New York Mets: How Omar Minaya Missed the Boat on Kyle Lohse

The biggest question mark for the New York Mets is starting pitching. There’s no denying that. Pedro Martinez, Orlando Hernandez, Mike Pelfrey, and the substitute starters are all sources of concern for fans, and I would guess the front office as well.

I’m sure that Nelson Figueroa is a good guy and obviously dedicated to the sport to move around the world in search of pitching jobs. But having to give him a start this early in the season is somewhat disconcerting for Mets fans. I hope he does a great job on Friday, needless to say.

That being said, Omar Minaya missed the boat with Kyle Lohse. This passage is from Sean Deveney of the Sporting News from today:

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Any front office executives kicking themselves over the nice work turned in thus far by Cardinals RHP Kyle Lohse? Lohse threw five shutout innings in his first start, allowing just three hits, then followed that up with seven shutout innings Sunday against the Nationals. The Cardinals signed Lohse late in spring training for the low price of one year and $4.25 million. Don’t blame the Phillies, for whom Lohse pitched over the final two months of the 2007 season. They offered Lohse three years and $21 million early in the offseason, which he turned down. . . .

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How badly could we use that kind of pitching right now? Lohse is one of those guys with good stuff that should be more successful than he is. His combined numbers between the Cincinnatti Reds and Philadelphia Phillies from last year are:

9-12 4.45ERA 192.2 innings 32 starts 2 CG 1 SHO 122 K’s 57 BB’s

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