Originally Posted by QuasiMondo

The bullpen hasn't pitched well all season. Here's the most telling stat (through August):

Run differential, Innings 1-6: +118
Run differential, Innings 7-9+: -49

Over the final 17 games of the season, the bullpen had an ERA of 6.56. Jerry Manuel used on average 4.4 relievers per game. Just listing the overall ERA doesn't do justice to how bad this bullpen was. The only pitcher who could get both sides of the plate out was Billy Wagner. Everybody else was pretty much a situational guy who's only good at working one side of the plate. If you look at the BAA between RH and LH hitters for each pitcher, you'd see what I'm talking about, and how easily they were exploited by opposing managers.

Through early August, Johan Santana walked away with seven no-decisions, five of them coming after he walked off the mound giving up two runs or less. Other starters have had similar results. I'll admit, the starters do have their problems. Perez is way too inconsistent and Pedro seems to be out of gas, especially after trying to fight through injuries and his father's death. But Santana is spot on, Maine was spot on until he got hurt, and Pelfrey settled in quite nicely in the second half.

The bottom line is this: Out of all the problems the Mets had, their bullpen was the most devastating. It's taken them out of games, it's cost Santana a Cy Young, and in the end, it cost them a play of berth. Minaya needs to make fixing the bullpen he neglected his top priority. I don't care if they don't sign C.C. or Texeria. They have solid hitters, solid defense, and solid pitching. If the bullpen had held on to even one lead, I wouldn't be singing this sad song.