It’s been almost 600 days since Duaner Sanchez has seen live action for the NY Mets. The last time he showed up at camp in Port St. Lucie, he was over 230 pounds, late, and looking like he just got in from a night on the town with crack whores. I am all for big league players acting bigger than life, I just wish they did it on other teams. We need more Babe Ruth throw backs, Lindsay Lohan wannabes, and guys who eat 3 hot dogs and wash them down with 6 beers before each at bat. Preferably all of those guys would play for the Atlanta Braves, and give Bobby Cox enough hell to force him out of the game. What we need in New York is a decent bull pen without all indigestion and stomach ulcers we’ve grown so accustom too. When we got Sanchez from the Dodgers he was exactly that. A rising star in the bullpen with a bit of an attitude and a chip on his shoulder, Duaner was a force on the mound and I personally pegged him to be the next closer for the Mets. Duaner has shown in the past flashes of brilliance and ability far beyond our current set up man, Aaron Heilman.

Last year Aaron Heilman sucked my ass. Every game that seemed important, Heilman was brought in. In all of those important games he threw beach ball batting practice to the opposing hitters, squandered leads, and generally cost me hundreds of dollars of damage to my TV remote controls. I’ve sent the organization a bill for all the damage he’s cost me, but so far haven’t seen the return on my investment. The bigger question around Heilman is; how did he keep a respectable, noteworthy even ERA over 81 appearances? I’m convinced the answers is; he suffers from gay-rod syndrome. Heilman is stellar, exemplary, and over achieves when the game is over, doesn’t matter, or we have no chance of winning. When the game is on the line, or when the playoffs roll around, Heilman becomes very average at best, and often costs us more than he can produce.

Wagner had a decent year, and right up until our nightmare collapse was one of the best closers in the game. I really worry about his age and dedication to winning however, as several occasions last season seemed to call his personal drive and work ethic into question. No longer do we see a south paw New York Mets closer firing bee-bee’s at 98 mph. Apparently Billy feels more comfortable in the 93-94mph range these days. I actually wonder if he’s paying too much attention to the speed gun and has lost some confidence. It may explain why he was so eager to use that very average slider of his in crucial situations. 5 years ago, Billy had one pitch, the smoke, and nobody could touch him. Maybe Omar Minaya can figure out a trade with Doc Brown to move Shoeneweis and Burgos to get the flux capacitor and move Wagner back in time 5 years.
Don’t even get me started on Shoeneweis. That guy was terrible. I think our first mistake was approaching the Cincinnati Reds for anything other than a towel boy. Here’s a guy with a career ERA over 5.00. I got a good idea, lets extend his contract, move him into the starting rotation and put Johan in the bullpen.

Feliciano was OK and I don’t have much beef with him. The other guys seemed to pitch in occasionally, but when it was all said and done they were worn down, worn out, and unable to finish strong. Getting Duaner back should prove to be as good a pick up as getting a quality set up man through the free agency/trade market. I think that with the added quality starts of Johan Santana, a revived Pedro, and Duaner back in the pen, more quality innings will be thrown and less pressure will be placed on our bullpen. Besides, what better way is there to make a bullpen stronger then to let them sit the entire game and never even make them warm up?