Q and A - The Pen

Hi Mack, Look I don't really want to beat a dead horse here but is it really possible to build this bad a bullpen seemingly every year? Freddy came out of hiding in the spring just long enough to tell us there's $$$ to spend.....whoppee....o.k. when then does the F.O. get to spend it? We really could be a better than .500 (I'm an optimistic guy by nature) team if we had bullpen. The F.O. should be embarrassed putting the same crap out there every year. The Nats, Braves and Phil's don't seem to have that problem and that's a real good reason they'll finish way ahead of us. I know we have other flaws but it's gut wrenching to lose game after game this way. Now until Marcum can pitch and help comes from within it's Harvey and Niese and call the police (lol... thanks Steve Sommers) because Hefner and Laffrey aren't major league quality pitchers. How can you go into a season counting on two pitchers for your starting staff that are often injured and not have quality backups? Do we really have $$$ to spend? Anyway that's all for now and nice talking to you the other day. Thanks, Gary Seagren

Mack – Het Gary. No one likes ‘throwing away’ an early round pick on a reliever. Most of your successful relievers throughout the majors are ex-fireball throwers that, at best, have two pitchers and next expand past that. They become successful because they can learn to master those two pitches, keep the velo, and pound the zone. Some, like Mariano Rivera, have one pitch that has incredible movement in three different directions.

Potentially, the Mets have some future relievers:

                Adam Kolarek – 11^th round pick in 2010 out of Maryland. Pure reliever. 12-5, 3.05, 25-SV pro-career over 4-years. Promoted to Las Vegas last week.

                Jeff Walters – Pick out of Georgia. Ex-starter for Brooklyn (2011 - 4-6, 3.32). 2013 in Binghamton – 0-0, 1.08, 7-G) – promoted to Las Vegas.

                Jack Leathersich – 5^th round pick in 2011 out of Univ. of Mass-Lowell. Pure reliever. Pro career over 3-yrs: 2-6, 2.42, 93.0-IP, 151-K

                Greg Peavey – 6^th round pick in 2010 out of Oregon State. Turned reliever this season in Las Vegas. So far: 7-G, 12.2-IP, 0.71.

I talked about this in this morning’s 8am report. The Mets need to shuffle secondary starters in and out until Zack Wheeler and Rafael Montero are ready (if ever). This could be a very long road to travel.

Laffey is now gone and Robert Carson has replaced him. The missing starter, I assume, will be filled with Shaun Marcum by the end of the week.

It’s just going to be one of those kind of years.