J Platt, Hot Stove Philly – This is a tough one. With the potent bats in the Phillies lineup, the obvious choice would be Ryan Howard. Unfortunately, Howard’s strikeouts make him a liability with the game on the line. Chase Utley would be another obvious choice. While I wouldn’t complain if the Phillies were down in the bottom of the ninth with the winning run on base and Utley stepped to the plate, I don’t always think the “superstar” is necessarily the most clutch player. In saying that, the first player who came to my mind was Shane Victorino. Vic does the little things it takes to get on base and comes through when it counts. But he’s not the clutch bat, he’s the guy who gets the rally started. This is why I went with Greg Dobbs.
Dobbs, who doesn’t have a huge playing role with the Phillies, makes an impact whenever given the opportunity. Dobbs is batting .370 when it’s …
Jeff Freier, Hot Stove New York – I haven’t been keeping a close eye on the Rollins situation, but it has to be Rollins, right? He has a track record of success and led the team to a division title last year. Performance can overcome one insult to the fans. If he goes on a tear and the Phillies win again the fans will forget all about it. Aaron Heilman’s been the Shea whipping boy for years now. Even if he throws 15 consecutive shutout innings, it’s hard to forget about all the meltdowns and blown games. Sometimes just the look on his face and his slumped shoulders incite the Shea crowd to want to go after him like they were an angry mob of villagers with torches and pitchforks.
J Platt, Hot Stove Philly – I’d have to say Jimmy Rollins. Rollins made some comments which he took a lot of heat for. Outside of using the word “frontrunner,” I don’t think …
Jeff Freier, Hot Stove New York – That would have to be Cole Hamels. Who wouldn’t want a 24-year-old ace-like pitcher? He’s great right now, and you can only see him getting better over the next five years. A pitcher like that only comes around every so often. The other choice would be Chase Utley. The Mets need a second baseman (Luis Castillo doesn’t count), and Utley’s one of the best, if not the best in baseball. But I’d rather have a young star pitcher than a great second baseman. So I’d go with Hamels.
Jon Atwood, Hot Stove Philly – I think the obvious answer to this question is David Wright. For one thing, the Phillies have not had a legitimate starter at third base since the departure of Scott Rolen. After a long string of players like David Bell, Abraham Nunez and Wes Helms, the Phillies could really use some pop at …
J Platt, Hot Stove Philly – I’d have to go with the Mets. He biggest struggle the Mets have had over the past few months has been their bullpen. By expanding rosters, the Mets were able to add pitching depth that allows Aaron Heilman, Pedro Feliciano, and Duaner Sanchez some needed rest. The Phillies added some bench help, which adds some depth. I’m just not sure how much it will help. Outside of Greg Golson, who has tremendous speed and excellent defense, most of the players who will see time are minor league veterans, who will contribute minimally.
Jeff Freier, Hot Stove New York – Probably the Mets. With their bullpen problems, having 37 relievers on hand really helps them. Manuel can use Feliciano, Smith and whoever as specialists to face one batter, and he doesn’t have to worry about running out of pitchers. The more the merrier with that ‘pen. The whole roster expansion rule is ridiculous, by the way, even though …
Jeff Freier, Hot Stove New York – Jamie Moyer is 12-7 with a 3.80 ERA. Pedro is 5-3 and a 5.07 ERA. That says it all. If the Mets had Moyer instead of Pedro this year, the race would be over.
J Platt, Hot Stove Philly – If you look at the span of an entire career, it’s Pedro, hands down. If you’re looking at this season, it’s Moyer. Pedro has struggled with injuries and the death of his father, while at 45, Moyer is having his best season since 2002. Entering today’s game he’s 12-7, but has had a streak of 14 straight games where he allowed three runs or less. Due to an inconsistent offense, he only managed 5 wins in those starts. Had the Phillies scored some runs, Moyer would be making a run at 20 wins.
Jeff Freier, Hot Stove New York – Obviously the Phillies have a better bullpen. I think New York’s ’pen has a 15.1 scoreless streak heading into this series and Philly’s bullpen is blowing games left and right, but you’d have to be crazy to say the Mets have a better bullpen overall. Brian Stokes and Luis Ayala have really helped the Mets, using Feliciano and Smith as lefty-righty specialists is working and the Phillies relievers are coming down to earth a little but the Phillies are still better. Both make the games a little too exciting, though.
Jon Atwood, Hot Stove Philly – Despite the recent struggles over the past two weeks, the Phillies’ bullpen continues to have one of the lowest ERAs in the league. The Mets, on the other hand, are one of the league’s worst pens. Aaron Heilman has an ERA of 5.23, Luis Ayala’s is 5.40, Pedro Feliciano’s is 3.83, …
J Platt, Hot Stove Philly – I think to give an actual answer on this you need to factor in a healthy Billy Wagner. Even putting aside all the ill-will I have for Wagner, the better closer is Brad Lidge. While Lidge hasn’t been as sharp as he was earlier this season (which relates to some arm tendonitis), he’s 34 for 34 in save opportunities this year. Also Wagner doesn’t possess an actual out-pitch, whereas Lidge has arguably the best slider in baseball. Not just one either. One he can throw for a strike and one he buries that batter’s chase.
Jeff Freier, Hot Stove New York – The Mets don’t really have a closer right now (I guess it’s Ayala) so the answer is Lidge. But when Billy Wagner’s healthy the answer is…still Lidge. He seems to be past his Houston meltdown phase, and Wagner always seems to have a meltdown coming right around the corner. …
Jeff Freier, Hot Stove New York – If everybody were healthy, I’d say the Mets. But right now they’re both in the same boat – they have three guys they can count on (Hamels, Meyers, Moyer / Santana, Pelfrey, Perez) and then it’s a crapshoot. Joe Blanton’s been pedestrian, Kendrick’s been terrible, you don’t know what you’re going to get with Pedro and do the Mets really have a fifth starter right now? Jon Niese? If Maine were healthy that would give the Mets the edge, but the Phillies have healthy bodies to throw out there so that gives them the edge.
Jon Atwood, Hot Stove Philly – The Phillies have a better starting rotation. Johan Santana and John Maine are the only two solid pitchers on the Mets rotation, whereas Cole Hamels, Brett Myers, and Jamie Moyer are all serious hurlers. Granted, Santana is the best pitcher of the group and is arguably the best pitcher in the major leagues, but Hamels …
J Platt, Hot Stove Philly – This is a tough one. Both players are irreplaceable cogs to their team. Wright has been more consistent overall, while Utley started like a house on fire, but cooled after the All-Star Break. While Wright possesses more power, Utley is more dependable for the big hit. Defensively, Utley has improved but Wright has developed into a Gold Glove caliber third baseman. If you factor in position (which does contribute to overall value), Utley is the best offensive second baseman in baseball, while Wright has stiff competition at third base right in his own city. When it comes to intangibles, I don’t think there are many who hustle more then Utley, so I’ll give him the edge, but Wright is clearly superior in the leadership department. Wright has become the leader of the Mets, while Utley maintains a strong presence, he isn’t the Phillies leader.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see …
Jeff Freier, Hot Stove New York – This year it’s clearly Jose Reyes. He towers over Jimmy Rollins in every statistical category, and leads the league in hits, multiple hit games, triples, is fourth in runs scored and second in stolen bases. His OPS is .854 to Rollins’ .778. And the fielding slump Reyes was in at the beginning of the year has disappeared long ago. So statistically and talent-wise, Reyes is obviously superior. And Rollins’ intangibles – leadership, hustle, etc. – have disappeared this year. The one issue Reyes had was the night in Anaheim when he tweaked his hamstring and was pulled from the game, but got pissed (and pissy) because he wanted to stay in. Meanwhile, Rollins shows up late for a game and gets benched for not hustling. He seems to have an MVP hangover.
J Platt, Hot Stove Philly – Statistically this year it’s Reyes. If you look at the numbers, Reyes surpasses …
All seemed well for Billy Wagner on Saturday. The Mets closer finished a simulated game and was on track to return to the Mets on Monday. Then Wagner’s elbow began to swell. What was concerning is Wagner didn’t hurt his elbow, but was sent to the disabled list for a forearm strain. On Monday it was decided that Wagner would not come off the disabled list. He was diagnosed with elbow stiffness and would receive further evaluation on Tuesday.
Well the further evaluation isn’t good. An MRI revealed today that Wagner is suffering from elbow inflamation, which could cause him to miss the remainder of the season.
“I’m very frustrated, but there’s not much for me to do,” Wagner said. “I want to play. I want to compete. There’s only so much time in a career and I want to get out there and help my teammates. We’re in a great situation right now. We’re leading our division and we’ve got a great chance to go …
It appears closer Billy Wagner wasn’t making excuses when he said his forearm hurt after blowing his seventh save of the year Saturday night. Wagner had an MRI today and the results confirmed he has a left forearm strain. As a result, Wagner has been placed on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to Sunday).
“It’s just a bad time to have to go through something like this,” Wagner said
This is potentially devastating news for the Mets whose bullpen has been a disaster since the all-star break. It could be worse though. Since the MRI showed no structural damage, he should be back in the ‘pen when his 15 days are up.
To take Wagner’s place on the roster, the Mets have recalled pitcher Ruddy Lugo. Lugo is 8-4 with a 4.39 ERA in parts of three seasons (102 appearances) with the Rays and Athletics. This year Lugo has spent the season in the Zephyrs rotation going 7-9 with a 5.01 ERA.
Taking Wagner’s place as the closer …
