him once again and send him off to the pen. This is not a way to treat one of your employees.
b) Sure, the move gives the Mets a great pen, but at what expense? This move continues a disturbing trend in which the front office seems to think that relief innings are more important than starting innings. It's not like the Mets have a great rotation, either. At best, they have four league-average starters (if you want to count Bannister, more on that in a bit) after Pedro. What good is a great bullpen if you don't have any leads to protect? And I think the bullpen is fine without Heilman. Wagner is money; Sanchez should be fine as a setup man; Bradford is nasty on righties; Feliciano or Ring is fine as a lefty; Julio should start in low-leverage roles, then move up accordingly; and I still like Bell and Fortunato as options.
c) I like Bannister. But let's face it, he's a finesse pitcher (Bobby Jones comes to mind), and those kinds of guys almost always struggle in their first full season as a starter. This is a season that the Mets are going for it all, and they can't afford to give away games as a young player finds his way. And they're promoting Bannister based on spring training even though he's only started eight games at Triple-A! This is sheer lunacy!
d) Bannister would've been perfect as a sixth starter. With Pedro, Glavine, Trachsel, and Zambrano, it's pretty much guaranteed that at least one of them will miss time with injury (esp. the former two) or struggle with ineffectiveness (esp. the latter two). With Heilman in the pen, he can't just come back and become a starter now. So who becomes the sixth starter? Cue the Jose Lima, Jeremi Gonzalez, and Yusaku Iriki horror music, who all, um, SUCK. Hey, the season's 162 games long, who cares if we punt a few games here and there? Brilliant!
As one guy on another website wrote:
So, let me get this straight:
The Mets finish 2005 with five viable starters, Victor Zambrano and one ace reliever who wants to start.
In the offseason, the Mets trade two viable starters (who happen to be
the youngest of the five) for two relievers, give a rotation spot to
Victor Zambrano and slot said ace reliever into the number five spot.
In spring training, the Mets return said ace reliever back to the pen
and give the number five spot in the rotation to a middling prospect
with middling stuff because of 20 good spring training innings.
Only the Mets.
Yup. This is the same club that in 2005 went with Kaz Ishii over Jae Seo most of the year, batted Miguel Cairo second with his sterling sub-.300 on-base percentage, and wasted at-bats on crusty veterans like Jose Offerman and Ice Williams.
I am still excited for the coming season, but my belief is wavering, and it shouldn't be. Games count as much in April as they do in October, and the moves they've made to start the season could cost us much-needed wins in the early going.
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| Well, there's always next year.
Just kidding. It's just 3 games, right?
Bright spots: David Wright rocks. Ishii actually pitched well until Willie left him in too late at the end (btw, Willie has not impressed at all with his bullpen usage, lineup construction, and in-game tactics. I have a really bad feeling about him). Hmm, I think that's about it.
If they can win two out of three in Atlanta this weekend, they'll have a 2-4 road trip. Not bad... | | |
| Well that was painful.
It's ok. Up and at 'em on Wednesday!
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