Nice work by the Mets to solidify a bullpen that cost the Amazin's a trip to the postseason in 2008, but if I were Omar Minaya, I would take a look at my starting pitching and panic.
Behind Johan Santana, arguably the best pitcher in the game, the Mets have little depth in their rotation. Mike Pelfrey has only pitched 200 innings once in his career (200.2 IP in 2008) and is far from a bonafide number two pitcher. John Maine hasn't cracked the 200 innings plateau and fell off a bit from his 2007 campaign (15 wins to 10). The Mets could bring Pedro Martinez back, although it's uncertain what he has left in the tank.
With the signings of a couple of the marquee starters on the market, I would take a gamble on a couple of other smaller name starters to give the Mets another veteran or two in the rotation. Randy Wolf and Brad Penny are a couple of National League guys who could fill that veteran void at a reasonable price. Despite his history of injuries it would certainly be worth it to take a one or two year gamble on Ben Sheets, who becomes a number 1A starter if healthy. Without an upgrade in the rotation, expect the Mets to be on the sideline in October 2009.
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Great post. Wolf is a very interesting pitcher. He throws the ball very much like Sid Fernandez. While he can never pitcher in a park like Philly, he was solid in Dodger Stadium and Petco Field. If Taxpayer Stadium (oops, I mean Citi Field) is anything like Shea, he could make a good get.
By the way, does anyone think Joe Niese is ready to step into the rotation. If Wolf gets pricey, I wouldn't mind seeing either Niese or Parnell.
I thought about Niese, actually, but with only 14.0 innings in the bigs, I'd give him some spot starts and use him as kind of a 6th or 7th starter. I'm just not sure a potential playoff team like the Mets could rely on him for key innings in August and September.
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