RainMan

From Mets.com Mail Bag...

"The bullpen was the primary culprit. I'm sure that I'm not the first person to point to that.

I never have seen one component of a Mets team perform so poorly for so extended a period, except for the offense of the teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s and the pitching of the teams of 1993-96. And in those respective instances cases, there were few periods of effective production and effective pitching.

In contrast, the 2007 bullpen was mostly reliable until mid-summer and then it ran off the road. Part of the problem was the inability of the starters to pitch deep into games, but in that regard, the Mets were no different from other supposedly quality teams.

I thought moving Jorge Sosa to the bullpen was a good move. His performance as a starter had soured. And he performed well as a reliever for a while. But it was shortly after his move that the 'pen fell apart. Relievers began to complain -- privately -- about how they were used. And it did become more difficult to predict who would step from the bullpen in a given situation.

Randolph said from the beginning of the season the roles of the relievers would be less defined than they became in 2006. The pitchers involved seemed to suffer from the absence of definition in August. Randolph wanted outs and didn't believe defined roles were essential. Though he didn't say it, he seemed to adopt Dallas Green's bottom-line philosophy about roles:

"You want to know your roles?" Green said, in early 1995. "OK. If I put you on the mound, get somebody out. If put you in the batter's box, get a hit. And if I put you in the field, catch the ball."

The pitchers didn't respond to the situation; it became an issue for them. And even if they wrong to feel that way, it was the way they felt. I don't think Randolph addressed their feelings. And that's as much blame as he deserves for the bullpen's considerable shortfall. But there was no rule that prevented the relievers from getting outs even when their roles weren't clear."
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The pen was the issue in Spring Training when Sanchez came to camp out of shape, then got hurt. I remember an interview with Wagner and he was stunned to find out Sanchez was hurt and was most likely out for the year. "We were counting on him" is what he said.

Fix the pen and they'll win the division. Add a really good starter and they could win the whole thing.

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"But why is the rum gone???"

LZATbassist1567

Nothing gets by this guy.

15 Day DL Alou

Tomorrow the sun will rise.

Chuck

Marty Noble is a hack. He got fired from Newsday when he used to cover Mets

mets84

at least he's writing baseball, and not "if they had 10% more heart-filled gutty scrappiness and if omar hadn't shat on willie's desk chair, they would have won 120 games" like most writers.

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You ****ing knew it after reading that.

TheeSublimeOne

Here's one thing I actually can't blame Willie for - who cares what role you have? If we need you to come out of the 'pen and get 3 guys out for an inning, you do it. Now I'd agree with Wagner if Willie put him in 3 or 4 days in a row while losing 10-3, but that never happend. I mean seriously, when did the bullpen all grow collective vaginas? "I don't know my role, it hurts my feelings, I'm going to give up runs now". Can we start with a clean slate?

Green Must Go

fixed

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Obama's least favorite scripture: Even while we were with you, you gave you this rule: "Whoever does not work should not eat." - 2 Thes 3:10

SI Metman

See what happens when you hang out with Erin too long.

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Erin Heilwoman is Whorible

HHH 4 life

Green Must Go

As clean as the wind-driven snow.

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Obama's least favorite scripture: Even while we were with you, you gave you this rule: "Whoever does not work should not eat." - 2 Thes 3:10

metman

"Relievers began to complain -- privately -- about how they were used. And it did become more difficult to predict who would step from the bullpen in a given situation."

Ah, so the pitchers complained. What a shock. But all they had to do is look at the STATS and see how other teams' pitchers threw more often than them. See, it's that simple!

Stupid pitchers, what would they know!?!? Another star for the greatest manager in history.

15 Day DL Alou

So just so we are clear, you want Sosa, Heilman, Mota, Feliciano, Sele calling their shots.

Interestingly guys like Chavez (when healthy), Easley, Green, Castro, Milledge, Gotay never complained about not knowing when or if they would play.

RkFast

The only thing more annoying than articles like these are the ****ing know-it-alls who really think they are smarter and more in- tune wit hthe team than that the guys who write them. You know...the people who have spent more time covering the Mets than those who mock them have spent ALIVE.

Piney Woods

Yeah, after two or three decades on the payroll they decided he was no good.

CVBTank

Titanic Sinks: Iceberg was Primary Culprit

FrankStylV7

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"The place where optimism most flourishes is the lunatic asylum." -

Havelock Ellis