There is one word to describe the New York Mets bullpen this year: Ugly. Even when they have gotten through innings without giving up a run, they have frequently walked batters, gotten behind in most counts and have thrown more balls than strikes.
I'm a collegiate pitcher and last year, in 57 innings, I walked four batters, and one of them was intentional. I promise you, it's not that difficult to throw strikes. Nothing frustrates me more than watching guys that are getting paid millions of dollars put batters on base for free.
It seems like every time a Mets reliever has walked a batter early in the inning, it has come back to haunt them. It's pretty clear that for the Mets to succeed this year, their bullpen is going to have to drastically improve.
Jason Isringhousen was given a minor league contract this spring for a chance to make the team. He pitched outstandingly in spring training. So far in this young season, the Mets bullpen has greatly struggled.
So what are they waiting for? Isringhousen is ready. The guy he was competing for the job with, Boyer, has been completely ineffective. Even when he recorded the save, he gave up a run. And as I'm tying this, he's probably going to get the loss again today.
There are questions as the whether Isringhousen's arm is going to hold up over a whole season. I'd be willing to take that chance. There are about three or four guys in the bullpen right now who I would definitely take Isringhousen over. And if something happens and Isringhousen gets hurt in a month, I'm sure there is a guy somewhere who could walk every other batter and give up a run every time out like Boyer.
I don't know about all of you, but I'm sick and tired of watching guys getting paid millions of dollars lose ballgames because they can't throw the ball over the plate, something I could do with a blindfold on. And I assure you, I'm not getting paid anywhere near what they are.
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