Aaron Heilman is really trying to be quite the stud these days. He's managed to rack up 2 Ass of the Day awards in a week. Really quite the accomplishment. The sight of Heilman jogging in from the bullpen makes me physically nauscous now. And Co-Ass of the Day award goes to Willie Randolph who just looks like a complete ass trying to manage this bullpen.

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So when we last spoke, I called out not only the Mets line up, but the Mets bullpen to step it up in this week of games against the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies. A week later, it seems that my challenge was answered by David Wright and company, as the Mets just completed an impressive week of baseball that included a sweep of Washington and a series victory against Philadelphia.

On Tuesday night Mike Pelfrey took the mound on yet another Jackie Robinson Night at Shea (and yes that was said in a negative way). I'm just going to make a quick public service announcement about Jackie Robinson, that I know some of my fellow bloggers share with me. Jackie Robinson was a great player, he was a great American for his contributions to not only baseball and society, and he was a great BROOKLYN DODGER. Listen I am a fan of history, and the Brooklyn Dodgers for that matter, but it seems with the pending opening of Citi Field, Mr. Wilpon is kind of forgetting that we are the NEW YORK METS. My point being, it would be nice to see some more Mets history invovled with not only this ballpark, but the organization in general. Instead of celebrating the last season at Shea with another Robinson Night, let's have a Seaver Night, or a 1969 Night, or something Mets related. I mean, we are the Mets for God's sake, not the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Now back to Tuesday's game. Ladies and gentlemen can we have a standing ovation for Mike Pelfrey please? Where has this Pelfrey been all of the past two seasons. I mean seven shut out innings from him was just what the doctor ordered on Tuesday night. That was the type of start the Mets needed, and the 6-0 victory was the game the Mets needed to kick off the new week. Pelfrey is starting to earn the respect that I so have wanted to give him for the longest time. Even though he didn't pitch as well on Sunday night against the Phillies, he still got himself out of some tough jams. Can you really fault the man for getting burned by the best second baseman in the league. I'm critical, but not that critical.

After a come-from-behind win on Saturday, the Mets and Nationals played themselves a half marathon of a baseball game on Thursday night. Just to put things in perspective, I was already at my third bar of the night once the Mets finally "pushed" across the winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning at Shea. Trailing 2-1 in the eighth inning, Carlos Delgado did something correct for the first time all season by pushing across Ryan Church to tie the game. In the 14 inning it wasn't even a heroic RBI base hit, but a wild pitch by Washington's Joel Hanrahan that ended the game. The Washington reliever, already in the midst of a sloppy inning let one get away allowing Damion Easley to score the winning run.

Sloppy was the only way to describe the game, but if there is one positive we can draw from it, that would be the bullpen. Six Mets relievers threw seven scoreless innings to keep the Mets in the game. The bullpen in general looked pretty damn solid this week. Billy Wagner looks dominant as usual (along with his awesome wad of dip), we welcomed back Duaner Sanchez, and Aaron Heilman has seemed to settle down. Once again Joe Smith is having another solid start to the season, we can only hope he keeps it up for the whole entire season this year.

So after making waste of Washington it was off to Philadelphia for another round with the Phillies. Johan Santana made yet another important start in this young season as him and Phillies ace Cole Hamels met up for a highly anticipated Friday night showdown. Seven innings later Santana had struck out 10 Phillies and only gave up 3 runs as he led the Mets to a critical 6-4 victory, extending their winning streak to four games. Oliver Perez had himself another great start on Saturday, but in typical Mets fashion the bullpen went and made things interesting. After Scott Schoeneweis and Smith each gave up a run, Billy Wagner put the meat of the Phillies line up in their place and the Mets walked out with a 4-2 victory. Sunday night as I stated ealier Chase Utley made Mike Pelfrey look normal for the first time this season. Utley drove all of the Phillies first four runs. A solo home run in the first and a three run job in the fifth. The Mets made it interesting by tieing it up in the sixth, but the long ball was our downfall all night as Pedro Feliz hit the go ahead home run to give the Phillies a 5-4 win and end our hopes of a sweep in Philly.

This week was exactly what the Mets needed. Jose Reyes has returned to classic Jose form, Wags looks good, Wright is awesome, and even Beltran is starting to come alive. With road games against the Cubs and Nationals, and a three games series back at Shea against the Braves, it has been the perfect time for the Mets to wake up. If the Mets can win two at Wrigley, it would be a huge momentum push coming into the huge Atlanta series this upcoming weekend. Once again I would like to think that we will steamroll the Nats. All-in-all the Mets get a solid A for their efforts this week, and hopefully the effort they have put forth will continue this week.

P.S. As much as I hate to say it, well done to the New York Rangers. I still hate you though.
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Heartbroken, anger, and disbelief, are just a few of the many emotions being shown by the 15,000+ members in the facebook group after the Mets historic meltdown.

Who can really blame them? This wasn’t the ending we all planned on. Two weeks ago we held a very comfortable 7 game lead with 17 to play. We were sitting in the driver’s seat looking at the SNY pocket schedule, seeing 13 of our last 17 games against the lowly Nationals and Marlins. In a year full of injuries and so called disappointments this is when we were finally going to get it done. Guess what? It didn’t happen, but life moves on.

Though we didn’t win the World Series, there are many individual moments that us as fans can look back on and be very proud of. Watching things like the continuing development of young players Lastings Milledge and Mike Pelfrey, exciting plays like the Endy Chavez drag bunt or the Carlos Beltran catch in Houston, the scoreless inning streaks of Pedro Feliciano and rookie Joe Smith, Tom Glavine’s 300th career win, John Maine’s two near no hitters, Shawn Green chasing Hank Greenberg for the all-time Jewish home run record, the return of Pedro Martinez, etc… these are the things that when I look back on the 2007 Mets I’m going to remember.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m just as upset as the rest of you. But in a year in which 99% of us are going to call it a letdown, there are those little things that we should all take with us, that we can all look back on, and that we can all remember to put an instant smile on our faces. And if that doesn’t work? 2008 is just around the corner. Read More...

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A hot topic around the Mets blogosphere lately has been the recent inefficiency of the Mets Bullpen. Global NYM reader Jill writes...

The Mets will not make the pennant with the Bullpen the way it is. Besides, Wagner and Heilman the rest of them need to get more work. To lose last night's game which Glavine pitched great was a nightmare. When I saw Mota coming, I turned it off. I knew exactly how this would play out and it did. Every night it's the same thing, the parade of relief pitchers that come in and can't get the job done is getting old. I don't understand why Mota was brought in with after all of his last attempts the Mets have lost. Billy Wagner can pitch an extra inning. Tim McGraw used to and so did Jesse Orosco. If I see Mota again, I'm TURNING THE GAME OFF. He might be good one day, but not right now with September right around the corner. I hope in the Winter they can get some good relief pitchers.

I've been a defender of Mota since he returned from his suspension earlier this season, blaming his poor play on the lack of a spring training, but even now, I must agree, this guy is terrible, he never gets the big out when we need it, and is almost money in the bank for opposing hitters. Mota simply cannot get the job done.

I think Mota constantly coming in the games despite his horrendous pitching has been based on two factors. First, Manager Willie Randolph seems to have an endless confidence in Mota, as if Mota were a veteran that you know will bust out of this slump (sort of like why the Mets were never going to bench Delgado no matter how bad he played this season). Secondly, I think it has to do with the economics of baseball, Mota is making $1.8 Million this year, and is signed through next season for the rest of his $5 million contract. Bottom line, the Mets are paying Mota, so they have to play Mota. This would also explain why Mota is used more in big game spots rather than Pedro Feliciano or Aaron Heilman, despite the fact that Heilman and Feliciano have consistently dominated both righties and lefties, for the last two seasons.

The Mets bullpen needs some drastic change. With the rosters expanding Saturday, I don't expect the Mets to up and release Mota, but there needs to be a change in how the bullpen is used.

First, Pedro Feliciano is NOT, I repeat NOT a lefty specialist. Just because someone is left handed and has a small contract, it doesn't... automatically make them a lefty specialist. While lefties are batting an abysmally low .149 against Feliciano, Righties aren't doing much better, batting a mere .202. Ironically, thats the same BAA vs righties as Closer Billy Wagner and setup man Jorge Sosa, it's better than any of the Mets other relievers righty or lefty (minus Ambiorix Burgos who didn't have very many appearances), so how exactly did Feliciano even get this reputation for being a lefty specialist? Comparatively, Scott Shoeneweis who Willie brings in to face righties all the time has a BAA vs righties of .330. If anyone in that bullpen is a lefty specialist, it's Schoeneweis.

Second, The Mets have to bring back Joe Smith when rosters expand, and make him a more instrumental part of that bullpen. Most of us expect Smith to be on the playoff roster, there is no way he should not be on this team in favor of Guillermo Mota or Aaron Sele.

Third, If Sosa is going to be the setup man, use him as such, meaning he pitches the 8th inning, whenever the Mets have the lead. I don't want to see Sosa come in in the 6th inning to face one batter, then come out of the game, so we can see Shoeneweis in the 8th. Bullpens need to have routines. Based on how our starters do, the bullpen should be able to figure out who's going to come in before it happens. I'm sick of Willie randomly flipping a coin to decide who he's going to bring in all the time.

Fourth, I've been asking this for a while, and Gary Cohen said it last week. Is Aaron Sele even still on this team? The Mets got Sele to be the long man out of the bullpen, but when a mets starter gives up 5 runs in 3 innings, we seeing Jorge Sosa or Aaron Heilman warming up in the bullpen. If you're not going to use Sele EVER, why is he even taking up a spot on the roster, especially in a bullpen that has been worn out like the Mets. Not to mention, in the rare situation that Sele actually does come in the game, he can't get anyone out. since August 1st, Sele has made a grand total of 6 appearances,for a total of 8.1 innings, and in that time, allowed 14 hits 0 walks and 6 runs for a WHIP of 1.68, and an ERA of 6.75. So I ask again... Is Aaron Sele still a part of this team?

Unfortunately with Ambiorix Burgos having Tommy John Surgery, the Mets are short on bullpen options, unless they add some one (like minor league relievers Willie Collazo, Jon Adkins, or Steve Schmoll) to the 40 man roster before September 1st, the playoff bullpen roster will be limited to:

Billy Wagner
Jorge Sosa
Aaron Heilman
Pedro Feliciano
Scott Schoeneweis
Guillermo Mota
Aaron Sele
Joe Smith

The only other option would be to use a starting pitcher out of the bullpen; of course, this will be highly dependent on Pedro Martinez's performance in September. Read More...

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Howdy all! First off I would like to apologize for my absence this past week, as my computer stopped working last week. It is still in the process of getting fixed (much like the Mets lineup and bullpen). While gone I finally came up with a name for my weekly column though: Tuesday Two Cents with Jersey Dan. I hope you guys like it. Now off to the races.

The bullpen, yeah we got one, yeah it’s got issues; but like a Chevy it gets the job done, even if you have to tinker with it at bit. Everyone has quickly jumped on the Scott Schoeneweis bandwagon as of late. Have fun riding that wagon, because who knows how rough it will be, and who knows if it will crash or not. Let’s be realistic here, the man has shown up for two months this season, and was just despicable for the rest of the season. His ERA is still above five, and his WHIP is still above one and a half. There is no reason for us to get outlandishly excited over this recent stint of success. Let’s see where Schoeneweis is at the end of the month.

So the Schoeneweis train is full, and that is because everyone is starting to get off of the Wagner Wagon. What is everyone’s problem with Wags? He is having one of his best seasons ever (like I predicted at the beginning of the season), and has shown nothing but composure this season. Last week against Atlanta Wags loaded up the bases with none out, and Brian McCann coming up to the plate, followed by Andruw Jones. What followed was composure that only the best closers in the game show. Wagner throws great pitches and induces McCann to ground to David Wright who fires home for the force. Wagner then throws some more great pitches and gets Jones to ground into a game ending double play. If Wagner weren’t a great closer, the Mets most likely would have blown that lead. His 26 saves 1.58 ERA and 61 strikeouts can close ball games for my team any day of the week.

So does anybody want to tell me what happened to Joe Smith? The man was lights out at the beginning of the season, and then sometime a little before the All Star Break he hit a brick wall that was more solid than a Mo Vaughn turkey sandwich. Hence Smith was sent down to AAA. Normally this wouldn’t bother me, but normally Guillermo Mota wouldn’t be a middle reliever on my baseball team. Let’s face it, off the juice Mota is garbage. If Smith can get back on track in New Orleans we can bring him back up and get Mota out of there.

Pedro Feliciano: Ain’t nothing wrong with that.

Finally we get to the Met that everyone loves to hate: Aaron Heilman. This guy is having a career year, keeps us in games nine times out ten, usually cleans up the messes that Mota or Schoeneweis leave him, and yet we still ridicule him because of Game Seven of the 2006 NLCS. Get over it people, Heilman is a solid player, pitching in a role that he was thrown into last season. As far as I am concerned he has pitched very well since becoming our set up man and is the least of our bullpen worries.

Point being, this bullpen, if managed the right way can be just as good as Boston’s or any of the other top pens in the league. Now that Jorge Sosa is in the pen he will get a lot of work. Sosa, Feliciano, and Heilman looks like it could work out to be a great bullpen combo. If heaven allows it, and Schoeneweis continues to produce this bullpen could turn lethal. If Smith learns how to pitch again, we can get the steroid train out of there and have one of the best pens in the game. This last month and a half will make or break this pen, and make or break our chances of winning a third World Series.

Afterthoughts

Former New York Yankee shortstop and commentator Phil Rizzuto died today. Scooter was a legendary face to the game of baseball his whole life. He was one of the premier shortstops of his day, and his voice is among one of the most famous in baseball. His play-by-play was so exciting that he was used by Meat Loaf to do the “play-by-play” on his 1979 classic “Paradise By The Dashboard Light.” The Scooter will be missed.

While on hiatus last week, many Major League Baseball milestones were achieved.

Barry Bonds hit #756 last Tuesday. Thank God that is over, and the Giants won’t be on national television anymore this season

A-Rod hit #500 last week. I like A-Rod; he’s a great player that puts up with way too much garbage. I hope we get to see him hit many more home runs (just not for the Yankees).

Tommy Glavine wins #300. This seemed to take an eternity to Mets fans. What was pretty crazy about this win is that it took place in Wrigley Field, which opened in 1914, and only last Sunday saw it’s first 300 win milestone. Glavine is also the first Met to win 300 games while in a Met uniform. Glavine also could be the last pitcher to ever win 300 games, with these boneheaded pitch counts, and five man rotations and such. Congrats Tommy.

On a personal milestone note I must tip my cap to Cardinals OF Rick Ankiel. As much as I despise the Cardinals I cannot be happier for this guys success. If five years ago you were to tell me that Rick Ankiel would be an OF hitting home runs for St. Louis, I’d tell you take another shot of JD and keep dreaming. This is a great story for baseball, and I could not be happier for the guy.

Football is back, and the Giants are already driving me nuts. Six wins is a stretch for them. Thank God NASCAR goes until November.

Speaking of NASCAR, can somebody please instruct Dale Earnhardt’s crew on how to properly build an engine for a stock car? Four blown engines this season, and two in three weeks is just embarrassing.

That’s my two cents…Let’s Go Mets. Read More...

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The Mets have optioned righty specialist Joe Smith to AAA New Orleans. There is no word on who will be called up, although most people are speculating righty Jon Adkins will take Smith's spot on the roster. I'm still hoping this means Cordero will be walking in the door tomorrow.

It's sort of sad to see Smith demoted after his brilliant start to the season, but anyone who has watched him lately could tell his stuff just hasn't been as good. I fully anticipate Smith will be back before September 1st and will be on the playoff roster, but that remains to be seen.
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By Peter J. Pompilio

Coming into the 2007 season the Brooklyn Cyclones had one goal on their minds, and that was to win the New York-Penn League (NYPL) title. After getting swept by the eventual champion Staten Island Yankees, (who are two time champions, winning in 2005 as well) the Cyclones made a lot of changes. No more Joe Holden, Daniel Cummings, and Joe Smith, and no more of George Greer’s managing to distract them. The 2007 Brooklyn Cyclones are a completely different team this season.

As the 2006 season began, it wasn’t a happy Opening Day for the Cyclones as the Yankees destroyed them 18-0. It was the beginning of a terrible stretch for the team, as they went 1-8 in June, and were unraveling at the seams. Injuries hurt the team and a lack of pitching was not helping them either. Even an appearance from former Mets Alay Soler, and Cliff Floyd could not help the team muster up wins. After July 10th though, that all changed. The Cyclones went on a barrage, scoring runs at will. The Cyclones went on a team record 12 game win streak, and by end of August they were within striking distance of a wild card spot. Greer and his team didn’t give up, and had two huge come from behind wins, two days before the end of the season. After a loss the next game, the Cyclones faced a win and in situation. In a game for the ages, the Cyclones prevailed and clinched the NYPL Wild Card, after missing the playoffs completely in 2005. In the 1st round, they faced the Yankees, who completely owned the Cyclones all season. Game 1 was at Keyspan Park, and it wasn’t the Cyclones night as they lost 5-1 to the eventual champions, before eventually losing the series.

Coming into 2007 there were a lot of changes for the Cyclones. New players in Raul Reyes, Will Vogl, and Micah Schilling looked to rejuvenate an offense that lacked a big bat. With veterans Jake Eigsti and Jason Jacobs returning to the team, it looked like the offense could be tops in the NYPL. As far as pitching goes, Grady Hinchman and Josh Appel were the only guys left in an already shaky bullpen. But with new acquisitions, Steven Clyne and Dan McDonald it seemed like the pieces were falling into place. The team was still lacking a manager though. So who’d they turn to? Well, it was the man who led the team to its 1st ever NYPL title, and the brother of former Met Edgardo Alfonzo; Edgar Alfonzo. The team was now in place and ready to show Brooklyn what they had.

The 2007 season started with a bang as the Cyclones faced off against the champion Yankees. It was a great game with both pitchers giving it their all. But the Cyclones prevailed on this night winning 5-1, and getting revenge for last years 18-0 defeat. As June ended, the team was sitting at 8-4, and in first place in the McNamara division. So far this month the team is 17-5, and is 25-9 overall. They hold a 6.5 game lead on the Yankees, and are clicking on all cylinders. Case in point, on Saturday July 21st, they scored 11 runs on 18 hits, almost tying the season high (13).

The Cyclones have the best record in all the NY Penn League and are in the top 10 in batting and ERA. It is an exciting time to be a Cyclones fan, and one can only hope that they will keep up the pace heading into the NY Penn League playoffs, and win their 2nd NY Penn League Title.

LETS GO CYCLONES!!!

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