All About Relief for the Mets

Okay, I’m psyched. “30 Clubs in 30 Days” is on the tube, it’s raining so I can’t be doing anything else, the grass, the paneling, the roof leak, the paint, and the MLB Channel is featuring the Giants. (No, not those pansies with the secondary that can’t cover).

Oh baby! Here’s Bruce Bochy! (Giants manager).

The Giants are all about pitching. Notables are that little whipper Lincecum and Matt Cain and Barry Friggin’ Zito and more. They have no offense to speak of…well, it’s actually pretty unspeakable.They’ve got this big kid closing too, one Brian Wilson who’s got a great fastball and is wasting his time developing a breaking ball.

What are the Mets all about? Umm….injuries? How about lack of focus? It sure seems that way sometimes. But let me try harder…really think about this team. Pitching? A little shaky, especially the starters if they stay with Maine and Perez. Santana’s looking recovered but will he be the same Santana?

I saw John Maine down in Florida and he was awful. He had a better outing his next time out but here is a guy who looks as if he just doesn’t care. He has no presence whatsoever. I’m really tired of his act. I think a little recess in AAA is long overdue for him. Perez….even if he were having a good spring, (which, to my mind he’s really not, he’s still good one day and awful the next), is an unknown and, if he has a bad start, he should go to Buffalo along with Maine.

That would leave a rotation of Santana, Mike Pelfrey, Jonathan Niese and Nelson Figueroa or Bobby Parnell. I’d be happier with that, but it’s hardly a world-beater starting rotation. All is not lost though. Niese can really be very good and Figgy always gives a good effort. I’d rather see Bobby Parnell set up for Ol’ Pinkeye, the closer.

Speaking of relief, I think we can expect big things from them. I really like both the Japanese pickups, Igarashi and Takahashi, and Calero looks good too. They’ve got Feliciano to get out the odd lefty (aren’t they all a little odd?)

All in all, I’d have to say the 2010 Mets will NOT be all about starting pitching. It looks to me as if there’ll be a lot of five-inning stints, except for the horse Pelfrey, and we’ll be seeing a lot of these relievers, which really won’t be such a bad thing, not like 2008 anyway, when it was “batten down the hatches, here comes trouble.”

The relief pitching will keep the Mets in games for that offense.

Are the Mets all about hitting? No, especially as presently constructed. But, if Reyes and Beltran return in good form, things improve considerably. Pagan can be off and on offensively but isn’t a real liability in center. Then there’s Fernando Martinez, the rookie who’s wow-ing everybody but Mets management. To spell Reyes, there is just Alex Cora.

There’re worse leadoff guys in the game than Angel Pagan. (In fact, Reyes is one of them when he’s off in never-never land). Then there is ol’ steady Luis Castillo, who is reputed to be looking to drive the ball more this year, heh-heh. That leaves that all-important three-hole to David Wright, and he’s looking more athletic to me this year, not so bulky like an old softball player. And his swing seems faster, quicker. So the first three spots are reliable.

Manning the four through six lineup spots would be Jason Bay, Jeff Francoeur and David Murphy, not necessarily in that order. Bay has impressed me thus far and Francoeur is just a good guy all around. You just wish he’d swing at a strike once in a while. Murphy will be more reliable this year as he ended last year strongly and should benefit from the year at first base, if Mike Jacobs doesn’t drive him up the wall. Jacobs will provide a power threat that Murphy doesn’t really bring to the table.

So I’d say the middle lineup could be a pleasant surprise. There’re runs there somewhere.

Without Beltran and Reyes though, the Mets have just six batters. I count on nothing from Cora and Barajas. Hopefully, the Mets will finally give Omir Santos a chance. That’d improve a bleak seven and eight, but opposing pitchers will be able to pitch carefully to Francoeur and Murphy without a threat to follow.

Bring Reyes and Beltran back and things get way better in a hurry. Then you have eight solid hitters, if Santos catches. There will be nobody to pitch around. That means a lot in the National League, with only the pitcher to contend with at nine. Moving Francoeur and Murphy back to 6 and 7 and inserting Santos at 8 would give the lineup some punch all the way through. Reyes, Beltran, Bay, Wright, Francoeur…..I’m very much looking forward to it.

How about defense? Well, they’ll be okay without Reyes and Beltran but things get better in a hurry if they come back real soon, not because their replacements are bad fielders but just that Reyes and Beltran are terrific. So, yeah, the Mets could be all about defense in time.

So, the Mets won’t be all about anything really, at least not to start with. If they’ll be about anything, it’ll be relief…the return of two star players and that strong relieving corps. They’ll have trouble early with the Marlins and Braves for sure, and forget about playing with the Phillies. The best they could hope for would be a .500 record going into May.

But, when Beltran and Reyes return, the Mets will become a real force. Anyway you look at it, Beltran and Reyes will drastically improve the lineup and the defense. The relief pitching willl keep them in games in the bad times and keep them ahead in the good times.

Prognostication? With Beltran and Reyes - 2nd in NL East and possible wildcard. Without them, 4th.