2009 New York Mets Assessment: The Bullpen

With pitchers and catchers reporting only days away, the greatest anticipation for the New York Mets this season will be how this year's bullpen will differ from the one that lost so many games last year.

Omar Minaya has said the bullpen was going to be his main priority in the offseason and he certainly made good on his word.

Last year was much more of a disaster than just the blown saves. For those pitchers who appeared in relief last year, their combined win-loss record was ugly at best and disastrous at worst.

Just using the ones who made the most appearances and they include among others, Aaron Heilman 3-8, Joe Smith 6-3, Duaner Sanchez 5-1, Scott Schoeneweis 2-6, Pedro Feliciano 3-4, Billy Wagner 0-1. That's 19-23. Add 27 blown saves to that total and this group was directly responsible for a bunch of lost games. No wonder we lost the division.

Enough said. 2009 offers a mix of old and new and it remains to be seen if the Mets can improve on those numbers. Lets look at the players.

According to the depth chart listed on the New York Mets official Web site, here as of today is your 2009 bullpen.

Fransisco Rodriguez (closer)

JJ Putz (set-up man)

Pedro Feliciano (left-handed specialist)

Sean Green (2008 Seattle Mariners)

Duaner Sanchez

Brian Stokes

Carlos Muniz

Bobby Parnell

In addition to the eight on the depth chart, the 40-man roster also includes pitchers Rocky Cherry, Brandon Knight, Eddie Kunz, Jonathon Niese, and Connor Robertson, who can all be used in relief if injuries or poor performance warrants it.

On a quick side note, if the Mets bring back Pedro Martinez then he, Tim Redding and/or Freddy Garcia could be used in relief or as a starter adding depth to the staff. Keep in mind the Mets used a total of 24 pitchers in 2008.

Strengths

Last September K-Rod and J.J. Putz saved 14 games for the Angels and Mariners. They blew none. Bobby Parnell throws 97-98 mph. Pedro Feliciano was 7-2 with a 2.09 ERA in 2006 when pitching in 64 games. Last year he appeared in 86.

Duaner Sanchez in 2006 appeared in 49 games and his ERA was 2.60. Last year he pitched in 66 games. Both of these guys were over used last year and their performance deteriorated. Sean Green appears to be somewhat similar to Joe Smith and could easily become the right handed specialist.

Weaknesses

More like questions. Will Feliciano and Sanchez bounce back? Will K-Rod's loss of velocity (he says no loss) and the 2008 injury to Putz (he says he's fine) affect their performance? Will it take time for K-Rod, J.J., and Sean adjust to the new league? Are Parnell, Stokes, and Muniz ready for full time major league play? All these concerns remain to be seen.

Prediction

This entire staff has a lot to prove. The upside is obvious. With K-Rod and J.J. closing out games the Mets' rotation must find away to complete a minimum of six to seven innings per start. If they can do this and this bullpen lives up to it's press clipping, the Phillies will be doing the chasing this year.