Comments on: New York Mets Podcast #36

By: Dan S

Dan S — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 19:39:13 +0000

Another point made by Darling last night – Trachsel hasn’t missed a start. For that reason alone he has been very valuable to the team. Of course “value” is measured differently in a seven-game postseason series than over the course of a season, expecting that Maine will indeed get the nod over Trax.

But I won’t pile on Trachsel. He (and management) are fully aware of his shortcomings, no point in piling on.

By: Ron

Ron — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 17:16:24 +0000

OK so the .700 winning percentage is highly inflated by his huge run support.. if he got normal run support he’d be a sub .500 pitcher for sure… .it’s all about the offense

By: Dan S

Dan S — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 14:09:34 +0000

They said on the telecast last night that Willie will be going with Perez on Wednesday to give Glavine an extra day of rest. I am rather puzzled by this move – I thought they had seen all they needed to see from Oliver Perez this season – I thought Bannister would make more sense in spot starts from here on. I think Bannister showed us alot early in the season and didn’t look too bad in his first start back. Perez clearly has talent but we know he will take some work in the off-season before he’s ready for the Bigs.

By: Rob Safuto

Rob Safuto — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 11:15:11 +0000

Trachsel was a dog yesterday, no doubt. There’s a good chance that Willie will go with El Duque for the third starter spot given that Hernandez has more post season experience and is also capable of throwing a very nice game with the proper rest it seems.

By: Phil

Phil — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 11:04:07 +0000

Agreed, Trachsel was horrible yesterday, especially after getting ahead in the count: the number of 0-2 walks was ridiculous. But I still think he has a big part to play: that .700 winning % is hard to ignore, even if it is extremely inflated (a 10-10 record would be more fitting).

Re: Frank’s post, I’m having horrible flashes of dancing with Steve Trachsel! All I can guarantee is that it would be a damn slow dance!

By: Frank in AK

Frank in AK — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 04:49:15 +0000

It’s looking like Maine’s the safer choice in the post-season rather than Trachsel. I guess the caveat to “dance with the one that brought you” is “unless the new girl’s much prettier and you have a better shot with her.”

Good points about planning for the post season. I find myself traveling for two weeks in October as well. I have the oppositte problem with the West coast games. They start while I’m still working. I’ll have to come up with some creative excuses to leave work an hour early . . . .

By: Ron

Ron — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 04:04:56 +0000

OK so here’s an idea for the next poll.. Does Steve Traschel Suck. A) Yes B) Definetly … Honestly 7 walks to 1K what the hell kind of stats are those… the guy plain out has nothing left.. he should be in the bullpen for the post season and if not I will throw a big hissy fit… Pedro, Glavine, El Duque and Maine are the way to go

By: Rob Safuto

Rob Safuto — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 22:30:40 +0000

Thanks for chiming in Phil. Nice to get the opinion of fans outside the U.S. Lets Go Mets!

By: Phil

Phil — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 21:30:44 +0000

Hey Rob, I’m a 19 year old student from London, UK. Big fan of the Mets and of the podcast, you do a great job!

I agree with the majority of points you make: I subscribe to mlb.com so get the chance to catch a fair few highlights of mets games. I want to make a few comments re: starting rotation for the postseason. If healthy, Pedro and Glavine are the only 2 certs. The other two spots will, I suppose, be contested for between El Duque, Trachs and John Maine. Dave Williams isn’t going to be there (despite doing a pretty good job) and Perez was pretty awful vs the Rockies. Bannister has come back from injury too late to be a reliable option, his resonably low ERA was as a result of working out of jams effectively, but I think he lets too many men on early at this point in his career.

El Duque’s postseason numbers are terrific: a .750 win % and a 2.55 ERA (and done with the Yankees). He’s a big game player (the Philly horror-show aside) and this has to count for something.

So that leaves a (so far) 14 game winner with a high ERA against an extremely promising rookie for the last spot!! What a dilemna!! I would go with Tracshel and pitch Maine out of the pen, like the Red Sox did with Bronson Arroyo in the last 2 postseasons to good effect. Why change a good omen? If Tracshel has a reasonably good September he could reach 17-18 wins!! He’s not like a Jason Marquis. He CAN be effective, and has some good experience, something Maine lacks: exemplified by his tactics when pitching to Pujols recently. You can’t afford to write off 5,6,7 runs due to inexperience. Save it for the regular season!

Sorry this is so long!