Today will be the first of four, breakdowns of the Mets roster. The team will be broken down into four aspects, the bullpen, the starting rotation, the outfield, and the infield, each of which will be covered by the time the World Baseball Classic begins which, at that point things will heat up. After tomorrow’s Super Bowl the next few weeks will be the worst time of the sport year, as the only thing to watch is hockey, or mid season basketball (and the Knicks suck). This is the only way to truly get information out there until pre season begins and the Classic premieres. Last year the bullpen was clearly the Achilles heel as Braden Looper went 4-7, with 5 blown saves as the closer. The first of which came on Opening Day which really ruined the optimism of the very, very young season. Looper finished with 3.94 ERA and opponents were able to hit .271 against him. The Mets were clearly able to upgrade at the closer position, with perhaps their biggest move in the off season when they signed Billy Wagner. Wagner signed a 4 year $43 million deal to close things out for these Mets. In retrospect to Looper’s stats Wagner went 4-3 last year, with 38 saves in 41 chances blowing just 3 opportunities. Wagner had a 1.51 ERA and opponents hit a mere .165 against the dominant lefty whose fastball can top out at 100 MPH. But in comparison to all the other balls out closers who just crank back and try and blow it by you Wagner has included an impressive slider to the arsenal which keeps hitters off balance and ranges between 85-90 MPH. The best thing about Wagner is that he improves after the All-Star break in the home stretch, at which time the Mets have faltered greatly. Last year Wagner allowed 3 earned runs and opponents hit .128 against him post All-Star Break. He converted 18 of 19 saves and had a 0.34 ERA. Wagner will represent the most dominating closer the Mets have had since our good old friend Armando decided to erupt.
To take a look back at the 2000 season which was the last time the Mets made the playoffs and we all know how that turned out, we’d be comparing Wagner to Benitez. During that season Benitez appeared in 76 games, converting 41 saves at that time a Mets record, while blowing 5 opportunities. He had a decent 2.61 ERA but was often hurt by the deep ball as he allowed 10 home runs. Opponents averaged a mere .148 against him, as Benitez struck out over 12 batters per 9 innings. But Benitez still had problems with controlling his heat as he walked 38 batters and had a Strike Out to Walk Ratio of just 2.79 : 1.
Now the second most important position out of the pen would have to be the set-up man. Although these guys are often over looked their role is crucial. When a starter has a “quality start” they are go 7 innings. In today’s game the closer rarely pitches more than an inning so it’s the set up mans job to preserve the lead to get the ball to the closers hand, and last year Roberto Hernandez did that well. Hernandez went 8-6, with 4 saves last year and had a respectable 2.58 ERA in 69 innings pitched. Hernandez compiled 18 holds, while opponents mustered a .228 average against him. Hernandez was perhaps our most consistent performer out of the bullpen so much so that at points Randolph would keep him in to close games rather then Looper. The Mets lost out on resigning Hernandez as he is now a Pirate, but with the quest to improve their bullpen they signed a fellow by the name of Duaner Sanchez.
Sanchez went 4-7 with 8 saves last year, with an ERA of 3.73 while playing for the Dodgers. Although the stats appear to be mediocre he showed great stuff, towards the end of last year. In August when he assumed the closers role he converted in all 8 of his save opportunities while holding opponents to a .188 average. Sanchez seemed indifferent in the deal, but is willing to pitch wherever he is needed. “That’s fine with me,” Sanchez said. “I’m here to do what the manager tells me to do. It doesn’t matter if I pitch in the first inning, the fourth, fifth or seventh. I’m here and I’ll be in the bullpen when they need me.” Rick Peterson is ready to work with yet another project, as he says “I think Sanchez is ready to take off, I think [when] you look at the experience and career paths of guys and all the factors involved, there’s a maturity level. He went on to say “Very few pitchers break into the big leagues and mature when they’re real young. It takes a few years to understand how to gain control and manage games.” Sanchez broke into the league with the Pirates in 2002 at the age of 23. His best year came in 2004 when he was setting up another dominant closer by the name of Eric Gagne. Sanchez went 3-1 during that year with a 3.38 ERA. He has worked with catcher Paul Lo Duca before, which is only a plus, and seemingly has the work ethic to improve upon his game.
During that 2000 season, our old pal Johnny Franco was traditionally the set-up man. Franco ranks second on the All-Time saves list compiling 424 saves in 1,036 appearances. This was the first time in Franco’s career in which he didn’t at least split the ninth inning, as the previous year him and Armando were given nearly equal opportunities. Franco was clearly in the decline of his career but was able to be productive as he had a 3.40 ERA, while compiling 20 holds, and saving 4 games. Franco was 5-4, while limiting opponents to a .221 average. During that season Franco’s strike outs per 9 innings, was 9:9. In the end this was Franco’s last truly productive season in a wonderful career.
Now to take a look at the rest of the rest. Obviously the Mets bullpen is still not set in stone, as the final rotation spot is still up for grabs, but as of right now the major problem that the Mets encounter is that they have one other lefty besides Billy Wagner and that is Royce Ring who is not even guaranteed a roster spot. The Mets truly spent a large part of their off season in order to improve their bullpen. Last year the Mets bullpen changed throughout the course of the season as people were unable to perform or new members were acquired. Royce Ring, Dae-Sung Koo, and Heath Bell were amongst the members to be back and forth between the big leagues and the minors. Bell went 1-3 with a 5.59 ERA last year in 42 games. Ring went 0-2 with a 5.06 ERA but showed signs of improvement as the season progressed.
This year the most controversial deal came in the acquisition of Jorge Julio. Julio was acquired after the Mets dealt former number 3 pitcher Kris Benson to the Orioles. Julio had a 5.90 ERA last year along with a 3-5 record after being demoted from Closer-Set Up Man due to the arrival of B.J Ryan. Julio has never put up great records but from 2002 to 2004 Julio compiled 101 saves with an ERA of 3.65. This deal has allowed many to believe that the Mets will shorten up the starters days, allowing them to go 6 innings, while bringing Julio in for the 7th, Sanchez in for the 8th, and then Wagner to close things off in the 9th of course that would be the ideal scenario, as well as Julio performing up to expectations. Julio has a powerful fastball clocked between 96 and 98 MPH but he has struggle with his control. Again the Mets are banking on Rick Peterson to be able to teach Julio when and where to crank up the speed, and when to back off for accuracy. Unfortunately hitters are able to crowd the plate against Julio as he rarely goes inside which allows for more power the other way on outside pitches. Peterson will attempt to change this mentality as well as to get a consistent release point for the inconsistent Julio.
The other pitcher acquired in that Benson deal was John Maine. Maine is an interesting prospect with great potential and according to Minaya is actually a distant candidate for the final rotation spot. Assuming he makes the roster it will most likely be out of the bullpen. Maine rarely allows home runs as he throws a sinking fastball that ranges from the low to mid 90’s. He also throws an impressive slider, as well as inconsistent curve ball and changeups. Although his off speed pitches have great movement he is unable to keep them in the strike zone, something Peterson will surely work on with him. Perhaps the best thing about Maine, besides his youth and potential is the fact that Mr. Billy Beane inquired about him last pre season when talking with the Orioles about Tim Hudson. If Beane still remains interested a trade for Barry Zito could be on the horizon come the All-Star break, Lets hope so.
Yusaku Iriki was acquired from Japan and is yet another candidate vying for the 5th rotation spot. Iriki finished his career in Japan with a .500 record at 35-35, along with a 3.73 ERA throughout his 8 year career. He was a number one pick by Yomiuri in the 1997 draft, but never truly lived up to expectations, similar to another number one pick the Mets just got rid of Kris Benson. Iriki provides versatility for the Mets as he could be used as a spot starter or in long relief help. Chad Bradford is another big acquisition and perhaps only the 4th certain reliever. Bradford was 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA last year in 31 games. His unusual submarine delivery causes problems for opposing hitters, but lefties have seemingly thrives off him as they hit .409 off him compared to right handers who hit just .282 against him. He is mainly a ground ball pitcher who will likely take over the 7th inning, if Julio erupts. If not Bradford will not exactly see extended action, but proves to be a good guy to go to, to get right handers out.
Others that could make the bullpen out of Spring Training include, Steve Schmoll, who went 2-2 with a 5.01 ERA last year, Juan Padilla who went 3-1 with a 1.49 ERA in his 24 appearances last year, Matt Lindstrom, Bartolome Fortunato who is 1-0 in his limited major league career in which he has appeared in 18 total games, Heath Bell, and Brian Bannister. All in all the Mets bullpen is considerably improved from that of last year but it could come at the expense of the starting rotation, as two starters were dealt for two relievers, which is truly perplexing.
The 2000 Mets bullpen included names such as Turk Wendell, Dennis Cook, John Franco, Armando, Pat Mahomes, Rich Rodriguez and Rick White. Turk Wendell is perhaps one of my favorite player’s of all time, there was just something about Wendell, besides the fact that he was un hittable in Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball (1995 perhaps?). Wendell would hop over the foul line and often embrace the necklace he worse that was made up of teeth from animals he hunted and killed. Wendell went 8-6 during that season with a 3.59 ERA finishing with 16 holds as he and Johnny Franco often set up Mr. Benitez. Personally I’d take an assortment of the bullpen members with Wendell and Franco setting up Wagner. How cool would it be if the starters would go 5 innings then you’d turn the ball over to Wendell, Franco, Benitez, Wagner now that’d be a bullpen.
All in all the Mets have dedicated themselves to improving their bullpen this off season as it is clear, teams with talented bullpens end up playing in October. A dependable closer is a necessity for any team with championship ambitions, and the Mets have both in Billy Wagner and the expectations set upon this ’06 team. If Rick Peterson is truly able to change pitchers for the better, the remainder of the bullpen will not have any major problems and as long as the starters get the job done we will be well off. This season is 20 years in the making and there is no reason expectations or results should stop or flounder due to the bullpen.