Mets Player Performance Meter, Week 11: Pitchers

You know the drill. The Mets' starters have been very good, and the bullpen has been awful. But sooner than later, the bullpen might work its way out of the ERA cellar. With a 5.09 ERA, the Mets' relief staff has a reasonable chance to surpass the Marlins and Phillies. As for the starting rotation, its 3.55 ERA ranks fourth in Major League Baseball, and its 3.70 FIP ranks sixth. Hooray for pitching!

Player	Last Week	This Week	Comment
Miguel Batista, RHP			Please, Terry Collins, do not use Batista in important situations.
Tim Byrdak, LHP			The often hilarious lefty didn't allow a baserunner and recorded four outs in his two appearances.
R.A. Dickey, RHP			Dickey's amazing stretch was bound to come to an end at some point.
Frank Francisco, RHP			Francisco notched a relatively stress-free save before hitting the disabled list.
Dillon Gee, RHP			Gee's ERA had been on a steady decline since May 15, but he undid much of his good work with a 5-inning, 4-run outing.
Justin Hampson, LHP			Called up to the bullpen a few days ago, Hampson gave up 3 hits and 1 unearned run in a pair of appearances.
Jeremy Hefner, RHP			Hefner really doesn't pitch very often, but he had 2.1 scoreless innings with 2 K and 0 BB. That'll work.
Jon Niese, LHP			In 13.1 innings over two starts, Niese had 11 K, 2 BB, and gave up 3 runs for a 2.02 ERA. One more start like that, and he'll have a sub-3.50 ERA.
Bobby Parnell, RHP			With Frank Frank on the shelf, Parnell is easily the Mets' best relief pitcher.
Ramon Ramirez, RHP			Ramirez threw a couple scoreless innings to finish the Mets' rout of the Cubs yesterday, but the main positive here is that he's healthy.
Jon Rauch, RHP			Rauch gave up 5 runs in 1.2 innings, but 4 of them were unearned. Still not a good week.
Johan Santana, LHP			Johan may not have been dominant, but he still notched 6 K and allowed only 2 runs in his six-inning start.
Chris Young, RHP			Young was cruising in his start but lost it in his final inning, yielding 3 runs. His 3.42 ERA over four starts has been a pleasant surprise, and when he starts tonight, it will be the first time he's made more than four starts in a season since 2009.

This week's meter covers games from June 21 through 27.