Slings & Arrows

By Ed "In Westchester" Semlies
Posted Wednesday, April 4, 2007

So. Sunday night, our beloved Mets faced the defending World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals, and considering what the experts have been writing for months, the Mets were going to be starting off with a loss and on their way to a third place finish. As a fan, I’ve grown somewhat used to the slings and arrows of the media when it comes to the Mets, as well as those from fans of other teams. I try to ignore it.

The sting however, is still strong.

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that the Mets have their share of question marks. Oliver Perez, despite a great performance in the NLCS, did not pitch particularly well during the regular season. John Maine is still young. Mike Pelfrey is still a rookie, and has to show that his improved slider and changeup are ML ready. El Duque is old and prone to injury. Tom Glavine is probably the only pitcher of whom little negative can be said. The bullpen has its share of questions, with Heilman’s barking elbow, the absence of Sanchez, the rookie Joe Smith, the loss of Chad Bradford and Darren Oliver. All in all, some questions amongst the pitchers. But I have to ask, what team in the NL East does not have questions?

Let’s start with “the team to beat” the Phillies. Freddy Garcia was the big addition. But Freddy is not without his issues. For instance, he has a knack for giving up the long ball. Now, in a park like Shea, that may not be as big an issue. In Citizens Bank Park however, that is not a good thing for the old ERA. Next we have Brett Myers, who has yet to prove he can beat anyone with any consistency. Cole Hamels is young, talented, and injury prone. Adam Eaton was another addition. Eaton is 54-45 with a 4.40 ERA in his career, and has battled injuries the past two seasons. Finally, the Phillies have 44 year old Jamie Moyer. Their pen is anchored as it were by Tom Gordon. As for the pen leading up to Gordon, questions abound there as well, as the Phillies used all of the spring to cobble together some set up men.

Next up is Atlanta. Now, the Braves shored up their bullpen, adding Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano to set up for closer Bob Wickman. So, the 7, 8 and 9th innings could be in better hands than the Braves have had since, well, since forever it seems. The rotation is anchored by John Smoltz, who went 16-9 last season, his second back in the rotation after spending 3+ years as Braves closer. Behind Smoltz the Braves have Tim Hudson, coming off an injury, Mark Redman, coming off years in Kansas City, and Mike Hampton, coming off a strained oblique in the spring. Chuck James and Lance Cormier round out the starting staff (Cormier is in for Hampton for now). James has just 1 full season under his belt, although a pretty good one at 11-4 with a 3.78 ERA.

As for the Marlins and Nationals, well, they really aren’t a threat to the top 3 teams in the East. There is talent of course in Florida, with Dontrelle Willis, Scott Olsen, and Anibel Sanchez. Not so much for the Nationals though.

If you take a dispassionate look at the top 3 teams, you will see all three have pitching questions. All have an aged veteran that is being counted on to solidify the staff. All have a young hurler being asked to step it up to the next level. However, the experts seem to gloss over these facts. They focus on the age of Glavine and El Duque, and instantly use that as an excuse to say they are in trouble. They talk about the youth of Maine, forgetting how well he pitched in the regular season last year. They talk about Perez, who, I grant did not have a good regular season for the most part last year, but who pitched a great game 7 in the NLCS, and has done well in the spring. And they seem to discount the talent of Pelfrey at this point, all the while raving about the likes of Hamels.

Now, I could be a bigger man and say, “oh, let them talk, we fans know the deal”. But I’m not a big man. I get annoyed easily, especially when someone like a certain former Mets GM is doing much of the anti-Met talking and writing. It’s not that I hate seeing the shortcomings of my team pointed out; it’s that when the analysis is written, it is not even handed. You want to talk about age being a concern, do it across the board. Yes, Glavine is old, but so is Smoltz. You want to talk about youth being an issue in regards to Pelfrey, say the same about Hamels. Yes, injuries are a concern, but they are for every team, so you need to look at depth. The Mets used 13 starters last year, and won 97 games. Now, many of those starters, such as Jose Lima, were awful. If a replacement is needed this year, I daresay Chan Ho Park is going to do a better job than Lima did. So will Jason Vargas. The Mets pen will get a boost from the return of Mota. For all the talk about the job Dave Duncan does in St. Louis, how about a little credit for Rick Petersen? You think maybe he might be able to help Perez regain his 2004 form? And help Maine and Pelfrey learn a bit more?

Of course, the other thing that people are ignoring is the lineup, but that’s a column for another day.

 

In closing, I want to thank the good folks at F.U. for asking me to join the staff of BlogProfessors. I started my blog last June after a few months of commenting on other sites as an outlet for my thoughts. My wife was happy that I would no longer bore her with talk of why Jose Lima should not wear #17, why Billy Wagner drives me nuts, and the joy of watching Jose Reyes drive the other team batty. I hope you like what I bring to the room.

You can visit Ed's site for more at your leisure by simply clicking here.

Sorry, Ed.

JL
Asst. Head Cog and Bottle Washer