As the sun begins to set on April, so does the effectiveness of Aaron Heilman. Begun last year in the late season collapse, Heilman's pitching has become so innefective it's getting to the point of being counter-productive to the team. Unfortunately for the Mets, they have yet to secure an ample replacement to fill the gap between starting pitching/middle relief to Billy Wagner.

Last season Heilman, like the Mets as a whole, was effective for 5/6 of the season. Unfortunately the 1/6 of complete sucking was the most important month, and cost the Mets the East, and a playoff berth. This season however, he hasn't shown the form of his better self, and has seen less strikes hit the catcher's mitt than a batting practice coach throwing beach balls.

The real question about Duaner Sanchez is, how will missing the better part of the past two seasons effect his mental and physical well being? When the Mets picked up Duaner Sanchez from the Dodgers, he was one of the most promising young relievers in baseball. Outshined only by his closer, the juiced up Eric Gagne, who has since completely lost his junk, probably after Brian McNamee stopped giving him roids. Duaner has been cleared by the Mets medical staff to pitch in back to back games, but Willie has kept him from doing that. Is that a sign that he's prepping Duaner for the long run? Are the Mets willing to let Heilman blow games early on this season to secure a long haul and a healthy arm for the back stretch? Have the Mets actually learned from their collapse in '07? Sure does seem like a stretch, but so far that seems to be exactly what the Mets are doing.