The Heilman Experiment (Part II)

Way back in 2004 I wrote that the Mets should try Aaron Heilman in the rotation. This was not because I really thought he would succeed, but because I figured he was done as a starting pitcher. What I didn't know is that Heilman and a new arm angle would give the Mets an extremely effective pitcher. I write a lot of articles and this was a case of throwing enough shit at a wall and having something stick. Though Heilman has struggled of late, he is still a very good pitcher and very valuable to this team.

        IP   H  HR  SO  L   ERA   WHIP   K/9
April 13.2  13   0  14  0   2.63  1.32  9.22
May   16.0  11   1  13  1   3.38  1.13  7.31
June  13.2  18   2   9  2   7.43  1.58  6.08
Total   43  42   3  36  3   4.40  1.33  7.53

That is what I would call a negative trend. Heilman gave up a run in four of his last eleven appearances before putting together a string of four scoreless innings recently. Aaron had worked with Rick Peterson to work a kink out and that seems to have set him straight. However, Heilman was put into the bullpen last year and was just about the best reliever in the universe in the second half of 2005 with the exception of Mr. Billy Wagner. This year? Not so much. In fact, this bullpen is so deep that Aaron in the bullpen is no longer a necessity.

With Heath Bell looking great of late and Henry Owens showing everyone that he has nothing left to prove in the minors, they can pick up Aaron's slack since in reality, there simply is not as much to pick up as we thought there would be. The Mets need a #3 starter and better rotation than they have. I think this rotation is just fine to get the Mets through the regular season and beat up on the National League, but when it comes the playoffs, the Mets are one Kris Benson-type pitcher away. Heilman can be that guy in my opinion and it's certainly worth a shot.

The bullpen is a strength of the this team and with Heath Bell, Royce Ring, and Henry Owens there to jump in to help this team out, I think it might be the way to go at this point. If Mike Pelfrey can continue to improve and perhaps pitch in in late August and Aaron Heilman in the rotation, things to look a bit brighter in terms of the quality of the Mets starting pitching.

* * *

In what should be tough situation for Jered Weaver, his promotion to the bigs for good has come at the expense of his brother as he was designated for assignment. Jeff has been horrible this year, but is he worth a flyer to see if he can be fixed?

"There are so many teams looking for pitching and so many teams in the race, somebody will take this guy," one veteran NL scout said.

In a low risk move, the obvious answer is yes. However, he would come with plenty of questions about being able to handle New York again and Weaver is a known hot head so he would most likely not be the answer to the Mets need for a good #3 starter, but it cannot hurt.

Carlos Delgado might miss the entire Yankee series due to soreness in his ribs. However, it looks like Floyd is ready to return for this weekend series which will soften the blow of the current rash of injuries for the Mets.

I didn't see the game or the catch. However, just from this picture the catch looks like a pretty sick one to say the least.

"Under the circumstances and the time of the game, the score, everything like that, I don't think I have seen a better play," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "That was an incredible play."

While Mike from Mike and the Mad Dog will not have comparison between the Mets left side of the infield and the Yankees left side of the infield because the Yankees guys are far more proven, it is a comparison that is going to be made. They are in the same town and all some of the best in the game. He needs to deal with it and deal with the fact that Mets left side might be better than the Yankees left side right now. Mike had said that if Wright has one season that even comes close to one of A-Rod's many monster seasons, he will be ecstatic. Note to Mike: WRIGHT IS DOING THAT RIGHT NOW AT 23. Wright is good and though a lot can happen, he looks like he is on track for a Hall of Fame career and it looks like Wright may even be better than A-Rod from now on out.

Mike Pelfrey, Henry Owens, Michel Abreu, and Jorge Padilla will represent the B-Mets in the Eastern League All-Star game. After the game, shove Abreu, Pelfrey, and Owens on a bus down to Norfolk.