As much of the attention in this tailspin has been (rightfully) focused on the Mets bats, the bullpen is a disaster waiting to happen. The Mets announced after the game that they were DFA'ing Fernando Nieve, and that it looks like Acosta (or as my friend, and major Mets fan Victorio likes to call him: Manny “Cost Us A Run”) will be called to replace him.
However that doesn't solve a problem* that I think hasn't really come completely into the open.
The Mets bullpen for the most part this season has been good, but when it comes time to (hopefully) make a move in the starting rotation or bring in someone for the pen, the entire picture is going to explode. The initial problem will be moving Takahashi into the bullpen, if the Mets acquire a starting pitcher. Technically right now, Oliver Perez has the role that Takahashi should have, and the first challenge will be moving Oliver Perez (which no team will probably take him, and Wilpon will force Omar who will force Jerry to keep him where he is).
The next problem is Acosta. I do not believe his the solution for Nieve. I'm glad at this point that Nieve has been removed, but I do not have a lot of faith in Acosta and really hope that the Mets bring in someone else because they have another glaring issue in ….
Krod. It seems when things are going wrong (like Feliciano and Parnell not getting into gear) Krod hasn't been incredibly efficient in cleaning up their messes, which is a shame because that is what he is supposed to do. As the closer he's keeping things too close. The Braves are having a lot of success this year on the apart of the effectiveness of Billy Wagner.
How is this problem fixed? Well removing Nieve is a good start. If the Mets could swing it (seriously no pun intended, but it would be nice if they actually could swing and connect on a few pitches) the next best move for them would be to acquire a starting pitcher, move Takahashi to the pen and just get rid of Oliver Perez in some way. Then if things are really going our way, find another good reliever, but at that point I think I'm talking in fantasy world.
*Alas, this would also all go away if the offense woke up again. That is why I feel the bullpen is a problem and that there really is no THE problem. If there was a THE problem, then it probably would have been fixed already. This potential problem in the bullpen is being compacted by the struggling offense. If the Mets bats can hit like they should be, then a lot of this would go away. That is why I'm worried about the bullpen becoming a major issue, because until the Mets bats come out, every game is going to be close.
How in the world do you say that Parnell and Feliciano arent in gear?! Both have done thier jobs well; Same with Dissens; All have very decent ERA, very few runs and free bases are underscontol, few walks and stollen bases. The sad thing is that most fans feel that the oly acceptable baseball is perfect baseball (Every batter strikes out, every batter hits a homer). It just inst gonna happen folks.
Thanks for pointing that out, I don't think I was completely clear in my point.
I feel that Feliciano and Parnell have been very good this year. However there have been severally points this year when Krod had to bail them out (which is reasonable, like you said not everyone is going to be perfect every time out), and faltered (or vice versa).
The comment in the article about Parnell and Feliciano wasn't really about them being at fault, but about their safety net, Krod, being at fault. I don't expect him to be perfect, however his intimidation and effectiveness has waned at this point this season.
Dessens was an amazing surprise this season. He has been very good. The problem with Dessens, Felciano, and Parnell is that they shouldn't have to be responsible every day. Having Takahashi back in the pen would make them that much more effective.