sean green
As a Met from 2009 to 2010, Green logged just 79 innings and appeared in 90 games as a reliever with a 1-4 record and Continue reading
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Sean Green signs on with the Crew
Opening Day Lineup and Team
It looks like we have the opening day lineup and the final construction of the 25-man roster. From Jon Heyman, the lineup:
1. SS Alex Cora
2. 2B Luis Castillo
3. 3B David Wright
4. 1B Mike Jacobs
5. LF Jason Bay
6. CF Gary Matthews, JR.
7. RF Jeff Francoeur
8. C Rod Barajas
9. SP Johan Santana
That’s pretty upsetting. Not only is Mike Jacobs making the team, he’s batting in the cleanup spot ahead of Jason Bay. Does that make sense to anyone? I’m sure this is some stupid R/L/R handed thing, but you can set this lineup differently so that Jason Bay gets more plate appearances than Mike Jacobs. It’s possible. If this is the lineup against lefties (Jacobs has a .643 OPS vs lefties), Mets management needs to be fired. The day after.
Let’s tackle the idiocy of Gary Matthews Jr over Angel Pagan some other time. It’s just too depressing.
The bench should be Fernando Tatis, Angel Pagan, Ruben Tejada, Henry Blanco and maybe Chris Carter until Daniel Murphy comes back. I’m happy Tejada made the team and I hope they keep him up when people return from injury. I’d rather have him than Alex Cora, whose defense is slipping and whose offense never really existed.
The pitching looks to lineup like this:
1. Johan Santana
2. Jonathon Niese
3. John Maine
4. Mike Pelfrey
5. Oliver Perez
I love the fact that Jon Niese is pitching the second game, if only if it’s a symbolic gesture. Niese deserves a little atta-boy and a positive push in the right direction. Let’s hope he responds better than Mike Pelfrey did a similar moment last year.
The bullpen is Francisco Rodriguez, Pedro Feliciano, Sean Green, Hisanori Takahashi, Ryota Igarashi, and Jenrry Mejia. I personally think Takahashi will take a spot in the rotation (Oliver Perez, I’m looking in your direction), but this bullpen looks pretty good, and with the upside Mejia provides, could be dominant if their good years line up this season. As long as the long-term plan is still to make Mejia a starter, I think Mets fans should be happy with this bullpen.
All in all, the team looks like it will have a decent bullpen, a shaky back end of a rotation, and a poor offense. They really need to get lucky with someone at first base, or Ike Davis will be needed a little earlier than they’d hope. Maybe we’ll just start banging the Ike Davis drum so that he replaces Jacobs. Almost anyone would be better than Jacobs.
How Bad is the Bully, Actually?
The last couple of nights have created the distinct impression that there is something wrong with the bullpen in New York. First, Bobby Parnell opens up the door on Tuesday night, and Francisco Rodriguez is needed in a game that used to be a blowout. Then, tonight, Pedro Feliciano serves up the game-winning home run to Aubrey Huff on a failed slider.
But are things as bad as they seem? You might be suprised that the Mets bullpen is actually best in the National League. Before tonight, they owned a sparkling 3.18 bullpen ERA, with a 1.34 WHIP and 7.19 K/9 against 3.92 BB/9. Those walks aren’t great, and they’ve probably led to the 8-13 record the bullpen owns, but if you include all of the guys in the pen, you’re going to inflate the walk totals a little. I mean, those 3.92 walks per nine include Jon Switzers‘ two walks in two innings, for example.
Let’s take a quick look at the major players and see if anyone is in line to get better or worse, quickly.
Francisco Rodriguez – As he signed, much had been made of his declining K/9, inflating BB/9, and the possiblity of a decline following his major-league-record-setting year last year. His strikeouts are down again, and they probably will decline as he continues to throw pitch after pitch. However, a 9.74 K/9 against a 4.14 BB/9 is stil very good. His BABIP is really lucky (.222), but even if he regresses, K-Rod will be among the best in the league. No short-term problems here.
Pedro Feliciano – With JJ Putz sidelined by bone spur surgery, Feliciano is suddenly the setup man and no longer the LOOGY. And while he’s good against lefties (1.01 career WHIP), Feliciano is a little miscast as setup man. His 1.62 WHIP against righties is only the start of it. Consider that Pedro has a career BB/9 over 3.75, and is now walking only 1.65 a game. Then look at his BABIP (.215) and realize the ball has been bouncing his way this year… so far. Expect more blown games as his ERA rises to about the high threes where it belongs. Overall, he’ll have the best year of his career, but some ouchies are coming.
Bobby Parnell – Here’s where the bullpen gets a little worrisome. If Parnell was just switching off with Feliciano and Putz was still the setup man, it wouldn’t be so bad that he has some wildness in him. He’s walking almost four batters per nine, and that will have to stop if the Mets are to depend on him this year. The good news is that his BABIP is .381, so some balls may begin to bounce his way. The bad news is that he’s always walked a lot of batters (over three and a half per game in the minors). His 95 MPH fastball is a weapon, though, and Parnell is the key to the next month or so. Can he harness the pitch just enough to give the Mets a bridge to Putz? Definitely maybe.
Brian Stokes – Stokes also has a nice fastball (94 MPH), but he uses it a bit much (75% of the time), and he doesn’t really have a strikeout pitch. He used to throw his curveball much more, and if he can find it, maybe he can be useful. But striking out fewer than five batters per nine and walking 2.66 a game means that he’s always walking a thin line between disaster and success. The good news is that he did so just last year – he used the curveball 20% of the time, and struck out seven batters per nine.
Ken Takahashi – This 40-year-old journeyman from Japan would be more useful if he could use his left hand more effectively. His 2.82 WHIP against lefties says that he won’t be much more than a mop-up man. His many walks (over 4 a game) has us hoping that Manuel doesn’t fall in love with his 88 MPH fastball and stick him out there too many more times. We all remember those home runs against the Phillies.
Sean Green – Green has been up and down this season, but six strikeouts against two walks in his last eight games in June. Is that enough to make us forget his 8.49 / 1.47 April? Actually, let’s hope so. His 64% groundball rate is elite, and he’s striking out over 7 a game. Let’s hope that Manuel sees the good in his groundball machine and uses him correctly (i.e. not against lefties, says that 1.82 WHIP against lefty batters). Green could get better as the season progresses.
