I'm sick of the Mets' amazing bullpen. Stokes, Feliciano, Smith, Schoeneweis and now Ayala are all great this season. Only Heilman and Duaner Sanchez have disappointed at all. When will these guys give up a run?!?

After Jonathan Niese proved inadequate in his big league debut

Bottom line, that's true, but it comes with a big "but" . . .

Niese was pitching on short rest, and the Brewers are a very, very tough line-up for a lefty like him. They made him work hard those first three innings, and of course it didn't help that he was understandably nervous as a 21-year old rookie making his major league debut in a pennant race in September. So his command was less than ideal, he walked a few, worked up his pitch count, and by the fourth he was pretty much gassed.

All in all, the kid showed an excellent curve and a solid change-up. Niese has only an adequate fastball, with so-so velocity (touched 90, no better, at least tonight) and very little movement. If he improves that pitch, he can be a very good major league starter. And given that he's only 21 with a plus curve ball already, his ceiling has to be seen as pretty darned high. I was impressed.

This has been a great road trip for the Mets, with one last game tomorrow afternoon in Milwaukee. Split two in Philly (that after that debacle blowing the 7-0 lead in the first game), then took two of three in Miami, and now the first two in Milwaukee. So far, a 5-2 trip, and one more to go.

They'll have a lead -- at least one, maybe three games -- when the Phillies arrive for the weekend series at Shea. You couldn't ask for a better start to September.

Niese was pitching on short rest, and the Brewers are a very, very tough line-up for a lefty like him. They made him work hard those first three innings, and of course it didn't help that he was understandably nervous as a 21-year old rookie making his major league debut in a pennant race in September. So his command was less than ideal, he walked a few, worked up his pitch count, and by the fourth he was pretty much gassed.

Exactly, Sam. I felt badly for the kid- you couldn't have placed him in a more difficult situation.

The Met bullpen is not without talent. Smith, Feliciano, and Schoeneweis all excel in their roles as specialists. The problem the entire season has been the lack of setup men that can get both lefties and righties out. It has been exacerbated by the Wagner's injury but it's been a problem an entire season.

The September callups help because it allows Manuel to use 6 relievers a night. It's a pretty big advantage for the Mets.

That being said, the Met bullpen could actually be good if the following happens:

1) Wagner comes back and is a solid closer.

2) Two of Ayala/Stokes/Heilman/Sanchez step up and become "crossover guys". Heilman and Ayala have the track record to do so, Stokes the raw stuff. Sanchez's usually OK when he can throw his fastball at 91-92.

The way the Mets schedule works out with all the off-days coming up, Niese doesn't need to start for a while:

Wed. 9/3: Perez
Thurs. 9/4: OFF
Fri. 9/5: Pelfrey
Sat. 9/6: Martinez
Sun 9/7: Santana
Mon. 9/8: OFF
Tues. 9/9: Perez
Wed. 9/10: Pelfrey
Thurs. 9/11: OFF
Fri. 9/12: Martinez
Sat. 9/13: Santana
Mon. 9/14: Perez

You shouldn't have Niese pitch on 9/9 against the Nats (which would be his next 'scheduled' start) because Perez, Pelfrey, and Santana would each end up pitching on 6 days rest. The Mets shouldn't need a fifth starter until September 16.

Pedro to miss his next start?


When asked specifically if Saturday's start was in jeopardy, Manuel first responded, "No, no, no." But the manager left the door open to scratching Martinez later this week if Correnti's program can't get him in better shape than he was for Sunday in Florida. In that game, Martinez's velocity slipped to the low-80s, and he relied on his breaking pitches to get him through six innings.

"If this does not work out for him, and he can't [get loose], then we would probably ... I don't know," Manuel said. "He can be effective to a certain degree at that . But there comes a time when with experienced people that you just faced, that might not be the best type of situation."

No love for Figgy? He's come up big for us twice this series.

Edit: Duplicate

Figgy has been great. So has Stokes. Can't overlook those moves right now.

Bob, I think the Mets probably would like to give the pitchers an extra day of rest, especially Pelfrey. And I'm fine with Niese starting against the Nats.

Great win last night. I would definitely start Niese again against the Nats next week; getting extra rest for the starters heading into the stretch run would be beneficial, and they're going to need the 5th starter twice in that stretch run, so you need to see if Niese can be the guy.

Pedro to miss his next start?

We'd be dumb NOT to bump his start. You have horses, so ride them. Every fifth day, not every fifth game. Santana should start on Saturday, giving Pedro an extra day (seven!)

Extra rest isn't what is needed - routine-ness is for healthy young guys like Santana, Pelfrey and Perez.

I want to say that Niese's fastball was a touch faster when we saw him in spring training, but I can't remember for sure.

I agree with Chris; I definitely want Santana pitching every 5th day.

I think he's a dark horse candidate for the NL CY this year. He's got a crappy win total but he's having a great season and not getting a lot of press for it.