The State of The Organization:Starting Pitching

The biggest question going into this offseason was the Mets starting pitching. Omar Minaya is rumored to be intent on acquiring a starting pitcher, either via trade or free agency. So here we review the Mets options from a fan’s point of view, both from within the organization and from outside.Who’s in the rotation?

1. Pedro Martinez: Pedro looked to be fully recovered from his shoulder surgery when he returned to the rotation in September. I would not bank on Pedro being the pitcher from his days in Boston, nor am I expecting 30 starts from him. He will battle hard and give the Mets a chance to win on the days he pitches.
2. Oliver Perez: Ollie is eligible for arbitration, but it is almost a sure thing that he will return to the Mets. Perez continues to struggle with his consistency, but has electric “stuff” when he’s on.
3. John Maine: Faded after the all star break, but still a good young pitcher. Could be included in a deal for an ace, but almost a lock to be in the rotation come spring training.

In the organization, but not necessarily the rotation:

1. Orlando Hernandez: Aging and has battled injury woes the past two seasons. Rumors abound that Hernandez will be moved to the bullpen, but my bet is the Mets will be unable to acquire enough pitching to move Hernandez out of the rotation.
2. Mike Pelfrey: The organization seems to have soured on Pelfrey after he was unable to hold onto his spot in the rotation after being given a chance last spring. Pelfrey was much better when he returned to the rotation after the all star break, but still seems to be on the outside looking in. Voted Most Likely To Be Traded.
3. Philip Humber: Runner up in “Most Likely To Be Traded”, was inconsistent when called up in September. Unlikely to be in the rotation, but could earn a chance if he isn’t traded and has a strong spring.
4. Kevin Mulvey: Stock has been rising steadily after a good season in AA with the B’Mets. If pitching remains in flux, could make an appearance in Shea after the all star break.

Free Agent Targets:

1. Livan Hernandez
2. Freddy Garcia
3. Kyle Loshe
4. Bartolo Colon

Now, lets take a look at this cast of characters. Right now the most talked about course of action would be to sign Livan (I’m El Duque’s Brother!) Hernandez  and have him be the third or fourth man in our rotation. Lemme tell you why this is a bad idea…HE’S LIVAN HERNANDEZ! Last year with Arizona, The Great Cheeseburger finished the season with a 4.95 ERA a WHIP that was over the League Average and a mediocre record of 11-11.

Next you’ve got Freddy Garcia, who only pitched in 11 games last year and cost the Phil’s 10 million bucks for just one measely win. PLUS in the 11 games he did pitch in, he had an ERA over five. No good there either.

Kyle Lohse? Does anyone really care about Kyle Lohse? I mean…I guess I’ll give the stats anyway. 9-12, 4.62 ERA, 1.32 WHIP yadda yadda yadda. Seriously…it’s Kyle Lohse. We’re not getting Kyle Lohse.

 Which leaves only one real top flight pitcher left out of the bunch and let me be the FIRST to say that if we DO NOT GET Johan Santana, we will end up with this guy because Omar loves him, and to be honest I like him a lot too.

Bacon Cheeseburger (or Bartolo Colon, whatever you wanna call him) did not have his best year in 2007 but was also hurt for a great portion of time, he went 6-8 with an ERA over six, but honestly he could really be the steal of the free agent market. The guy eats innings, still has some gas on his fast ball, and is a former Cy Young award winner, also, he always seems to wind up on winning teams. Indians were good, Barto was there, the small time the Expos were good, Barto was there, The Angels win the World Series? Once again, Barto was there. Personally, he might not be the ANSWER, but he certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Trade Targets:

1. Joe Blanton
2. Matt Cain
3. Johan Santana

With the trades of both Haren and Willis elimination them from coming to the Mets, the only options left seem to be an inconsistent Joe Blanton and of course SANTANAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, but nothing is set in stone with either of them. Blanton could be a good pick up for the right price but with an ERA of almost 4 in an absolute EXPANSE of a ball park, I don’t think he’s the answer the Mets are looking for. The only other option that leaves is Matt Cain, and while he would more than likely be a can’t miss number one after developing the next couple of years, we’d have to give up a lot for him as well. The real question is, as is with any trade, are these guys really worth the price it would take to get them?

 Right now I’d have to say the future of our pitching situation looks bleak, and if Omar doesn’t do something quickly it could get completely out of hand.

Check back later here at PIITB for thoughts on the possible 08 lineup and the state of mediocrity that is our bullpen.

Is It Really Gonna Matter? (A comment on the SantanAHHHHHHHHH situation.)

Why is it that no matter where I go, or who I talk to, we’re still talking about Johan Santana. Don’t get me wrong, I want the guy just as much as anybody else, but we’re seemingly no where closer to getting him than we were before. The Twins are seemingly not going to budge on the move unless we give up our two top pitching prospects AND our two top outfield prospects…leaving us effectively with nothing. It seems to me like the deal might just be too expensive to make it worth our while.

 Now, if you were to tell me that you’d take Mulvey out of the deal and substitute him for Mike Pelfrey, and maybe flip flop F-Mart for someone like…I dunno RYAN CHURCH (cause he’s so god damn useless anyway) I’d be complete content, but right now I feel we’d be giving up far too much, after last years offseason, where we also gave up way too much. Just doesn’t seem to make much sense.

 So honestly where does this leave us? Are we any better off than we were before? Is this Santana talk just to take the eyes off of Omar’s other glaring mistakes this winter? Well frankly I’m not gonna forget, and I hope that if he does get Santana that nobody else forgets either. This trade would in no way make up for the fact that we have an aging second baseman with a bum wheel for four more years, our catching situation is a complete debacle, and one of our best pieces of trade bait got sent away IN DIVISION for Rosa’s grandpa and a crumb cake.

So I want everyone to take a real long look and wonder if having Johan Santana is really going to make up for losing some key players, and having a mediocre bullpen.

 Really think about it.

 -Boyce The Bear