Somebody left it open.
During the late innings of any given Mets game, the conversation among hundreds of Mets fans on Twitter inevitably turns to the bullpen and its vulnerability. Years of bullpen missteps have trained Mets fans to believe the worst when it comes to the bullpen and a mostly ineffective group in relief has strengthened those beliefs this season. Truth is, the Mets bullpen has been awful, the worst in the league with a 5.40 ERA as a unit and they’ve blown 10 saves. Their ineptitude is one of the main reasons why games like Johan Santana and R.A. Dickey pitched this weekend are celebrated by Mets fans: No bullpen, no problems.
I personally have little trust in relief pitchers. It continues to dumbfound me how a pitcher like Dillon Gee can pitch seven innings of one-run ball and the guy behind him can come in and give up two in an instant. But the Mets aren’t the only team to ever experience bullpen woes and there are some mostly effective men in the New York pen. The Stache Mets Bullpen Power Rankings are born as a way to point out those members of the relief corps who’ve had success, as well as those who haven’t. So without further adieu, the inaugural list:
1. Tim Byrdak
Season: 30 G, 14.2 IP, 3.07 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 5 ER, 6 H, 5 BB, 20 K, 12 Holds, 1 Blown Save
Last Week: 2 G, 0.2 IP, 1 ER, 0 H, 1 BB
Analysis: This certainly wasn’t Byrdak’s best week as he gave up a run in his only meaningful appearance on Wednesday, but this ranking takes into account Byrdak’s entire body of work. This season for the Mets, Byrd has been the word. Byrdak leads the MLB in appearances with 30 and has effectively shut down Mets opponents in most of them. A WHIP below 1.00 and a K/9 of more than 12 are a great combination. Byrdak has also inherited 28 runners this season and allowed just five of them to score. Not bad for a LOOGY.
2. Frank Francisco
Season: 24 G, 21.2 IP, 5.82 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 15 R, 14 ER, 25 H, 10 BB, 26 K, 14 Saves, 2 Blown Saves
Last Week: 2 G, 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K, 1 Save
Analysis: Frank Francisco’s ERA is perhaps the most deceiving statistic of any player on the Mets so far this season, as it has ballooned because of a few horrible appearances. While far from steady, Frank has been somewhat reliable this season, especially recently. After blowing up in back-to-back appearances in Miami May 11 and 13, Francisco has allowed just one run over his last eight innings. Over that span, he’s given up five hits, walked three, struck out 11 and saved six games. His last seven appearances haven’t yielded a run and he saw a streak of three straight flawless appearances end when he yielded a hit during Tuesday’s save against Philly.
3. Bobby Parnell
Season: 26 G, 23 IP, 3.13 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 10 R, 8 ER, 26 H, 6 BB, 23 K, 11 Holds, 1 Blown Save
Last Week: 4 G, 3.1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 Blown Save, 1 Loss
Analysis: This was perhaps Bobby’s worst week of the season as he took it on the nose twice against Philadelphia. After allowing the go-ahead run to score in the series opener on Monday to take the loss, Bobby blew the Mets’ chances to win the series, surrendering the lead in Wednesday’s loss. Parnell’s biggest misgiving so far during his big league career has been that he is more of a “thrower” looking to make the radar gun explode than a “pitcher” capable of getting batters out. The addition this season of the knuckle-curve, taught to Parnell by Jason Isringhausen has been a boon, but Bobby reverted back to being a thrower during the three-game set with Philly. A little regression was due to happen at some point, but this No. 3 ranking on this list comes with a hope that he’s able to harness himself and get back to being effective.
4. Jon Rauch
Season: 25 G, 22 IP, 4.09 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 11 R, 10 ER, 23 H, 4 BB, 12 K, 5 Holds, 3 Blown Saves
Last Week: 3 G, 3 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 1K, 1 Hold, 1 Loss
Analysis: Jon Rauch has been something of an enigma out of the bullpen this season for the Mets. This week was a perfect example: He appeared in all three games of the Philly series and ended up preserving one lead and giving up the go-ahead run the very next night. Rauch is extremely hittable, but has kept his walks down all season. He doesn’t get many swings and misses, but he does get outs. He’s had two outings where he’s allowed three runs and has only permitted five to cross in his other 23 appearances. One thing Terry Collins has learned is not to bring Rauch in with men on base. He hasn’t come in with runners on since May 4 after allowing four of seven inherited runners to score in the first month of the season.
5. Elvin Ramirez
Season: 1 G, .2 IP, 13.50 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1K
Last Week: 1 G, .2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 1K
Analysis: Elvin makes his major league debut at No. 5 on the list despite a less than impressive first outing. Ramirez entered the game in the eighth on Sunday with a 6-0 lead and proceeded to give up two hits allowing the first Cardinals run of the series to cross. Ramirez was hittable and somewhat wild, but some of that can be chalked up to nerves from his first big league game. In addition, the two hits he allowed were BABIP-y knocks up the middle that were nearly flagged down by Omar Quintatnilla and perhaps would have been by a shortstop with more range to his left. His one strikeout of Cardinals prospect Matt Adams showcased electric stuff and I’m still excited to see what Elvin can do next time out.
6. Ramon Ramirez
Season: 22 G, 26.1 IP, 4.78 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 15 R, 14 ER, 29 H, 11 BB, 25 K, 1 Hold, 2 Blown Saves
Last Week: 2 G, 1 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 2K
Analysis: Heralded as perhaps Sandy Alderson’s best pickup this offseason, there’s no denying Ramirez has been a major disappointment this season. After nearly 100 great innings in San Francisco over the last two seasons, allowing a total of 22 earned runs, Ramirez is nearly two-thirds of the way there in his first season in Flushing despite pitching just a quarter of the innings. Perhaps it’s a lack of defined role that has marred his season, but that’s no excuse. He’s become the team’s de-facto longman and continues to make the Angel Pagan trade — which I was all for, I must add — look foolish. Now he may be headed to the DL after injuring his hamstring running in from the bullpen to celebrate Johan Santana’s no-hitter. Unreal. Ramirez is a prime example of why I don’t trust relief pitchers. The vast majority of them are far too fickle to rely on year-to-year.
7. Jack Egbert
Season: 1 G, 0.2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K
Last Week: 1 G, 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K
Analysis: Egbert’s Mets debut was in stark contrast to the more hyped Elvin Ramirez. Egbert came in and got both the outs he needed in a flawless outing during Monday’s loss to the Phillies. The appearance was actually the third of Egbert’s MLB career, but his first since 2009. Jack put up impressive splits in Buffalo before his callup with a 2.08 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, five walks and 17 strikeouts in 26 innings. But the Rutgers product may not be long for the big league roster as space is needed for the returns of Chris Young and Miguel Batista to the pitching staff on Tuesday.
8. Chris Schwinden
Season: 3 G, 8.2 IP, 12.46 ERA, 2.08 WHIP, 13 R, 12 ER, 15 H, 3 BB, 1 K
Last Week: 1 G, 0.2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 DFA
Analysis: The Mets designated Schwinden for assignment this week after his third awful big league appearance of the season. He was claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays and is their problem now. Schwinden was a solid AAA starter, but nothing more for the Mets. His two spot starts were both abominations — he lasted just four innings and allowed five earned runs in each. His only relief chance came this week against the Phillies and saw him permit the first three runners to reach as Philadelphia blew the game open. Good riddance and good luck, Toronto.
9. Manny Acosta
Season: 19 G, 22 IP, 11.86 ERA, 2.27 WHIP, 33 R, 29 ER, 35 H, 15, BB, 23 K
Last Week: 1 G, 0.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 1 K
Analysis: You almost have to try to be bad in order to be as bad as Manny Acosta was this season. Look at those numbers. An ERA north of 10 over 22 innings? That takes effort! Fortunately, the Acosta era came to an end this week after another awful performance against the Phillies. He was also designated for assignment. But unlike Schwinden, Acosta cleared waivers and was assigned back to Buffalo. Maybe he can harness the stuff that made him one of the team’s better relievers in 2010 and 2011. Or maybe he’s just another fickle reliever who can’t be consistent year-to-year.
That’s it for the inaugural Stache Bullpen Power Rankings. Agree? Disagree? Suggestions? Leave it in the comments.
