Mets Pitching Staff: Keys to Success

Spring training is underway in Port St. Lucie. Excitement is in the air and expectations are through the roof for the New York Mets.

So far most of the attention has been focused on the Mets’ latest addition to their pitching staff, Johan Santana.

New York should be successful this year. They have an excellent lineup and Santana is a much needed addition to the pitching staff.

But, for the Mets to go that extra mile and make it into the playoffs and possibly even advance to or win the World Series, there are two members of the pitching staff that will prove to be even more important than Santana.

Those two pitchers are Pedro Martinez and Billy Wagner.

We all know that anything can happen during the course of a baseball season, but the smart money is on Santana to have another great year.

Oliver Perez and John Maine will continue to improve. Both will have great games this season and both will have some bad games. That is just the cycle of two young pitchers who will continue to develop into quality MLB pitchers.

To have a chance at making a real run at the World Series, it is essential that a team has at least two if not three dominate pitchers (or pitchers that are at least playing like dominant pitchers at the time) and a trustworthy closer.

Santana will most likely be a dominant pitcher. If Pedro Martinez can stay healthy, the key word being ‘healthy’, he will be the second dominant pitcher. If Perez or Maine can continue to develop, one of them could even add a third dominant pitcher to the rotation.

As we all saw in the 2006 playoffs, Billy Wagner is not the most dependable closer in high pressure situations. Plain and simple, for the Mets to have a chance at really being successful this year, Wagner has to be a dominant closer.

Successful baseball teams must have a guy that can enter the game in the ninth inning with a lead, and everyone, including the other team, knows that the game is over.

Martinez and Wagner will prove to be utterly important to the Mets this year. Looking at the pitching formula for most championship teams, you need at least two dominant starters and a dependable closer. Martinez and Wagner make up two out of those three important pieces for the Mets.