Mike Pelfrey

If the Mets head into next season with Bobby Parnell in their plans for the starting rotation, I'm becoming either a Phillies or Yankees fan. I can't take it anymore...I just can't. Parnell is garbage!

Continue reading "Bobby Parnell is NOT a starting pitcher."

When the 2009 MLB season comes to a close, the Chicago Cubs have announced that they will shop starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano in hopes of swinging a trade and dumping much of his monstrous contract. The question is, should the Mets be interested in the massive right-hander?

Continue reading "Cubs Say They Will Shop Zambrano"

2 Starter: Subject to trade or free agency

Biased fans have been pushing Mike Pelfrey in this position for over a year now, but let's face the facts: "Big Pelf" has a 4.83 ERA this season (worthy of only a fourth or fifth starter spot), and only 93 strikeouts and 158 innings. A rate that low means that much of Pelfrey's success is reliant upon BABIP, a statistic that Baseball Prospectus attributes to luck. So in order for Pelfrey to be truly good, he has to be extremely lucky. That's not what I want from my No. 2 starter. 

Continue reading "2010 Mets' Rotation"

(Note: I posted this a couple of days ago on my other blog at FanNation.)

When it comes to the Mets' starting rotation, I think all of their replacement-level options are better than Tim Redding. Redding's stuff is disgraceful, and his general approach to the craft of pitching is laughable. He's been embarrassed in his last two starts -- recently against the Marlins, and the Red Sox before that -- and there is little-to-no indication of potential improvement. I don't think there is any doubt at this point...

Continue reading "I've Had Enough of Tim Redding."

(Note: I've also published this post on FanNation, under the username JFro.)

About a month ago, I published a similar post complaining about Jerry Manuel's mind-numbingly awful managing. It actually generated some interest, as it appeared on a Mets blog and in various discussion threads.

Continue reading "Jerry Manuel Must Be Fired. Now!!!"

I've never trusted John Maine or Mike Pelfrey, but as it turns out, there just aren't a lot of quality starters out there in this day and age. That makes both Maine and Pelfrey very serviceable, and the duo is beginning to pitch with a little more confidence. That can be attributed to changing speeds more than they have in the past, something they have to continue to do if they're planning on remaining successful middle-of-the-rotation starters over time. Pelfrey's been projected as a frontliner in the past, but I don't think he has the mind for it. 

Continue reading "The New York Mets: A Quarter Season in Review"

s another September choke job, then do it.

Starting Rotation: Only Johan Santana, John Maine, and Mike Pelfrey have a spot locked down. The last two rotation spots look like a Spring Training battle between Tim Redding, John Niese, Bobby Parnell, and Freddy Garcia. Just having Freddy Garcia, who hasn't pitched a full season since 2006, battle for a rotation spot speaks volumes of the lack of depth in the rotation.

Continue reading "Mets "Not Interested" in Ramirez; ..."

ey need to be filled with quality players, not stopgaps.

In the starting rotation, Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, John Maine, and now apparently Tim Redding are locked into spots. If Spring Training were currently underway, Jon Niese, Bobby Parnell, and Brandon Knight would be competing for that fifth and final opening. In my eyes, Maine, Redding, and mystery man No. 5 fail to represent the makings of a potential World Series caliber back of the rotation. There's undoubtedly room for improvement.

Continue reading "The New York Mets: Plenty of Question Marks Remain"

as as close to a must-win game as the Mets could possibly get, the Mets only got six innings out of Mike Pelfrey, saw their bullpen give up three runs in the final three innings, hit into three double plays, and left nine runners on base.  The 6-1 defeat was crushing, as it left New York one game behind the fledgling Brewers for the Wild Card, and helped clinch the NL East for the Phillies.

Continue reading "In The Aftermath Of The Collapse"

rlos Delgado have managed a measly two singles in 30 at-bats in the two games.

    Mike Pelfrey and Joe Smith pitched phenomenally last night, but their efforts were squandered as the Mets' bats came up empty against the great Odalis Perez.  There were three key plays that had a major impact on the outcome of last night's game:

Continue reading "Mets In First Place...For The Wild Card?"

n the rest of the way in order to make the playoffs--one more than the Phillies will suffice.  Mike Pelfrey, Johan Santana and Oliver Perez, the Mets' three most dependable starters, will likely combine for eight starts down the stretch, with Pedro Martinez, Jon Niese and anyone's guess filling out the remaining five.  New York will need strong, deep outings from their big three, and lots of offense in the other five games in order to avoid leaving their playoff hopes in the hands of the bullpen.  Of course, a little help from Philadelphia's opponents couldn't hurt, but the Mets need to be able to take care of their own business.  If they can't win enough games on their own to hold their divisional lead, then they don't deserve to play baseball in October anyway.

Continue reading "Mets Cling To First Place With Lucky 13 Games Left"

ish up their four-game series with Houston tonight at Shea, and will look to salvage a split behind Mike Pelfrey, who is tied with Johan Santana with a team-high 12 wins.  Who would have thought that would be the case on June 11 when Big Pelf was 2-6?  Brian Moehler gets the nod for the Astros, who are looking to take six of seven from the Mets this season.

Continue reading "Feliciano Blows Up In 10th"

;   The mystery of how Jerry Manuel will manage the bullpen was put on hold for a day, as Mike Pelfrey pitched his first career complete game Wednesday.  Pelfrey didn't even seem to have his best stuff, but he worked economically throughout the game and kept his pitch count down.  He only struck out three batters, mainly relying on aggressive Braves hitters putting the ball in play early in the count.  The only blemish was the sixth inning, which still could have been much worse.  Atlanta loaded the bases on a bunt single and two walks, but Pelfrey induced a double play grounder from Brian McCann, and he had a chance to escape with only one run allowed.  But he bounced a wild pitch to the next batter and Yunel Escobar scored from third, before Mark Kotsay lined out to left to end the inning.  Pelfrey settled down thereafter and cruised through the next three innings, retiring all nine batters on just 25 pitches.

Continue reading "Pelfrey Goes The Distance"

nine home runs this year have either tied the game or given the Mets the lead.

    Mike Pelfrey continued his solid pitching, allowing just two runs over 6.2 innings, despite not having his best sinker.  Pedro Feliciano then came in and got four outs to bridge the Mets to the ninth, leading 6-2.  With Billy Wagner on the DL, Jerry Manuel turned to Aaron Heilman, and then the floodgates opened.  Heilman walked the first batter and the second reached on a misplayed pop-up that fell in between Argenis Reyes and Carlos Beltran.  He recorded an out on a fielder's choice, but then Jody Gerut hit a three-run bomb over the right field fence, and suddenly it was 6-5.  Joe Smith and Scott Schoenweis entered to retire a batter each and save the game, but the victory left a bad taste in any fan's mouth because of the continued struggles of the bullpen, namely Aaron Heilman, in Wagner's stead.

Continue reading "Heilman Nearly Wastes Efforts of Pelfrey and Tatis"

Oliver Perez and Pedro Martinez they have two open spots in the rotation behind Santana, Maine and Mike Pelfrey.  Why not give Heilman a shot?  He's only made 25 career starts, which is clearly not enough time to judge a starting pitcher (see: 

Continue reading "Heilman Holds Perez's Lead, Delgado Puts it Away"

now 9-4 against the Phillies this season.

    Friday night was another showcase of Mike Pelfrey's dominance, as he yielded just one run over seven innings for his ninth win, and seventh in his last eight starts.  David Wright doubled in a run in the third, Jose Reyes tripled in two in the fourth, and Delgado (who else?) broke the game open with a two-run home run, his 20th of the year, in the fifth.  Argenis Reyes tacked on his first career homer in the seventh, and the Mets trumped the Cards 7-2.  The Phillies lost to Atlanta, so heading into tonight's game the Mets sit atop the NL East by two full games, at 56-47.

Continue reading "Mets Continue to Roll Behind Delgado, ..."

    Mike Pelfrey pitched another gem Sunday night, throwing eight shutout innings in the Mets' 7-0 victory over the Rockies, and won his sixth straight start.  New York cruised through their six-game homestand, outscoring the Giants and Rockies 31-4 with four shutouts to boot.  They now stand just a half game behind the Phillies for first place in the NL East.

Continue reading "Big Pelf and the Mets Take Nine Into ..."

    But the real story was the dominant performance from Mike Pelfrey (7 innings, 3 hits, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts).  Pelfrey has won his last five starts and is unbeaten since May 26.  He has a 2.61 ERA in his last eight starts and the Mets are 7-1 in that span.  What might be most telling is the fact that he has not allowed a home run since May 21, a sign that his hard sinker has developed into a solid out pitch at the major league level.  Sure, it's possible that Pelfrey will go out and lose his next five starts, but this recent stretch is encouraging for Mets fans as he has looked like the pitcher in whom the Mets invested the ninth overall pick in the 2005 draft.  On that note, while it may be easy for impatient New York fans to forget, Pelfrey still has relatively little professional experience.  He only made 18 minor league starts in 2006 (including just two for AAA New Orleans) before his cup of coffee with the Mets, and made just 15 more starts in the minors last season along with 15 appearances in the majors.  He is still only 24 years old and it is usually a gradual process to develop a pitching prospect--not everyone can be Doc Gooden.  His recent success has been a pleasure to watch and is hopefully a sign of great things to come.

Continue reading "Pelfrey and the Mets Finally Make It Easy"