more like sheep pen

The Mets bullpen hasn't exactly looked very bullish this year, at least of late. In the game that just ended, a 6-5 victory in game one of today's doubleheader against the Phils, Orlando Hernandez departed after 6 innings with a 6-2 lead. You can do the math.

Thank God for Billy Wagner. Today, after the rest of the 'pen (2 runs allowed for Guillermo Mota, one for Aaron Heilman) almost let this game get away from the Mets, he came into his old stomping grounds to a heavy chorus of boos and struck out the side in the 9th inning, shutting down the Phillies and any accompanying plans they might have had for a comeback. On the season, opposing batters are hitting under .200 against him and he's converted all but one of his save opportunities.

It's funny 'cause Billy Wagner doesn't pitch for the Phillies anymore

Aside from Wagner, Joe Smith, and Pedro Feliciano, however, the bullpen has been a little unreliable all season long. Aaron Heilman is a talented pitcher with an nasty tailing fastball and a superb changeup. Aaron Heilman, though, also has a dangerous proclivity for giving up the longball (Yadier Molina, anyone?) and is probably not pitching as well as he could be because he is a pouty little (not appropriate) and would rather start for just about any other team than suck it up, pitch in a role he's proven himself to be better in, and play for a winner.

Guillermo Mota version 2007 looks like he might want to consider going back on the juice and hope Major League Baseball doesn't catch him again. Aaron Sele is old, never pitches anyway, and isn't very good when he does pitch (5.26 ERA in 25.2 innings of work on the season). And we've already been over Scott Schoeneweis.

Stats aside, a good measure of a reliable bullpen can usually be found in one's gut. How comfortable do you feel when (insert relief pitcher here) comes into the game? Do you resign yourself to a loss, or a blown lead? Or are you convinced that that pitcher is going to come in and get the job done?

I get the latter feeling with Smith, Feliciano, and Wagner. Aaron Sele is like Tofu; I don't really get a specific taste in my mouth when he enters the game, but I'm pretty sure any taste I do pick up isn't particularly good. I'm moderately concerned when Heilman comes into the game, feel generally uneasy when Mota takes the mound, and place Schoeneweis into an entirely different category. I was literally praying against the negative premonitions I got when Scho entered the game in the 11th Tuesday night.

I don't think many Mets fans disagree with me here - essentially the team has 3 relievers that it can legitimately trust. The other 4 are question marks in some respect. Which means that when one of our starters leaves the game and it's close, we can only assume to have 2 innings or so covered. (Both Smith and Feliciano don't often pitch full innings) And that's assuming that Joe Smith, Pedro Feliciano, and Billy Wagner can pitch every single night, which of course is a little presumptous.

Bullpen help is the name of the game, folks. The Mets don't need a starting pitcher. And our lineup, even with all of it's inconsistencies, is still better than most. The hopes of the Mets 2007 season may hinge on how comfortable you feel taking a lead into the 7th inning.

Or preserving a tie in the 11th

(Pics courtesy typepad.com, stubbornlights.org)