Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Well, That Sucked

A nice afternoon for baseball quickly turned to shit. Mike Pelfrey gave up a run in the first, followed by a scoreless second. Then, the bottom fell out. The third inning saw Pelfrey give up 5 more runs, and that was the end of his day. From what I heard/read, it seems Mike had little control over his secondary pitches, and his fastball did not have the movement displayed in the spring. That makes 2 disappointing outings in a row, and his first outing wasn't exactly great. So what does it mean?

Basically, that he needs time. Remember, he is our 5th starter. This is not the #1 or #2 starter getting smacked around. This is a kid who had a good spring, who is still working on his secondary stuff. He is far from a bust. The best thing for him is consistent work, where he uses his slider and change more than his fastball. The question is, does this happen as a Met, or in NOLA? I'm a little torn. I like the idea of him working with The Jacket. This is our pitching guru after all, and he is the guy responsible for getting this worked out. At the same time, what does it do to his confidence to get hit by pro's? Would it be better to go to AAA and work on those pitches against prospects? Petersen has a couple of other guys he is working on now in Perez and Burgos, so it may be better to send him to NOLA, and let him work it out there. I'm not a GM, or a manager, so I don't know the right answer. I do trust that whatever is decided is the right move. That being said, I will have to cut him from my fantasy team. Unlike the Mets, I can't afford to wait this out. Sorry Mike.

Otherwise, things were not much better. Eleven runs given up in total. The offense mustered 5 runs on 12 hits, scoring two in the ninth. David Wright continued to struggle, going 0-3, he is not hitting 263. Willie, this is a slump. He is not hitting the ball hard, at all. He battled in his last at bat last night, but grounded out three times today. I don't think the kid is done, but I am starting to worry about the length of his struggles. It's the longest stretch he has had. Now, perhaps he was due for one, but he is also now due to break out of it in a big way. Delgado went 0-4 and is now hitting 193. I am very concerned about him. He is a veteran, who has not had as bad a stretch as this that I know of. Yes, he missed ST, but he should be up to speed now. Him and DW need to get going. I have little doubt it will happen, I just hope it is soon.

So, a day off tomorrow. Then onto Washington for a three game set. Manny got his win last time. Let's take 3 this time around guys.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ed, yeah this was painful. Pelf is clearly overmatched on the ML level, but does he work out his kinks on this level or in AAA. Personally, i think AAA. This is a close division and we can't afford to have blow outs like this. It's OK if its just a bad day, but it was far from that. We need a reliable #5, someone who can keep them in games.

Mike said...

Humber is kickin much ass down in NOLA, and with far better peripheral numbers than Pelfrey had during his AAA stint last season.

Just sayin.

Phree Phil!

Ed in Westchester said...

Way too early for Phil Mike. If Pelfrey is struggling, what's to say Phil won't do the same. Remember, he missed a whole season with the TJ surgery.
Late season, perhaps. Now, no chance.
Sosa or Vargas first methinks.
But it won't matter. The Jacket will work his magic, and Pelfrey will pitch light's out his next start.

Mike said...

Way too early for Phil Mike.

Why? If he's not recovered from TJ surgery, then he shouldn't be pitching in AAA. If he can pitch, let him face the best.

If Pelfrey is struggling, what's to say Phil won't do the same.

Because Humber's AAA numbers are better than Pelfrey's were.