Pelfrey Goes The Distance

    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.

    The offense got started early again with a big first inning.  Coming after the eighth inning on Tuesday night, it was the Mets' second consecutive five-run inning.  Daniel Murphy had the big hit, a two-run single with the bases juiced.  The Mets have now hit safely in three straight bases loaded at-bats, after a 3-42 slump in those situations.  The left field platoon of Murphy and Nick Evans has been working well lately, and Fernando Tatis has remained productive in right.  The outfield will only get deeper going forward, as Manuel said before the game that Ryan Church is on schedule to return to the big leagues this weekend.

    The news wasn't quite as promising for Billy Wagner, whose agent said it will be at least three weeks until he can return to the mound.  As a possible insurance policy, the Mets signed reliever Al Reyes on Wednesday, and have sent him to toil in the minors until rosters expand on September 1.  Tampa Bay released Reyes earlier this year, but he saved 26 games for the Rays last year and has a 3.82 career ERA.  Like Luis Ayala, if the Mets can catch lightning in a bottle with the addition of Reyes, he will be a valuable contributor down the stretch, especially if Wagner cannot return.

Around The League

    Major League umpires and MLB management came to an agreement on the parameters of the implementation of instant replay for home run calls at some point before the end of the season.  While this is certainly a positive move by Major League Baseball, I don't agree with creating new rules during a season.  Granted, the accuracy of home run calls is crucial considering they always involve adding or removing runs from the scoreboard, and errant calls of this nature can easily alter the outcome of a game.  However, every team has been playing by the same rules all season long, so in the interest of fairness the rules and constraints of officiating should remain the same throughout the season.  Instant replay should definitely be implemented after the season is over, but there is no precedent for changing rules mid-season, and doing so violates the sense of continuity necessary in order to have a true pennant race--games in April count just as much as games in September, so the rules should be the same throughout.

Thought of the Week:  Contract Years

    The phenomenon of players outpeforming their career averages in the final year of a contract has been common throughout the league for several years.  It is interesting to see how many players seem to turn up their game when more money is on the line.  Look at this year's impending free agents who are turning in career years.  The Cubs' Ryan Dempster is having by far the best season of his career, with a 14-5 record and a 2.92 ERA.  Toronto's A.J. Burnett already has a career-high 16 wins, and he will likely utilize his opt-out clause from the two remaining years on his contract.  The Angels' closer Francisco Rodriguez already has a career-high 48 saves, and is threatening Bobby Thigpen's single-season record of 57.  Despite a slow start, the Mets' Oliver Perez, a Scott Boras client, has been one of the most consistent, and best big-game pitchers in the majors over the last two months.  Ryan Ludwick, who is currently playing on a one-year contract, has more home runs this year (31) than he had totaled prior to 2008 (28).  His 94 RBI are no slouch either, considering he only had 96 over five seasons through 2007, and his .305 batting average is far better than his previous career high of .267.  C.C. Sabathia has seen success in the past, but his off-season paycheck is increasing by the day with his 8-0 record and five complete games in nine starts for the Brewers.  Manny Ramirez stopped playing hard when contract issues arose with Boston, but he's been tearing it up for the Dodgers, hitting over .400 with more RBI than games in Los Angeles.

    Plenty of players in past seasons have exceeded their career numbers in their walk years as well.  Alex Rodriguez, last year's AL MVP, had one of the best years of his career in 2007, before enacting his infamous opt-out clause and garnering a 10-year contract that can gross him upwards of $300 million if he reaches certain incentives.  Gary Sheffield, already an established All-Star caliber player, set career highs in runs, hits, doubles, RBI and batting average in 2003, at the age of 34.  He parlayed that season into a three-year, $39 million contract, with a hefty $11 million option for the fourth year.  Gary Matthews, Jr. had his first All-Star season in 2006 with Texas, setting career highs across the board.  The Angels were so impressed with his .313 batting average (55 points higher than his career .258 mark) that they gave him $55 million over five years.  He's now riding the pine in Anaheim, hitting just .224 this season.

    After six injury-ridden years in St. Louis, J.D. Drew spent 2004 in Atlanta, and posted career highs in games, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI and walks.  The Dodgers signed him to a five-year, $55 million contract, and Drew only played 72 games in 2005.  Javy Lopez belted 43 home runs for the Braves in 2003, a record for a catcher.  He also topped his career marks in runs, hits, doubles, RBI, batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.  Baltimore awarded that performance with a three-year, $22.5 million contract, but shipped him to Boston for cash considerations before the deal ran out.  And who can forget Carl Pavano?  After his 18-8 season in Florida in 2004, the Yankees signed the career 57-58 pitcher to a four-year, $40 million contract.  Currently in the final year of that debacle, Pavano has made just 19 starts in pinstripes.

    The quintessential example of a player who completely broke out in his contract year is Adrian Beltre.  Always touted as a budding superstar, Beltre never lived up to the hype in his first six years with the Dodgers.  Then in 2004, he was incredible.  He batted .334, 64 points higher than his .270 career mark.  He blasted 48 home runs, although his career high to that point was 23.  He drove in 121 runs, but he never cracked 100 before, and hasn't since.  He had a slugging percentage of .629, despite never having even slugged .500 in a season.  He also set career highs in runs, hits and on-base percentage, and he hasn't come close to matching those numbers since.  But the Seattle Mariners took the bait, signing him to a five-year, $64 million contract.

    Do these contracts ever work out?  Sure, they sometimes do.  But let the buyer beware, because more often than not players who have career years in their contract years don't live up to their salary.

*Statistical information derived from www.baseball-reference.com.

**Contract and salary information derived from www.baseball-reference.com and www.ESPN.com.

***Game logs derived from www.MLB.com gameday.