Bleacher Report - Articles by Ben Currie

Do the Mets Have Bullpen Answers?

Ben Currie — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:15:48 -0400

The bullpen in Flushing, New York has been subject to a lot of finger pointing over the years. But with names like Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran at the top of the order, and Johan Santana at the top of the rotation, it made Aaron Heilman and Luis Ayala look all the worse.

With 29 blown saves last year (third worst in the majors), the pen left us with some bitter memories. Worse, it caved more then ever down the stretch as the Mets narrowly lost their playoff spot to the Phillies for the second straight year.

With Billy Wagner, seemingly the only competent pitcher of the relievers, out for most of this year, GM Omar Minaya sought to address this problem head on.

The offseason brought in Seattle closer J.J. Putz and Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez—two huge names that have been able to dominate late innings in recent years. Problem solved, right? Let's look again.

K-Rod's peripherals are way down over the years. While he still maintains a good ERA and certainly a good save percentage, he may be overdue for some blown saves. His WHIP was way up around 1.30 last year, his fastball velocity is down a couple MPH, and his strikeout to walk ratio has gotten worse.

Also, for those expecting 65 more saves this year, you simply won't get it. Look for something closer to half that. Maybe 40. But the Mets' other relievers just aren't as good as the Angels' were last year on a team that registered a ridiculous 89 save opportunities.

Putz's health is a question mark as well. While he's looking good in the World Baseball Classic, Putz had injury problems all last year. Putz more than doubled his ERA from 2007 to 2008, where he was on and off the DL. Putz looks to have those problems past him for now, but only time will tell.

There's still the matter of the other guys. Though many have been removed, the list still remains unproven. Can Pedro Feliciano, Brian Stokes, Bobby Parnell, and company erase the damage down by the pens of recent years?

I think they can, though don't expect everything to be roses for the Mets pen, especially down the stretch. While I have more faith in these younger newcomers than I did in Heilman, Scott Schoeneweis, Jorge Sosa, etc., I still would much rather see the box score read

Pitcher IP

J Santana 9.0

every night.

Mets and Phillies: Can't We All Get Along... Until The NLCS?

Ben Currie — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 06:26:18 -0400

At this point in the season the Phillies and Mets are poised to both make the playoffs. Yet, the two teams remain beating up on each other in the media—Bleacher Report is certainly a good example of that.

I, for one, welcome the rivalry and would like to see it get more mainstream attention.

The era of the Atlanta Braves dominance is over.

The division now belongs to two teams with MVP candidates all over their respective infields: The Philadelphia Phillies, led by SS Jimmy Rollins, 2B Chase Utley, and 1B Ryan Howard; and the Mets, led by 1B Carlos Delgado, SS Jose Reyes, and 3B David Wright.

These two teams have trashed talked and battled for the top spot in the NL East for the past three years, also marking the Braves decline. But this year at least, why must we fight so much?

The Phils and Mets will no longer be playing each other this year. They're poised to take both the Wild-card and the NL East division spot in the playoffs. This means, being from the same division, they cannot meet again until the NLCS.

This is a dream come true for fans of this rivalry.

Everyone can appreciate the Sox and Yanks rivalry, but their time has passed. Both fan-bases are now unbearable, and the only legacy they have is of Curt Schilling's crave of attention (although, forever burned in my mind is Pedro throwing down Don Zimmer—priceless).

The time has come for a new national sports rivalry and my top candidate is the Mets and Phillies.

The stage is set: in the past two years the teams have played each other tough, each team taking one NL East title.

In addition to this, there are great sound bites like Jimmy Rollins' "We are the team to beat in the NL East." This coming after finishing 12 game back in the division in 2006, this preseaon prediction came true.

This year Carlos Beltran had his share, after the signing of ace pitcher Johan Santana: "To Jimmy Rollins, we are the team to beat." Awesome stuff.

Now this is clearly all fantasy and speculation so far. If both teams are to remain in playoff spots, they would also need to beat the Cubs and the Dodgers, which, given the Cubs record and Manny Ramirez's clutch hitting, will be no easy feat. However, let's just pretend they get through to each other.

New York Mets Vs Philadelphia Phillies 2008 NLCS.

Game One:

Johan Santana vs Cole Hamels. Santana goes the distance, to alleviate the Mets of their bullpen. Howard homers in Utley, but Delgado matches and Reyes manufactures the winning run. Mets win 3-2.

Game Two:

Mike Pelfrey vs Brett Myers. Another pitcher's duel but Myers gets the best. The Mets bullpen allows a homer to Greg Dobbs. Phils win 4-2.

Game Three:

Oliver Perez vs Joe Blanton. Bats come alive in this one. Howard homers twice along with Rollins. Beltran, Church, and Delgado each homer. Mets win it in a slug fest 11-8.

Game Four:

Pedro Martinez vs Jamie Moyer. What starts in a battle of veteran pitching ends in a benches clearing brawl. Pedro, Beltran, and Rollins get tossed. Phils get the best of Aaron Heilman and take the win 5-1.

Game Five:

Another duel with Santana and Hamels. This time Hamels goes the distance and gets the 2-0 win.

Game Six:

Pelfrey and Myers again. Pelf goes seven strong, and Joe Smith strikes out four in two innings. Homers from Wright and Delgado power Mets 4-2.

Game Seven:

Perez and Blanton again. Endy Chavez gets the start in left, makes two web gems. To counter this, Shane Victorino makes a routine double an in the park homerun. Endy drags a bunt suicide squeeze to tie the game in the 8th 4-4. Then Reyes on second, two outs and Beltran facing Brad Lidge in the bottom of the 9th. With two strikes Lidge gives Beltran a fastball (not a ridiculous 12-6 curveball) and, this time, Beltran swings....

I'm leaving this open ended, cause this is purely a fantasy I made up, but you see my point.

This has the potential to be an awesome series. Its always awesome when these teams face. Granted I can't promise you Pedro will throw down Charlie Manuel, or that Endy Chavez gets in ESPN's top 10 three separate times in his first playoff start, but this would be a guaranteed great series that would be good for sports and good for baseball.

At the very least it might shut Curt Schilling up.

New York Mets To Add a Psych Ward to Citi Field

Ben Currie — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:15:55 -0400

After watching what should have been two errors in the second inning of last night's Mets-Braves game in Atlanta, a storm of issues come to mind. I am a firm believer that last year's collapse was mostly mental.

Blame the bullpen, front office, or management all you want, this team, day in and day out, was making mental errors. To top it off, I can still see images of Louis Castillo slamming his elbows against the back of the dugout, Carlos Delgado's constant deer-in-the-headlights looks, and Jose Reyes's usually genuine smile looking worried.

In 2007, mental lapses were occurring left and right with these guys. And at first they excused it with the whole "we're so good it's boring" charade. Now, I respect emotional play, it's fun to see a player celebrate or do the opposite in a big moment. And I respect when these top athletes expect a lot out of themselves and give an occasional freak out after a bad performance.

But at a certain point, it just becomes baggage. Baggage that you're forced to carry with you at the plate, on the mound, in the field, on the basepaths, and in the dugout. David Wright is carrying baggage right now.

If you've tuned into a recent Met game, you've noticed something different about David. He's throwing his helmet after seemingly every at-bat, he seems to be more inclined for errors in the field, and, while I can't attest myself, he must be no fun in the clubhouse.

David is notoriously hard on himself and slumps bring out the worst of that. He's quoted to have insomnia issues while in past slumps. But this is going to an insane degree. After grounding to short in his first at-bat last night, he merely ripped off his gloves and walked back to the dugout in disgust.

The good news is, Wright, after coming into the day 1-for-18, went 2-for-5 with a run and two RBI. Coupled with the Phillies' loss, the Mets have regained the lead in the NL East.

Is this a slump buster for David? Time will tell. After the hole he dug for himself, I personally think it will take a lot more production before he can give a genuine smile again. Let's hope that is soon to come.

Can't you just see the add in the New York Post.

Manager wanted, experience preferred. Must have degree in psychiatry or advanced therapy.

Imagine If All Your Players Had Career Years.... 2001 Mariners.

Ben Currie — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 06:46:23 -0400

The 2001 Oakland Athletics finished the year 102-60, .630, and 14.0 games back...

What happened here??? Well, the Mariner's made history is what happened going 116-46, a ridiculous .713 winning percentage.

Lets take a closer look at the team that tied the record for season wins, and explore the individuals.

Manager Lou Pinella

Great Career, but this is probably his finest hour.

RF Ichiro Suzuki

Maybe its because Seattle is so close to Japan, but why is it that the best examples of Japan-American baseball players happen here. Ichiro has had a ridiculous career in his 8 short years in MLB.

And his addition to this team was a big factor in why they were so darn good. Ichiro's first year in America, went alright I guess. 242 hits, 127 runs, 8 HR, 69 RBI, .350 ave, and 56 steals. Oh, and he became the first player to win Rookie of the Year and MVP, while also claiming his first Gold Glove and Silver Slugger.

CL Kaz Sasaki

Another fine year for the International Veteran. As closer Kaz 45 saves, and 3.24 ERA. A career year (this phrase will be used often) brought him to 19th in the MVP votes.

1B John Olerud

Ole was the perfect fit for this team. He has won numerous gold gloves, but probably due to that fact that they'd already given away so many awards to this team he didn't earn one.

But defense was a key factor in their success and he deserves mention. In 2003, this similar roster would take four Gold Gloves, he was one. 91 Runs, 21 HR, 95 RBI, and .302 Ave.

2B Brett Boone

A defensive second basemen in the midst of the steroid era. I personally think he's guilty of a little experimentation here. Simply put, Boone had a career year, and had it not been for Ichiro, probably would have won MVP. 118 runs, 37HR, 141 RBI, and .331 ave those are all career highs. Also 3rd in MVP voting, All-star, and Silver Slugger that year.

C Dan Wilson

Had it not been for Ivan Rodriquez, Dan Wilson would have a number of Gold Gloves. He unfortunately has none, but his defense certainly helped this team.

CF Mike Cameron

Mike can hit for power and average, and his very fast. Another career year here. 99 runs, 25 HR, 110 RBI, .267 Ave, and 34 SB. Those are either career highs or very close. Mike was also a Gold Glover, All-Star, and 16th in the MVP votes.

DH Edgar Martinez

He Paul Moliter and David Ortiz, will battle for best all-time DH. He didn't have a career year, but 23 HR, 116 RBI and .306 Ave. That'll do pig.

SP Freddy Garcia

Freddy went 18-6 with a 3.05 ERA. Another career year. Third in CY votes.

SP Jamie Moyer

At 38 Jamie won his first 20 game season going 20-6 with a 3.53 ERA. Career year. Fourth in CY votes.

SP Aaron Sele

That's right Aaron Sele gets a mention on this team. He went 15-5 3.60 ERA. Career year? I can see him trumping these numbers next year. Nope.

SP Paul Abbott

Who? Well sure enough Paul Abbott went 17-4 with a 4.25 ERA this year. Yes, Career year.

Bullpen

Pinella had an easy job, his roles were defined, and he only had to use six relievers more than 11 times. Along with Kaz in the ninth, came Aurthur Rhodes, Ryan Franklin, Jose Paniagua, and Norm Charlton. The Bullpen combined for 56 saves.

Team Stats

In addition to leading the league in wins, they Mariners also posted a league lead in ERA 3.54, shutouts 14, Runs 927, RBI 881, and made the fewest errors 83. The team also hit .288 which was second.

Team Awards

2 Gold Gloves, 8 All-Stars (4 starters), 3 Silver Sluggers, RotY, MVP.

This is a very complete team. As a Met fan I know what its like to see players past their prime. We have some players with ridiculous primes that cannot for the life of them find it again. IE: Carlos Delgado, Pedro Martinez Orlando Hernandez, Carlos Beltran, Louis Castillo, Moises Alou. I was interested in what would happen if your whole team pretty much has a career year. 116-46 I guess!

Take note that they were beat 4 games to 2 by the Yankees in the ALCS. History has not been kind to teams with seasons like this, not sure why, but that's just the way it is.

Also take note that this is a small market team. Can you guess they highest paid player? Ichiro? Olerud? Cameron? Moyer? Nope, Aaron Sele: $7 million.

New York Mets' Bullpen Has No Easy Answers for 2009

Ben Currie — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:28:14 -0400

As every Met fan now knows, Billy Wagner ain't coming back. Not this year and probably not next year. Billy was the saving grace of what is just a bad bullpen. While I stood up for these players after they did well in 2006, it's now September of 2008. They can't hide behind Billy's great career. This bullpen isn't good.

CL-Luis Ayala

SU-Joe Smith

MR-Scott Schoeneweis

MR-Aaron Heilman

MR-Pedro Feliciano

LR-Nelson Figgeroa

Yeah, yeah there they are, the usual suspects. Now we are past the 2008 trade deadline and can't do much more with this 'pen. We've also tried a countless number of arms from our own farm system, and as you can see, in the end, it's the same damn names.

But let's have a little fun and look ahead at what we can do with this 'pen in the offseason.

Okay, I know you're waiting for me to mention his name. K-Rod. Francisco Rodriquez is a born closer. Entering his contract year, he was the only closer in the game to save three straight 40-save seasons. Oh, he currently sits at 59 saves this year. That's a record or something.

What's not to love, you ask?

The price.

After three straight seasons, then coming back to set the record for saves in your contract year, I think it's guaranteed he will set the record for relief pitching contract. Talks are already in the $15 million a year for three to four-year range.

While Minaya can afford this, does he want to? He just rewrote contract history with a $137.5 million contract on Santana. Do you follow it up with another. I don't like it.

Even if we do sign K-Rod, we've only solved the ninth inning. I think Minaya's answer is to throw out a lot of offers to solve this problem, step by step. Here our some nice free-agent names that I would like to see Minaya throw money at.

CL- Brian Fuentes, Kerry Wood

SU-Brandon Lyon, Doug Brocail

MR - Chad Durbin, Joe Beimel, Juan Cruz

LR - Darren Oliver

Now your 'pen looks more like this.

CL-Brian Fuentes

SU-Juan Cruz

MR- Chad Durbin

MR-Joe Smith

LR-Darren Oliver

Wow, my blood pressure is dropping already.

The point of this article is that K-Rod isn't the answer to our woes. He may be part of the answer, but I would like to see Minaya take this head on and make a lot of transactions this offseason. The names are out there for sure. It'll be interesting.

Major Baseball Awards For 2008

Ben Currie — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:49:35 -0400

The 2008 regular season is nearly over, and one can't help but start thinking about these big awards and who might be winning them. Last year Alex Rodriquez made the voting easy for at least one award, and Magglio Ordonez's career year came at the wrong time. This year the awards are a little more difficult to give out. Following reading this article and my synopsis, I would like to hear your own picks and thoughts. Or even how right/wrong you were in your preseason picks.

We will start with...

Cy Young Award

AL: If ANYONE said last year that Cliff Lee was going to win this award, or even be a contender, I would like to shake your hand... then take you to Vegas. Cliff has been ridiculous. 3 earned runs in 6.1 innings last night raised his era to 2.41, his whip is also microscopic at 1.09. His strike out totals won't hurt him with 162 in 216.1 innings. But what makes this award the easiest pick in 2008 is his win percentage: 22-2, making him 20 games over .500. All this coming from a pitcher who was, at this time last year, in AAA ball. The only thing that will hurt him is his team isn't performing.

Don't forget to tip your cap to Roy Halladay as well. He put together another fine season, as the Ace of baseball's best staff. And Francisco Rodriquez broke some record or something...

NL: Don't deny it now, you picked Santana. I'm a Met fan and I know I did. I had him penciled in 23-6, with a 2.60 era and a career high in strike outs. He'll be lucky to get 15 wins. A fine campaign (25 Quality starts leads the league) but didn't translate into the National phenom many thought. I give this award to Tim Lincecum. Again the record is what sets him apart, this again coming from an even worse team. The kid is 17-3, and the way he's pitching now he could win five more on three days' rest each. Also, he is nicely holding off Sabathia in the strikes outs lead. His whip isn't great, 1.17, but his era is 2.43 at this point.

Sabathia and Webb have cases here. Webb just won his 21st, while Sabathia just lost for the first time as a National Leaguer. If team success and value is a factor, this award goes to Sabathia, he's be deadly as a Brewer. I just can't see how you can ignore Lincecum despite being a Giant.

MVP Award

AL: Carlos Quentin would have been a nice case for this award, as well as Josh Hamilton. Both have excellent stories. But Texas isn't good enough, and Quentin's injury likely ensures him he won't get the stats he needs in a close race. I like Pedroia here. He leads baseball in hits, and the American League in average. His value is obvious as a table setter for the BoSox, yet he hits his best in the clean-up role. Remarkable when you compare him to David Ortiz in stature. Team success is big, and he's the major stand out player on a successful team.

Don't ignore A-Rod again, who has put together another fine campaign. Also Hamilton and Quentin will get their votes for sure as well. Same with Aubrey Huff, my has it been an unpredictable year.

NL: This award is too early to tell for me still. Which team makes the playoffs and who will be the hottest in the remaining games. I see Pujols winning this award over Ryan Howard and Lance Berkman. In limited action, Albert Pujols has made the most of his time. He's topped the 30-100 plateaus yet again, all while hitting .354. A scouts report at the beginning of the year said he and David Ortiz were the most clutch hitters in the game. Pujols will win his second regardless of whether St Louis gets in or not.

Other cases here. I hate Howard being in the race. His swing for the fences mentality is not valuable in my mind, and hurts his team more than helps. He is again poised to break his own strike out record. However I see the Phillies making the playoffs and he has the most obvious stats from that team. Recent history has been kind to players like Howard (Winner in 2006), he'll get a lot of votes.

Berkman is my other pick here. How unfortunate was Hurricane "Ike" to this team. They enter the storm 13 of 14. Due to postponed games, baseball sends them to Milwaukee for a home game, where they get no-hit but Carlos Zambrano. Since then they've slumped. But Berkman has had a great year and deserves recognition.

Last year I would have liked to see Holliday or Han Ram win this award, but this year they're teams are too far out.

One more final note. If the Mets do end up cruising to the playoffs and their offense plays to its potential the rest of the year. Look for whoever is hottest in the final stretch to grab a lot of votes, and look for the Mets putting their obvious four (Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and Carlos Delgado) in the top ten vote getters.

New York Mets Can Learn a Few Things from the Philadelphia Phillies

Ben Currie — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 03:57:54 -0400

For the second straight September, the Phillies have a recent and small lead over the New York Mets. The two teams have rejuvenated their rivalry in a new era of the NL East that doesn't feature the former powerhouse Atlanta Braves winning the title to go along with every Cy Young vote.

But while both teams share a plenty of talent, the Phils have just barely squeaked by the Mets the last two seasons—until now. Here are some things that we can take from these fightin' Phils for the next 12 games and for the 2009 and upcoming seasons.

Play the Whole Season

The Phillies started 2007 with the infamous Jimmy Rollins quote: "We are the team to beat in the NL East." This came after the talented Mets cruised to the best record in baseball in 2006, only to get upset by a then hot St. Louis Cardinals team in the NLCS.

So, to many, this claim was very bold. But Rollins got the last laugh and an MVP award to go with it. In the end, the Phillies played the season out, .549 ball, good enough to surpass the Mets in the final game of the season.

They finished the season hot, and never saw themselves out of it.

Play the Whole Game

The Phillies' NL East victory was helped in part from their league leading come-from-behind wins.

This year they rank second in come from behind wins. Unlike most teams, the Phils really have it ingrained in their head that there are nine innings and 27 outs in a baseball game. While its unlikely to win a game you're down 8-0 in the last out, they believe it can happen. Credit clutch hitting, good slugging, and a good bullpen for this.

A lot of this is mental, too, and can be learned by our Mets.

In a basketball game, down by 20 points with a minute to go in the fourth quarter means the game is probably over. But down by four runs with two outs in the ninth, anything can still happen. The Phillies seem to understand this better than the Mets, and most of baseball for that matter.

Don't Pity Yourself

Sometimes it's hard not to pity oneself. When circumstances lead to it, its hard not to feel so. Self-pity may help in recovering from a traumatic event, but will accomplish nothing more.

Every baseball team goes on losing streaks, while arguably none were worse than the 2007 Mets late last year. You can point the finger in any and all directions, really, but I credit a lot of this mentally.

In the end we weren't focus and we were just feeling sorry for ourselves: "We're too good for this to happen to us."

There was a lot of denial between the Mets and their fans. It wasn't really for me until I was outside throwing my shoes against the side of the house. (I learned early through the mid-'90s Utah Jazz that furniture and TV remotes can be victims to bad games—the side of the house is fine).

There are healthy times and ways to pity yourself—like waiting until winter and treating yourself to Johan Santana!

Don't Get Cocky

I didn't mind the collapse so much as I minded these awful sound bites. All those ones that were to the tune of, "We're so good it's boring."

Pedro Martinez, Tom Glavine, and Carlos Delgado lead the way (all of which ironically have great careers, but had no right to be saying that last year—check their individual 2007 stats if you need reference).

These comments came to excuse losses and mental lapses in play, while the Mets had a cushy lead in the NL East.

Let me examine that quote. Boring? Yes.

The 2007 playoffs were boring for me. I barely watched as a Met fan.

Good? Well at the time they were good, yes.

But I am sure each player involved in those comments would be glad to quickly eat their words now.

Don't get me wrong, the Phillies and Jimmy Rollins aren't beacons of modesty. This year, Jimmy said something he surely regrets to the Philadelphia faithful. But there's a difference in making a claim that will motivate you and your team and making a claim that excuses you for lack of focus in a game because you're just so good at it.

I mean that's just straight Mo Vaughn-Robbie Alomar era, as in possibly most shameful moments in Mets history.

In conclusion, we can learn from the Phillies.

We can't take Chase Utley at second, or pinch-hit Howard with two on in extra innings. However, we can learn from the way they carry themselves and play the game.

While I loath them, the Phillies play one of the best mental games in all of sports. They are honest with themselves and always motivated under any circumstances. That's the kind of team you like to play for and root for—and if the Mets continue to flounder and make excuses they will quickly have very poor chemistry and have to play in front of a bitter fanbase.

Endy Chavez is Baseball's Best Kept Secret

Ben Currie — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:28:36 -0400

Last night, in a 1-0 loss to the lowly Washington Nationals, the Mets watched another corner outfielder go down. This event has become quite routine for the team from Queens. They also watched their lead in the NL East disappear, as the Phillies held on to beat the Atlanta Braves 8-7.

The injury came when the Mets needed just one more out to get out of yje inning. Fernando Tatis, a third baseman by trade who was playing left field at the time, aggressively broke on a line drive with the intent of making a diving catch. When he landed, the ball was not in his glove and his shoulder was not in its socket.

After a delay for Tatis' injury, Mike Pelfrey, who otherwise pitched beautifully, walked Willie Harris on four pitches, then surrendered a ground-rule double to Christian Guzman for the only run of the game.

While the Mets anemic offense is too blame here as well, one is left to wonder why a third baseman is forced to dive for a ball hit to leftfield. Nick Evans, a first basemen who was recently called up from Binghamton, was put into the game in left. All the while, speedster and excellent defender Endy Chavez watched from the bench.

Chavez is a career outfielder and a good one. Those who watch the Mets have seen him make tough plays look easy with his tremendous range, athleticism, and excellent judgement. Many even go as far as to say that Chavez is the best fielder on the team, and this is a team that contains 2007 Gold Glove winners Carlos Beltran and David Wright

Chavez has been a Met since 2005, yet the team seemingly goes out of its way to avoid using him. During his stint with the Mets, Chavez has watched just about any player start over him, from injury-prone players like Moises Alou and Ryan Church all the way to infielders like Tatis and Evans. Chavez has quitely accepted his coaches' decisions and has been happy to help late in games as a pinch-runner or defensive replacement.

Chavez is known best for his play in Game Seven of the 2006 NLCS against the Cardinals. He seemingly defied physics by snow-coning a ball that most outfielders would have considered an unreachable home run. Chavez then threw the ball into the infield where the tremendous catch turned into into an inning ending double play.

Chavez is no stranger to impact plays though, whether it be through fine defense, base-running, or merely advancing a runner. Chavez has proven time and time again that he is worthy of more playing time than he receives.

One example: In an April 24 match-up against Colorado in 2007, Chavez laid down a walk-off suicide squeeze drag bunt with two outs to send Shawn Green home and the Mets to victory.

While the Mets threaten to again make non-playoff history with a late September collapse, one must question the management and its use, or lack there of, of Endy Chavez: baseball's best kept secret.