Before we begin, let’s get a couple of things straight.

First off, Aaron Heilman is a good pitcher. Over the last three seasons, he has been one of the best relievers in baseball. In 2007 he pitched to a 3.03 ERA, and opposing hitters hit just .224 against him. His 1.07 WHIP in ‘07 puts him in company with guys like Pirates closer Matt Capps, Rockies closer Manny Corpas, the Cards’ Jason Isringhausen, and the Cubs’ Carlos Marmol.

Fans will dwell on the homer surrendered to Yadier Molina in the 2006 NLCS, and there is no doubt that Aaron is prone to the long ball (a three ERA is a bit high for someone with a one WHIP); however, the fact remains that Heilman’s numbers match up with any setup man in baseball year-after-year. Moreover, the guy is a workhorse. Only seven relievers in the sport pitched more innings than Heilman (86.0) in 2007, and one of those seven (Atlanta’s Peter Moylan) seems headed for Tommy John surgery (Coincidence?).

However even for a reliever who takes the ball as much as Aaron, it’s safe to say that the guy has been overworked in 2008, and that’s our second point. As Matt Cerrone points out on MetsBlog today, Willie Randolph is the type of manager who is inclined to push his slumping players through their struggles rather than give them some time off to collect their thoughts and adjust their mechanics. I’m not sure whether this is a good or bad strategy when it comes to position players (though given the recent plights of Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado, I tend to think it’s a bad one), but I know for certain that it’s an asinine approach when dealing with relievers. The Mets have played 21 games and Heilman has appeared in 13 of them. He is on pace to throw 96 innings this season. ‘Nuff said.

With that out of the way, we can all agree that Aaron Heilman has been atrocious in 2008. Just take a look at some of the vitriol being thrown in his direction today. Via Metstradamus:

Apparently Heilman was demoted to the sixth inning, and he still couldn’t find his stuff. The Mets are running out of innings to slot him in. Maybe he can be the first inning guy. Think about it: He’d be happy because he’s technically a starting pitcher, and then he could be yanked for the real starting pitcher in the second. Or, perhaps he could be the 19th inning specialist. Think about how important the 19th inning is! You know, all of a sudden, I miss Jose Lima.

Wowzers.

Let’s not kid ourselves, folks. The Mets need Aaron Heilman. There is this perception among Mets fans that Heilman stinks and always has stunk, however, the numbers just don’t bare that argument out. This is a classic example of ‘the grass is always greener.’ If the fans had their way, they’d run this guy right out of town (of course, they’d also like to see him in the starting rotation, which is so hypocritical, it’s mind-boggling). But suddenly when Heilman is on a team like the A’s or the Tigers, and Mets fans don’t witness first-hand the bumps on the road to that 3 ERA, we’ll hear Bruce from Bayside crying about the litany of players who have stunk for the Mets only to excel on other teams.

Sure, Duaner Sanchez looks great with all of 5 innings under his belt, but this is a guy who threw just 55.1 innings in his injury-shortened 2006, and 82.0 innings the year before that. To expect Sanchez to come anywhere near 86-innings this season is ludicrous. Not to mention that Sanchez, with a 2.60 ERA/ 1.21 WHIP in 2006 and 3.73 ERA/ 1.35 WHIP in 2005, has historically been no more effective than Aaron Heilman.

Here’s what Mets closer Billy Wagner had to say on the subject of Sanchez:

We still have to be careful with him. We don’t want to overuse him. It’s a difficult situation because he’s pitching so well. It’s hard not to use him. He’s pretty much doing what he did before he got hurt. You gotta play it safe though.

And while we’re quoting Wags, here are his thoughts on Heilman:

“I think he’s been right where he’s been the last two years that I’ve been here. His first month he struggles with his mechanics. So, he’s up and down the first month or so then at the end of the year he winds up being one of the best relievers in baseball. It’s hard early in the year to be consistent. I think Aaron is fine. Everyone wants to ride his back about not being consistent this early. He’s such an asset, he’s been in 12 games and we’ve played 20. I mean that’s a workload. He’s on pace to be in 90 games. He’s our workhorse. He takes the ball anytime and makes no gripe about the situation. He battles and makes no excuses.”

God help us when Billy Wagner is the voice of reason.