With the epic collapse of ’07 and the somewhat more mundane choke of ’08 – both largely fueled by woeful relief pitching – in fresh memory, Met fans were understandably elated when GM Omar Minaya brought in one of the most dominant relief pitchers of this decade, along with a serviceable ex-stopper from the Mariners. The presence of K-Rod and Putz, respectively, will hopefully significantly strengthen a beleaguered bullpen that blew 29 (!) saves last season, tying the franchise’s all-time high in holding/closing futility.
However, great relief pitchers in general, and lights-out closers in particular, are much akin to platinum rims on a Bentley, that is, they’re the icing on the cake, not the creamy center. Well, regrettably for the Mets, their center, i.e., the brave souls that take the ball at the outset of a game, is somewhat dry and unpalatable.
Let’s face it: Behind Santana, the Mets’ ’08 starting rotation was mediocre at best. John Maine started brightly, but faded down the stretch, beset by injuries and, perhaps, a sophomore jinx (’07 was his first season as an everyday starter). Mike Pelfrey, too, showed flashes of brilliance early on, but his sturdy 3.72 ERA belied a persistent inability to deliver in key games (e.g., going 0-3 over his last five starts in the midst of a pennant race). The less said about Oliver Perez, who was back to his old mercurial self, and Pedro, a pale shadow of his former electrifying self, the better. Finally, Jonathon Niese, a supposed stud prospect, in three ineffective starts looked every bit the Major League neophyte.
Thus, even with yesterday’s addition – pending a physical – of Tim Redding, a journeyman pitcher devoid of an “out pitch,” I cannot feel entirely comfortable with the current crop of Met starters. In fact, I’ll go one step further and suggest that, in the absence of the addition of a proven commodity, such as Derek “I scoff at your $12 million per annum” Lowe, a playoff berth will once again prove elusive.
In the absence of another acquisition, the projected rotation would look something like this: Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, Tim Redding, and Jonathon Niese/Bobby Parnell, a group that collectively had a paltry 40 Major League wins last year (by comparison, the Yankees’ top three projected starters had 43). I hate to sound like John McCain, but this motley crew will not get it done, my friends.
Fortunately, I think that Mets brass realize that. In other words, watch this space…
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