The Return of Pedro

Pedro Martinez was masterful last night. He threw a ridiculous 130+ pitches and had movement on his changeup and fastball that you haven't seen since 2004.

I do think the home plate umpire had a strike zone the size of Minnesota, but even still Pedro was hitting his spots and making the Mets lineup look foolish.

I didn't want the Mets to sign Pedro. I thought he was done. Man was I wrong. In hindsight, the Mets could have signed him to an incentive laden contract that would have been right around the same dollars we paid Tim Redding.

Now the real question is whether Pedro can pitch like this for 6 months or has he become more of a Roger Clemens, second half of the season type of starter. I think the latter is the case, but it was painful to see his masterful stuff against the Mets while being in a Phillies uniform.

If Pedro wins a ring with the Phillies, it will just be more salt in the wounds of Mets fans. I'm buying stock in Morton Salt right now.

Memories of Past Mets Are Becoming Present

The more I watch the 2009 Mets, the more I am reminded of past failures from my beloved team. I experience a bit of deja vu during every game and find myself being sent back to such glorious teams at the '93 or '03 Mets teams.

Why are the Mets so destined to relive their past mistakes and seem to attract the same type of talent they have in years before? It's creepy. Don't know what I mean? Take a look at past Mets who are now reincarnated on the current Mets roster:

Daniel Murphy is Ty Wiggington
Scrappy, hard nosed player who came up with some sparks in his bat only to find out that when he plays full time he's more like a .250 hitter without the pop that you hoped he'd have. Also you're not quite sure what position he should play because he's not exactly dominant at any of them. Are we talking about Daniel Murphy or Ty Wiggington?

Mike Pelfrey is Oliver Perez
A neurotic pitcher who can throw hard, but can't find the strike zone which forces him to implode in at least one inning every game. One innings worth of mistakes is enough to sink the Mets chance for victory. But then in another 4 starts, this pitcher shows up and just dominates the opposing lineup making you forget just what an unreliable nut job he really is. Sure they're both on the current roster, but Mike Pelfrey is becoming the Oliver Perez the Pirates traded and that Mets fans have experienced for the last two years.

Brian Schneider is Charlie O'Brien
I've detailed this ad naseum in a previous post which you can read here.

Anderson Hernandez is Rey Ordonez
A gifted fielder who can't hit to save his life. Sure he'll surprise you with a 3 for 4 outing once a month, but in every subsequent at bat it appears he hits a ground ball to the second baseman. Now Ordonez was more talented with his glove than Hernandez, but they're basically the same player.

Gary Sheffield is Mo Vaughn
A career All Star who's on his last legs comes to Queens and only tries to hit home runs. He can't play the field because moving laterally is like giving birth so he's relinquished to serving as a pinch hitter who can't hit unless he gets lucky on a fastball. Sheffield is obviously in better shape than Mo ever was, but still. Is he really that different?

Bobby Parnell is Bill Pulsipher
Young pitcher with great arm becomes "untouchable" before he even finishes a complete season, but turns out he's not the starting pitching talent that you had envisioned. A few down on his luck starts and he has now lost all confidence in himself as well as the fan base. Parnell obviously started in the bullpen, where Pulsipher was always a starter, but I fear that Parnell will meet the same fate as Pulsipher.

Tim Redding is Bobby Jones
Mediocre pitcher is forced into #1 starter because of injuries and just sheer lack of a better option. Grows goatee, pitches well for a few months, and then slowly fades away. Redding is pitching well of late, but let's pray the Mets aren't desperate enough to offer him an extension.

Other notable similarities include:
Angel Pagan is Derek Bell; Johan Santana is Mike Hampton; David Wright is Mike Piazza; Nick Evans is Jeff Keppinger; Carlos Delgado is Bobby Bonilla

Worst Mets Lineup Scores 10, Shows Clutch

The Mets just enjoy messing with me.

Just a few short hours after I declared Thursday's Mets lineup as potentially one of the worst lineups I've seen in my 30 year existence, that same lineup goes out and puts up a 10 spot on the Marlins.

Sure even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while, but this Mets lineup scored 9 of their 10 runs with 2 outs.

What?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Yup.I couldn't believe it either and in fact I didn't even realize until a comment was made about it this morning on WFAN. Tatis didn't even hit into a double play if you can believe that.

Maybe it was pent up anger or the stars aligned or whatever, but the key is the Mets finally won a game and Tim Redding looks like a guy who's pitching for his life. I like that. Only took him 6 months to do it, but what position are we in to be picky?

An afternoon delight at Wrigley today at 2 pm.

What the Mets Need

The question is simple. The answer is near impossible.

In the past when this question was posed the answer was relatively easy. For the last two seasons it was bullpen help, bullpen help, bullpen help. At times it's been starting pitching or an outfielder with a bat. But after dropping two painful games to the rival Phillies and with the toughest stretch of the season before us the question has become much more complicated.

Why? Because the Mets need a little of everything.

John Maine has just been put on the DL, Tim Redding is good only every other start and Pelfrey is not quite ready to be a #2 starter. So the answer could be the Mets need to get a starting pitcher.

But then I look at the abysmal effort the Mets have shown in the field lately. Errors are occurring every game and outside of Beltran there's a question mark at almost every position when it comes to defense. So the answer could be the Mets need to get some defensive help.

But then there's the loss of Delgado, the decline of Sheffield, the lack of clutchness from Wright & Beltran. FMart is still learning the ropes and Daniel Murphy hasn't quite lived up to the hype. The Mets can't score runs late so maybe the answer is the Mets need a big RBI bat.

There are so many things the Mets need. An argument could be made that the Mets need some extra bullpen help or a first baseman or a new trainer.

The possibilites are endless, but the options available are very few.

But the one thing that is for certain is that the Mets need something. A few wins would be a good place to start.

A Tragedy of Errors

5 errors. Scratch that. 6 errors, counting Ryan Church's inability to touch all the bases.

It's bad enough that you have to stay up after midnight to watch your team lose, but to have to watch them lose in this fashion is not quite waterboarding, but it's close.

I was all prepared to post this morning about how Tim Redding is ex-Met Rick White reincarnated, but I can't complain at all about Redding's performance. He walked a few batters more than he should have, but basically gave up one hit and two runs over 6 innings.

Redding got a taste of life as Johan Santana as his supporting cast fell down around him.

The corner outfielders must really be getting annoyed with Carlos Beltran. It's like he's trying to catch every ball out there. I blame him for the error in the 11th inning. Pagan had control of that ball, but Beltran comes flying over so Pagan backs off and the ball falls inbetween them. Settle down Beltran.

Jeremy Reed's error is going to happen from time to time. He's not first baseman and these are the risks you take with fill-ins.

But Ryan Church. Oh, Ryan, Ryan, Ryan. How on earth do you miss third base? And if you do miss the bag isn't your first instinct to go back and touch it? Inexcusable.

Craig Carton brought up an interesting point this morning in the fact that Jerry Manuel didn't bother to come out of the dugout and argue. That is odd. Jerry is a guy who's not afraid to argue. This was the most pivotal call of the game and not even a peep from the animated Manuel.

Carton chalked it up to the manager's dislike for Church which is evident in Church's loss of playing time, but I'm not sure if it's distaste for Church that caused Manuel not to argue or if he was just in utter shock like I was.

Nobody wins games after committing six errors. It's impossible. Fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals. The Mets need a clinic on their off day and a shrink to get their heads back in the game.

Will the 2009 Starters Be the 2008 BLOWpen?

So the Mets fixed the bullpen, but the starting rotation looks like it's in need of some repair.

Another horrible starting pitching performance for the second straight night against the Cardinals ultimately lead to yet another loss. You could blame the Mets bats if you want. I wouldn't blame you. They made a no name pitcher who's name I've already forgotten, look like the ghost of Mike Scott.

However John Maine is just looking awful. He threw 70+ pitches in the first inning including a 29 pitch first inning. Maine walked 5, gave up 7 hits and 5 runs in just 5 2/3 innings pitched. Remember when you thought Maine was our #2 starter?

Add Maine to the wonderful signing of Oliver Perez, the injured and lackluster Mike Pelfrey and you have a set of arms who may cause as much damage as the 2008 BLOWpen. No wonder the Mets can score runs. They find themselves in a 4 run deficit every night. That's got to do wonders for the players confidence that they have a shot to win.

But Dave, it's only the third week of the season! Calm down! We have Tim Redding waiting to step in.

Exactly.

Mets Reality Show: The 5th Starter

The folks over at VH1 or Fox Reality Channel should be calling Omar Minaya any day now about a new reality show called, The 5th Starter.

You see with the bullpen in better order than last year and the fact that the Mets are not getting Manny, the only drama left for spring training is who will be the 5th starter in the rotation? And just like any good reality show we definitely have a cast of characters.

You have Jon Niese, the young stud looking to fulfill the hopes and dreams of his childhood by being a big league starter. We have the washed up veteran in Freddy Garcia who is trying embark on a comeback for one last flight of glory in the majors (a la Mickey Rourke). Then we have the teacher's pet in Livan Hernandez who was long coveted by the GM, but didn't get him until he had one foot in the pitching grave. And lastly there's the unknown, no-name, dark horse, Tim Redding.

There should be a rose ceremony or at least Ryan Seacrest appearance in there somewhere. The fact is the Mets 5th starter will be a revolving door this season. I don't think any of these guys will last an entire season. Livan has the longevity, but we all know he's losing his stuff. Garcia is guaranteed to be injured if not utterly implode. Redding and Niese will have their ups and down and find their getting 10 days rest inbetween starts.

My money is on Livan getting the 5th starter job to start the season just because he's Omar's favorite. However by June I expect Redding or Niese to be getting spot starts. I want Niese to get the job just to see what he can do when he's in a regular rotation instead of getting spot starts like he did last year.

Whatever happens, the fact remains that the 5th starter is just that. He's a guy to fill in the gaps and not an arm to be relied upon. Don't let the drama make you think anything different.