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Fear of a Slide

The Mets have just finished up one of the most successful months in club history. They went from a month that almost saw them eliminated from the playoff conversation, to one where it seemed they couldn’t lose hoisting them to a 1.5 games out of first and on top for the wild card. Unfortunately for the Mets there are several signs that point to one of their famous losing streaks starting up.

For starters the two pitchers the Mets count on to be their “stoppers” have struggled mightily. Santana and Pelfrey have been running into trouble recently and if they cannot find a way to return to form can lead to some big problems for the Mets.

The Mets were able to get past these problems on the strength of their offense and brilliant pitching from the bottom half of the rotation. Dickey, Takahashi and Niese were fantastic this past month. Dickey has lost only once since being called up and Niese has proven so valuable Minaya is refusing to trade him even if it means bring Cliff Lee to the club.

Unfortunately for the Mets both Dickey and Takahashi struggled in their last start. Perhaps Dickey can bounce back, but it was always unlikely he would be able to continue his stellar play all season. Moreover Takahashi is better suited for the bullpen. He has been great the first time through the line-up, but after that has been very hittable. In addition when he does not have pinpoint control he has struggled mightily.

The Mets better hope some of these guys figure things out, or hope the Cliff Lee trade goes through sooner rather than later, cause right now they look to be in a bit of trouble. Wright isn’t going to hit .400 forever, and Reyes and Pagan are now hurt. I know they are said to be minor injuries but Pagan was only supposed to be out a day, its been quite a bit longer. After last season I do not believe anything this team says on the medical front.

Perhaps it is a pessimistic way to look at things but the Mets rotation does not look to be in a good place.

by Evan Slavit at the Sports Fan Blog Network

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July 1, 2010 - Posted by slavite | Bloggers, Evan Slavit, Original Content | , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

2 Comments »

  1. You make some great points, but I am more concerned with the Mets Bullpen. Right now they need to look for a new closer. I have zero confidence in K-ROD. Unlike most closers, he can never seem to get through the 9th Inning without at least giving up a hit or a walk. Today he blew a 2 run lead and a game the Mets just had to have. I cannot recall the last time they broght this excuse for a stopper in when he was able to pitch a 1,2,3 inning. Very Sad! Omar needs to find a closer, or this team will not make it to the Playoffs. Mets lose to last place Nats 6-5 on Saturday, July 3, 2010. Thank you K-Rod…..

    Comment by baryko | July 3, 2010

  2. Great point. K-Rod has been driving me crazy all season. He is possibly the biggest problem on the team. The rest of the bullpen, however, I have been pretty happy with. I feel for the most part they have been pretty solid, with my only complaint how Manuel uses them. Jerry might be good for the clubhouse but he has not shown the ability to be a good in-game manager. His decisions have killed some great arms in the pen, and I believe he is more responsible for the bullpen problems than the players.

    Comment by slavite | July 6, 2010


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