This is a good thing

by kingcritical on Sep 29, 2006 12:18 AM EDT

So... Pedro is done. It's a good thing for the Mets. Or at the very least, it's no big deal.

Honestly, when I got home tonight and heard the news, I felt relieved. (I started to write a diary today about how the Mets should just bench him for the playoffs--it's saved on my machine at work, and when I get in tomorrow, I'll tack it on to this story if you want to see it.)

The Mets have been winning all season without Pedro. They don't need him to win. Pedro was the team's savior last year, to a certain extent. He brought excitement to the Mets, and he made them a team worth rooting for. This year, he's been hurt almost without exception. After winning five games in April, Pedro has not been the team's ace all season.

One of the fears I had was that Pedro would get a playoff start and he would not have his stuff, or he would be too injured or out of shape to pitch well. Not only could it cost the Mets a playoff game, but it might demoralize the team since their "ace" would not get the job done.

Now the Mets know what they have and what they do not--there are no question marks. The whole not-having-Pedro thing could be a rallying point, and Lord knows the Mets could use something to rally around after playing the way they have over the last two weeks.

Here's how the team's rotation could/should look for the five-game divisional series:

El Duque
Glavine
Maine
Trachsel
El Duque

And for a possible seven-game series:

El Duque
Glavine
Maine
El Duque
Trachsel
Glavine
El Duque

Of course, the whole schedule is subject to change depending on who the Mets are facing, what the situation is in any given series, etc. If the Mets play back-to-back series that go the full five and seven games, it most certainly will not follow the above pattern.

But I like the way this lineup looks. It's the guys I've seen winning games for the Mets all season. Plus, the bullpen is awesome. You have to feel good about it. I like knowing who will start at Shea on Tuesday or Wednesday. All the anxiety I've had over the last week or so seems to have gone out the window tonight.

This Mets team has overcome so much this year that I don't think the loss of Pedro is going to get in the way. You have to believe. Let's go Mets!

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Given these developments

and the fact that Jorge Julio has regressed back to the mean, for this year at least, I will recant and agree the Julio-for-Duque trade was a good one for the Mets.

We have to hope that Milledge was worth keeping vs. having Oswalt, Zito, or someone else to anchor this rotation instead.

by peeder on Sep 29, 2006 3:40 AM EDT reply actions

I agree

the lack of power pitching (except maine) is a concern as those are often the pitchers that excel in the playoffs, but I still think the mets are good enough to get to the world series and they should get there.

"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman

by hugo on Sep 29, 2006 8:50 AM EDT reply actions

Pedro is a team leader most of all

and he's still going to be getting the clubhouse pumped. He's electric and enthusiastic and that's what they are going to need.

Maine has got to shine. This is the big time.

And if the Duke can pull this off, he's gonna be epic.

by hotspur on Sep 29, 2006 12:53 PM EDT reply actions

El Duque on short rest?

Your proposed 7-game rotation has Hernandez starting games 1, 4, and 7, the last 2 on 3 days rest. I think that's a mistake. He hasn't pitched on short rest at all this year and he was sidelined with a dead arm recently. Plus, his stuff isn't so good that I want the same lineup to see him 3 times in 9 days. I suspect you're just looking for an excuse to restrict Trachsel to 1 start, but I see no chance that Willie will give El Duque (or Glavine or anyone else) 3 starts in a single series.

by madisonmetsfan on Sep 29, 2006 2:11 PM EDT reply actions

two things

As corny as it sounds, I really think El Duque is a big-game pitcher. He has been to the postseason before, and he has won. I think he can step it up and carry the load. Whether Willie would saddle him with the load is another question, and a good one at that.
I did say that the second list could change very easily, depending on the situation and on how the earlier series goes. Maybe it's unrealistic, but let's just say that it's what I would like to see at this point. If Maine (or Trachsel!) is able to get the job done in more than one start, that would be great. Also, the Mets have a pretty deep bullpen, which should help in all matters.

[Citizens Bank Park] is a paradise of cheap homeruns. -Gary Cohen

by kingcritical on Sep 29, 2006 4:02 PM EDT up reply actions

I like him in a big spot too, but...

not on short rest. Torre never did that, and as much as I dislike the Yankees, the guy does know how to handle a baseball club.

Which leaves us where? Well, a few days ago the issue was who was left out of the rotation, Trachsel or Maine. Now it's which of them is #3 in a 7 game series (potentially 2 starts, including game 7) and which is #4 (1 start). I still say Willie gives the nod to the "proven veteran," peripherals be damned. I'm just dreading Trachsel in a game 7--he might take 20 minutes between pitches (and that's with no baserunners).

by madisonmetsfan on Sep 29, 2006 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions

I always like your analyses,

king, but I completely disagree with this statement:

After winning five games in April, Pedro has not been the team's ace all season.

Pedro was superb in May; he just got little run support, and there was the one memorable Wags meltdown against the Yankees. His stats after his start against the the Diamondbacks at Shea, when he threw 8 scoreless, were excellent. After that, though, I agree, he just couldn't be Pedro due to injuries.

I also agree that the Mets can win in the playoffs without Pedro pitching, although I agree with hotspur that he'll be an important force in the clubhouse.

Go Mets!

by Max in NJ on Sep 29, 2006 3:40 PM EDT reply actions

you're right

The line quoted above is an overstatement. I should refine it to say "the second half of the season."

I think the multiple stints on the DL, combined with the stretches where he was hurt but not on the DL, made me feel that he was either missing or ineffective for most of the season. But you site some good examples of when Pedro was very good earlier in the year.

It really has been frustrating this year to watch what has happened to Pedro and what he has gone through. Of course, winning the division has been quite an analgesic for us fans. Let's hope they can take it a little further and it can serve the same function for him.

[Citizens Bank Park] is a paradise of cheap homeruns. -Gary Cohen

by kingcritical on Sep 29, 2006 4:08 PM EDT up reply actions