No News (is Good News)

Thus far, the Mets, like the other 29 teams, have been rather quiet. This will probably change soon.

The Mets must decide whether they want to keep Oliver Perez. While he is admittedly remarkably inconsistent, you've got to realize that there aren't a lot of quality starters out there to choose from. Pedro Martinez will almost certainly not return, and if Oliver Perez doesn't either, the Mets' rotation will be two men short. The proven pitchers, such as Derek Lowe, will be quite expensive, and the Mets are unlikely to acquire more than one high-priced starter. (Others include CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett.)

Oliver Perez is familiar with New York and has shown a propensity for pitching well under pressure. He may be the free agent that the Mets need.

If he returns, the Mets will have a solid, if not amazing, top 4 starting pitchers of Johan Santana, John Maine, Oliver Perez, and Mike Pelfrey. And one other good starter, and the rotation is really good.

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But, realistically, the rotation is not the problem. Last year, the Mets had very good starting pitching and they still came up short.

What were the problems? Relief Pitching and Hitting (particularly of the clutch variety). With Ryan Church presumably recovered from his concussion, Fernando Tatis and Daniel Murphy splitting time in left-field and Carlos Delgado, once again, a feared slugger, the Mets should have a quite respectable offense.

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Good starting pitching. Good hitting. That takes us to the bottom of the ninth. With a lead. To whom? The answer to this question and the rest of the bullpen puzzle may well decide the fate of the 2009 New York Mets. The only two longstanding members of the Mets bullpen are Aaron Heilman and Pedro Feliciano. Heilman is campaigning for a starting slot and both are coming off off-years. The bullpen is in shambles. Joe Smith should be returning. Scott Schoenweiss should also be, but who knows what he is worth. There is a closer (Billy Wagner) being paid, but there is none, as of yet, who will be putting on the orange and blue.

Omar Minaya: This is your place to shine. Build a good bullpen, and you know any talks about your recent extension will be squashed (unless they say, "They should have extended him for 10 years). The rotation and offense are important, but this ballclub will go nowhere without a quality bullpen.

The Moose Has Left His Tracks - But They Shouldn't Lead to Cooperstown

Last week Mike Mussina announced his retirement. Good for him. He had a very good career and, with his renaissance last year, he ended it off on a good note (unlike many other pitchers, like John Franco and Al Leiter, who didn't know when to call it quits.) He doesn't need the money, having made well over 100 million dollars playing baseball. Now, of course, the Mussina-related discussion turns to whether or not he belongs in the Hall of Fame. I think not. Mike Mussina was quite good for quite a while, but is he really a great?

A natural place to turn in this discussion is awards. If a man has shown himself time and again to be the best pitcher in his league (such as Pedro Martinez) then he certainly qualifies as an all-time great. Mike Mussina has never won a Cy Young Award. Ron Guidry, Fernando Valenzuela and Doc Gooden all won Cy Young Awards and none of them is in the Hall of Fame. So did David Cone and Orel Hersheiser. Bret Saberhagen won two, and he isn't in it, either.

Not only was he never the best pitcher in the league, but he was never even particularly close. In 1999, Mussina was so much worse than Pedro Martinez, who got the Cy Young, that Mike did not even garner one first-place vote. His ERA was also well over a run higher than Pedro's.

Mike was almost always good, but never top quality. There was one year (1999) where he was maybe (I don't think so, but it's close -) in the top 5 pitchers of baseball.

Additionally, Mike did not do well in the postseason, and that will quite possibly count against him.

The question of whether Mike Mussina belongs in the Hall of Fame may boil down to this: Is a starting pitcher who received three first-place votes for the Cy Young in his entire career really Hall of Fame quality?

I think not.

Looking Towards Next Year

With season 2008 a thing of the past, we can all try to forget about the World Champions, and concentrate on bringing the 2009 World Series Crown to New York. Queens.

If Omar Minaya can obtain the necessities on this shopping list, the Mets will no longer have an excuse for failing. (Their excuses over the past few years have been woefully inadequate, but have still existed. If the necessary parts come in, there will be no excuse. Period!)

Shopping List:
2nd Baseman
2 Starters
6 adequate relief pitchers

Right Now: The Mets are tied for first place with the Nationals, Braves, Marlins and Phillies (why shouldn't they be listed last?). They all have the pristine record of 0-0.