Bring Me Relief

Let's say you're Omar Minaya. How do you feel about your job security right now? That's what I thought. Probably not too secure. You've got a bullpen that can't hold a lead. Your closer is injured. You made zero moves at the trading deadline. And if the Mets don't make the playoffs, you'll need to freshen up your LinkedIn profile.

So what do you do? If you're Omar, you do nothing. But if you're smart you go out and make every possible move that can be made to change this bullpen.

Now I fully understand that Omar can't go out and get a top notch closer, like a Lidge or KRod. I understand it would be tough to get a respectable reliver like a Huston Street or Broxton. I also get that you don't want to give up more prospects like Nick Evans, FMart, or Daniel Murphy.

But that doesn't leave you without options.

There are relievers out there that have cleared waivers or are free agents. Off the top of my head I know that David Weathers, Eric Gagne, and Al Reyes are all available in some form. Now are they the top notch arms we would covet? Absolutely not. Are they any worse than the arms we currently throw out there every day? No.

Omar needs to go get two more arms for this bullpen, one at the very least. I don't care if their ERA is over 4 and they have a losing record. At this point I'm willing to take my chances with pretty much any arm that is not Duaner Sanchez, Joe Smith, or Scott Blowenweiss. Give me Gagne who at least has a history of success. I'll take my chances with Al Reyes who used to be a reliable arm. I'll even give David Weathers a swan song at Shea.

This bullpen has to change. Would you feel confident playing in the playoffs with this group of arms in our current BLOWpen? Did you know that the Mets have been outscored by opponents by more than 50 runs after the 7th inning? Don't you think it's time to roll the dice and see what happens? Could it be any worse than our current situation?

I think any legitimate Mets Lifer knows the answer to these questions. Your job is on the line Omar. You're the king of chances. It paid off with Oliver Perez and John Maine when you signed them. Take a shot Omar, because if you don't I'm pretty sure the Mets pennants chances are shot too.

More BLOWpen Please

It's rich, chocolaty BLOWpen for all those Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon. Nothing like sipping from a cup of warm, delicious BLOWpen that the Mets love to serve up on a regular basis.

The Mets BLOWpen now has a stellar record of 18-20 on the season. They botched a great outing from John Maine and this was a game the Mets should have had in the bag. A homer off Brian Stokes and then an outright debacle from the stellar team of Felician and Sanchez gave the Pirates a 5-2 win.

Has there been a more disappointing pitcher than Duaner Sanchez? From 2006 to today is downturn has been enormous. Omar Minaya basically banked the entire success of the bullpen on this guy being healthy and dominant. Sure he's healthy, but he's as dominant as Kenya in Olympic swimming.

Not to be overlooked is the lack of clutch in the Mets lineup today. The Mets put up a huge ZERO when batting with runners in scoring position. There were countless opportunities to blow this game wide open, but the Mets couldn't capitalize on a single one of them. In the first inning it was second and third with no outs and the heart of the order up, and we only score 1 run!

The Mets should be heading back to Shea now with a sweep of the Pirates and confidence in their position atop the NL East. Instead the Phillies, get a cheap half game back on the Mets in the standings as we welcome the Braves to Shea tomorrow night. This isn't going to be a tough stretch for the Mets. They absolutely have to start hitting with runners in scoring position to stay in first place.

And they need to revamp the entire bullpen.

An Abomination

Somewhere, right now, Johan Santana is talking to his agent trying to find a way to get out of this contract. And I can't say I blame him.

Santana came through giving up only 2 runs through 8 innings. Unfortunately, they play 9 innings.

Hey Duaner Sanchez. You're fired as closer. Forever. That's right. Until the world is turned into dust and no living soul walks the face of this planet, you will never be the Mets closer again. Talk about choke job.

This is a backbreaker folks. You went from 3 outs to feeling really good to just pain beyond all imagination. The play in the field was horrid. So much for Endy Chavez being the defensive specialist. Reyes botched a potential out. Feliciano had a tailor made double play ball that resulted in only one.

Why did it take so long to bring in Heilman? I get you're trying to play the righty/lefty game, but as soon as Sanchez folded faster than a Gap employee, you gotta go to your next best pitcher in the pen to stop the bleeding.

This may have been the worst 9th inning I've ever seen. I kept getting flashbacks of that magical 8th inning the Mets had against the Braves back when Piazza played and we scored like 9 runs in an inning. Only this time it was happening to us.

This will be very hard to come back from. Be prepared for plenty of mentions of the collapse tomorrow. Be prepared for Billy Wagner's absence to be bantered about. But worst of all be prepared for another loss tomorrow. The Mets are notorious for their inability to come back quickly from the brink.

Good luck John Maine. Hope you have a no hitter in you.

Burning Bullpen Questions

As we approach spring training the starting rotation is pretty much set. We know what our lineup will probably look like. We even have a good idea about who will be on the bench come April 1.

But the questions that still remain involve the Mets bullpen. The root of many a loss in 2007, the bullpen did not get a massive overhaul this offseason, but did receive some changes. But there are a number of questions that I need answered about the 2008 Mets bullpen.

1. Which Joe Smith should I expect?
Joe Smith was lights out early in the '07 season. The rookie was getting lefties and righties out while keeping his pitch count down. Then something happened mid-season and he lost his mojo. I've read that Smith has been working out this offseason at his alma mater Wright State to improve his mechanics, but will that translate into success? If the original Joe Smith shows up and stays all season the Mets bullpen will be considered much more reliable.

2. Can Duaner Sanchez stay healthy?
If it was up to me Duaner Sanchez would live in a padded room in the basement of Shea Stadium. Give him DirectTV, give him a laptop, he can even have visitors, but don't let this guy out into the wide world. He's a walking magnet for injury. No more cab rides for Duaner. But seriously, if Duaner Sanchez doesn't stay healthy for a third straight season, not only would the Mets lose out on a potentially perfect setup man, but Sanchez might lose out on his big league career.

3. Is Pedro Feliciano capable of getting our right-handed batters consistently?
There's no doubt that Feliciano is fantastic against lefties, but I'd like to see him be given the chance to get out righties as well. Willie Randolph likes having a lefty and a rightie specialist in the bullpen, and often times that leads to Feliciano only facing one batter. I think Feliciano has the stuff to get out more than just lefties, but he'll need the opportunity to prove it.

4. Will Blowenweiss lose his nickname?
Probably not.

Burgos Out Until 2009

According to Bleed Orange & Blue, the Mets will lose Ambiorix Burgos to Tommy John surgery. Burgos wil miss all of 2008 as he recovers from surgery and will probably spend part of 2009 rehabbing in the minor leagues.

Another bullpen arm lost. Who'll be back first Duaner Sanchez or Ambiorix Burgos?

Your guess is as good as mine.