Erring Heilman

Normally, the big story today would have been the loss and Mike Pelfrey looking worse than he did the last time out. This would of course lead to some fans calling for Omar to make a trade for a starter. Thankfully (sic) Erring Heilman has saved us from that with a brain-freeze worse than any I have ever seen, worse than Cone, worse than Lo Duca.

It should have been an easy play. A little pop dribbler between the mound and first. Erring fielded it cleanly, Delgado was on the bag waiting for the toss. For some reason known only to Erring, he decided to take it himself, and, running as fast as Timo Perez in the 2000 WS, was beaten to the bag by Chris Burke, allowing another run to score. Unacceptable, unbelievable, and pretty darn close to unforgivable IMHO.

Erring had seemingly gotten past his recent slump. He had pitched well as of late, getting out of jams and being dependable again. Now, this mistake did not cost the Mets the game, as they went down 8-4, rather, it speaks to the mindset of Heilman. This is a guy who wants to start. He possibly feels slighted by not being in the rotation to start the season, and by being passed over while such luminaries as Lima Time! and Jeremi Gonzalez were given starts. He slumped, possibly because he was upset, or probably because all pitcher do at some point. But by pitching better as of late he had accomplished a few things. First, he helped settle the bullpen. Second, he possibly put himself in position to be given a shot at the rotation next season. Third, he possibly increased his trade value, should the Mets decide to include him in a deal for a top level starter. Now, he has damaged all of that, and ruined whatever good will he had built up with the fans as of late.

The brain lock should not have happened. He at least should have tossed the ball to Delgado, or failing that, he should have run to the bag. What was going on in his head is something only he knows. He was apologetic after the game, and admitted it was stupid. The question now is, how will this impact how Willie looks upon him? Will he be called into a tight spot this week against either the Cubs or the Braves? Will he languish on the bench? Or, if he was impacted by being passed over for the rotation, leading to his slump, will this impact him even more?

For the sake of the team, I hope he is thrown back out there as soon as possible. For the sake of his psyche, I hope he pitches well. Because if he does react poorly to this, it is a bad situation for the pen. These guys are overworked, and can little afford being one guy short, whether by Willie's choice in light of the brain lock, or because Erring stinks up the joint when he does pitch again.

Well, at least Delgado is warming up. Should cause those fans who rue the Jacobs/Petit for Delgado deal to quiet down. Time to take 3 from the Cubbies boys, and get ready for Atlanta this weekend.