Addressing The Heilman

Last night the Mets took Rookie Alay Soler out the game in the seventh inning. He pitched well and had a lead going into the inning. Mets Manager felt that he wanted to protect his rookie by making sure he had a successful outing. So he brought in his seventh inning go to guy, Aaron Heilman. Heilman gave up 4 runs, including a two run shot to Melvin Mora, to blow the lead and eventually the game. Now if this was the first or second time, I would not be posting this but this is not the first time as of late. So lets address the situation. Since his outing against the Yankees when he tossed 3 perfect innings Heilman has not been the same. That was on May 19th. Before May 19th Heilman had a 1.48 ERA without allowing a single HR. Between May 19th and June 17th Heilman's ERA is a staggering 11.37 ERA. He has allowed 3 HRs within this period. Heilman's season ERA is 4.86. Obviously something is wrong, so what is it? There are many theories so lets take a look at all of them... Confidence? - Many people feel that Heilman has lost his confidence. We all know that Heilman wants to start and it seems that every time a chance opens up the Mets continue to go back on their promise to him. The Mets promised Heilman that he would get the shot to start if he impressed in Spring Training, he went out and did that yet they choose Bannister instead. When the Mets had to get replacements for Victor Zambrano and Brian Bannister the Mets did not consider Heilman. When they needed replacements for Lima and Gonzalez the Mets again did not consider Heilman. I think all of these things are a shot to a young guys confidence. Over Used? - Many feel that Heilman has been over used over the past year. It seemed at the beginning of the year to now that Heilman was being used just about everyday. Maybe that has finally caught up to him. Arm Angle? - Over at MetsBlog.com the writers feel that Heilman's arm angle is not as low as it used to be. His angel now is making him throw fat pitches and hitters are taking advantage of it. Mets pitching coach Rick Peterson has made a similar assessment. If this is true or not, I cannot say. I'm not a pitching coach but Rick is and if he says it it's probably true. An interesting idea... - Now this is a theory that is a bit unorthodox but might be the answer. A good buddy of mine (Sid) suggested that Heilman may not be able to pitch on back to back days. Now one may ask, "why is this?" My only possible answer is that Before coming to the big leagues Heilman was always a starter and many starters do not have the ability to pitch on back to back days. Starters usually have a pattern that they work with: Start, rest, bullpen session, rest, and start. After the end of last year Heilman dedicated himself to becoming a starter again. He went to winter ball and trained as a starter. He went to Spring Training as a starter. His arm may have adjusted to a starter's pattern. Earlier in the season the Mets would use Heilman for two innings and then go to Wagner. The next day they would use Sanchez for two innings and then go to Wagner. They usually didn't use Sanchez and Heilman in the same game unless it was absolutely necessary. This continued the pattern that Heilman picked up over the Winter: pitch, rest, pitch, rest, pitch, etc. The answer would be to let Heilman have a day off between every outing. I don't think that Heilman is over used. He is a young kid and should be able to hold up well over 37 innings pitched. I do believe that Heilman's problem could be a combo of the other three theories. The one thing I do know is that the Mets have to find the problem, fix it, and fix it fast.

Mets - O's In-Game Notes

End 9th- Mets Loose 6-3 David Wright and Jose Valentin both ground out to start the 9th. Chris Woodward flys out to end it and for the first time in a long time the Mets loose. Top 9th- O's lead 6-3 Heath Bell took over for Heilman in the 8th and he goes back out for the 9th. He retiers the first batter on one pitch (a ground out to second base). Brandon Fahey lines out to David Wright for the second out. And Heath Bell strikes out Melvin Mora to end the inning. End 8th- O's lead 6-3 That horrible inning by Heilman seems to have killed the entire Met offense, all except Jose Reyes. Reyes lead off the bottom of the 8th inning with his second double of the day. LoDuca moved him over with a slow ground ball. Beltran struck out. And Delgado lined out to left to end the inning. Jose Reyes now has 10 hits in his last four games. Top 7th- O's lead 6-3 Aaron Heilman starts off shaky as he walks the first two batters to face him. The next batter bunted to advance the runners to second and third. Brian Roberts lined one on the ground to Delgado but Delgado did not field it cleanly allowing the tying run to score as he only got the out at first. Brandon Fahey then bloops the ball to shallow left to score the go ahead run. Reyes almost made an amazin' play on this ball but it just didn't hang up long enough for Reyes to get it. Fahey then steals second. Heilman throws a wild pitch allowing Fahey to move to third with two outs. Melvin Mora then delivers a 2 run shot. Heilman finally gets Miguel Tejada to ground out to second to end the inning. End 6th- Mets lead 3-2 No team scored a run since the Reyes RBI double as of yet but the Mets will take Soler out of the game. Soler pitched 6 strong innings allowing 4 hits, 2 run, 1 earned. He also walked 2 and struck out 4. Aaron Heilman will take over in the top of the 7th inning. End 5th- Mets lead 3-2 Jose Valentin delivered a single to break up the no-no. Chris Woodward walked. Milledge struck out. Soler bunted the runners over. Reyes hit a 2 RBI double to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. Reyes stole third. And then LoDuca hit the ball to center to end the inning. Middle 5th- O's lead 2-1 No team has recorded a hit in the last inning and a half. The Mets have not had a hit all night despite scoring a run. David Wright made a bid for his fourth HR in as many days but the ball died at the track. Alay Soler has retired 9 batters in a row as has Bedard. End 3rd- O's lead 2-1 In the third inning Soler gave up 2 run one earned and one unearned. Delgado fumbled a throw by Jose Reyes and allowed the Brian Roberts to reach. Roberts scored on an RBI triple by Brandon Fahey. Then Fahey scored on a RBI single by former Met Melvin Mora (who also stole a base in this inning). Soler then proceeded to strike out the side. Ramon Hernandez was ejected by the home plate umpire for arguing balls and strikes. The Mets went down in the bottom of the third 1-2-3. End 2nd- Mets lead 1-0 Over the first two innings Alay Soler has allowed 2 hit and 2 walks, one of each in an inning. He does not look to have the control that he had his last two games but has still held the O's scoreless. The Mets did not score in the first inning today so the streak ends at 8. However they did score one in the second as Bedard walked Delgado and Wright to lead off the inning. Jose Valentin bunted them over and Chris Woodward (starting in LF) scored Delgado on a ground out.

Mets Start Inter-League Play at Home

The Mets return home after an Amazin' road trip. They went 9 and 1 on the trip and have come home on a 8 game win streak. They start inter-league play with the Baltimore Orioles. The Mets will send Rookie Alay Soler to the mound. Soler managed to bring his ERA down to 3.33 on the road trip. He pitched two very good games and in his last start in Arizona Soler picked up a complete game, 2 hit, shutout. His opponent on the mound will be Eric Bedard. Badard has a 5 and 6 record with a 5.69 ERA. Bedard has never faced the Mets. Game time is 7:10 PM ET. Coverage begins at 6:30 PM ET on SNY. Tune in to catch all the action.

Mets - Phills In Game Notes

Starting Line-up: SS Jose Reyes RF Endy Chavez CF Carlos Beltran 1B Carlos Delgado 3B David Wright 2B Chris Woodward LF Eli Marrero C Ramon Castro P Steve Trachsel Top 1st Inning: Jose Reyes got a lead-off single in the first inning. Endy Chavez doubles to score Reyes and the Mets have done it again. This is the eight consecutive game in which the Mets have scored in the first inning. This is the first time in just about 70 years that this task has been accomplished. The last team to do it was the Philadelphia Athletics. Carlos Beltran got out. Carlos Delgado walked. Endy Chavez steals third base. David Wright hits a three run shot to make it 4-0. Chris Woodward strikes out. And Eli Marrero strikes out to finally end the inning. Bottom 1st Inning Steve Trachsel retired Rollens, Utley, and Abreu 1-2-3. Mets lead 4-0 Top 2nd Inning Ramon Castro, Trach and Reyes go down 1-2-3. Mets lead 4-0 Bottom 2nd Inning The Met Killer Pat Burrel hits a solo shot to lead off the inning. This is 34th career Homer against the Mets in less than 400 ABs. Ryan Howard delivers a single. Trach gets the next two outs but then Sal Fasano delivers a two out double to score Howard. Cory Lidel delivers a single. Runners on first and third. Jimmy Rollens flys out to Center. Mets lead 4-2 Top 3rd Inning Chavez grounds out. Beltran doubles off the wall. Lidle then retires Delgado and Wright back to back. Middle 3rd Inning The Mets and Phills will enter their second rain delay in as many days. The Mets-Yanks ULTI-Mets classic will take the place of the game until the rain subsides. The Rain Delay is over at about 2:30 PM ET.

Mets Bustin' Out The Brooms?

The Mets are just about set to take on the Phillies in what will be game three of a three game set. The game time is 1:05 PM ET. It will be on SNY. Trachsel will take the ball for the Mets. Cory Lidle will take the mound for the Phills. I will be providing in game notes every 2 innings so check back in.

Mets Win 7th In a Row

The Mets beat the Phillies in game two of a three game set. The Mets have now won seven straight games and eight of their last nine... For a complete box score check Mets.com... Some thoughts on the game... El Duque was pitching fairly well but Willie didn't want to take any chances so he simply took him out. The bullpen was absolutely superb as they pitched 6 innings allowing just one run. This Met offense is on an absolute hot streak, they have now scored 64 runs on this road trip and they still have one game left to play. Lastings Milledge had a baserunning blunder in the seventh inning and believe me he will never make that mistake again. Willie gave him an ear full for about two minutes during the game and i'm sure that the members of the Mets clubhouse will drill it into his head. Every Mets starter including El' Duque had at least hit and run. Jose Reyes has a 4 hit game. David Wright lines an opposite field HR on an 0-2 count, this never gets old. The Phillies need to find some way to get Abreu to stop worring about the wall and maybe he will actually catch a ball. Game 3:The Mets will send Steve Trachsel to the mound in the final game of a 3 game set against Cory Lidle. Game time is 7:05 PM ET.

Mets Lead In Rain Delay

The game has been stopped for the moment on the account of rain. It has been just about 20 mins. The Mets scored 2 in the first inning to tie a franchise record at 7 of scoring at least one run in the first inning. The current score is 7-2 and the game is in the bottom of the fourth. The two runs off El' Duque came in the third inning, a HR by Jimmy Rollins and a RBI single by Bobby Abreu to score Chase Utley. According to Weather.com the rain will soon subside as it is moving away from Citizens Bank Park. However the Home Plate Umpire is Angel Hernandez and i'm sure he is edging to screw the Mets out of a victory. Update: 9:38: The game will continue. El' Duque will leave the game and will be rewarded with a no decesion despite pitching well. The new pitcher for the Mets will be Darren Oliver.

Can El Duque Make It 7 In A Row?

The Mets will send El' Duque to the mound to take on Brett Myers of the Phillies. In his last start Duque pitched a complete game three hitter allowing just one run. Since his arrival fellow countryman Alay Soler has pitched great as well. The game starts at 7:05 PM ET. Tune into SNY for all the action as El' Duque looks to win the Mets sevent game in a row...

Why Eli?

As many of you know the Mets have traded Kazuo Matsui for 1B/OF/C Eli Marrero. The question is why? Well first off, in has last few games Kaz has been nothing more than a $8,058,333 pinch runner. Jose Valentin has stepped up and become the everyday second baseman. Kaz can only play shortstop and second base so he is not very versatile off the bench, so the only logical move would be to trade him for someone who can play many positions and who makes a lot less than Kaz. So the Mets went out and got a utility player in Eli Marrero. Another reason the Mets may have acquired Eli Marrero is because he is Cuban. Because he is Cuban and he is a catcher, he can help with the development of Alay Soler, who is also Cuban. Being that Soler is not very good with English it helps to have a Catcher who speaks both English and Spanish. Soler is set to pitch game three in the Phillies series on Thursday. The game is a day game after a night game. This usually means that Paul LoDuca has the day off and Ramon Castro will start behind the plate, but being that Soler is pitching the Mets may opt. To have Eli start behind the plate. I think this will be a very good idea. You always want LoDuca behind the plate with your young guys but if he has to have the day off then why not pun in a guy that Soler may feel more comfortable with. I understand that Castro also speaks Spanish but Soler may feel more comfortable with his fellow countryman catching him.

Offense Translates From West to East

The New York Mets have just come off a huge West Cost swing going 6 and 1. There offense was unbelievable as they scored 60 runs, and moved from ninth in the league in runs scored to third. That offense translated as the Amazin's returned to the East Cost to face the Phillies in Philadelphia. They beat the Phillies 9-7 to take a 7 game lead in the division. For a complete box score check out Mets.com... Post Game notes... Tom Glavine did not pitch well. He did not even get to the 5th inning. He pitched over 100 pitches in just 4 and a third innings. He gave up 7 hits, 4 of which were HRs. He also walked 3 and struck out one... Jose Reyes reached base 5 times as he got a bunt single to start the game, as well as another single and 3, count the 3, walks... Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, and David Wright all went deep in tonight's game. Delgado looks to be breaking through his huge slump as he recorded three hits... The bottom of the line-up, Valentin, Chavez, and Milledge reached base 5 times and scored a combined three runs... The ROOGY/LOOGY combo of Bradford and Feliciano pitched well as Bradford pitched through a one out, bases loaded jam handed to him by starter Tom Glavine, without giving up a run. Feliciano struck out two in two innings without allowing a run... Aaron Heilman's struggles out of the pin continues as he gave up a three run HR in just a third of an inning... Wagner pitched 2 and 2/3 innings to record the save... Game 2... The Mets and Phills will play game 2 of this three game series tomorrow at 7:00 PM ET. The Metropolitans will send El' Duque against the Phillies Ace Brett Myers.

The Mets Are Rolling...

The New York Mets are absolutely rolling rite now. The have won 7 of 10 games this month. Thus far they are 6 and 1 their road trip. They have just swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in Arizona for the second straight year. They are headed to Philadelphia who is coming off a loss to the Washington Nationals. They got their first two complete games on the trip, and they have traded Kaz Matsui. After going 1 and 2 at home against the San Francisco Giants to start the month the Mets have turned it around in a big way. They went to the west cost to face off against a hot Dodgers team and they beat them in two of three. Tom Glavine pitched the last game of this series and got the win. Glav did not pitch well but the offense scored some runs for him and he was able to walk away with career victory number 284, number 9 on the season. They then moved on to Arizona with high hopes. Last year the Mets absolutely destroyed the D’Backs. That was the series when former Met prospect Mike Jacobs hit three home runs. In game one El’ Duque made his first start against Arizona since being traded to the Mets and boy o’ boy did he pitch great. Duque pitched the first complete game of the season. He took the two hit shutout into the ninth inning but then gave up another hit and run. Steve Trachsel took the ball in game two and got the win. In game three, Cuban Defector Alay Soler pitched the second complete game for the Mets this season. He gave up just two hits and walked as many. In the final game the Mets sent the Ace of the staff in Pedro Martinez and he recorded his sixth win of the season, his first win in seven starts, to sweep the D’Backs. Pedro went just five innings allowing one run, but his pitch count was high. The Mets won that game 15-2. The only other run given up was by Darren Oliver. The Mets have today off but will head back east to start a three game series in Philadelphia against the Phillies to wrap up the road trip. Tom Glavine will take the mound for the Mets in game one and will be followed by El’ Duque and Steve Trachsel.

There Will Be No Matsui In NY

Im sure that many of you probably know this as the news is several days old. With the injury to Yankee Outfielder Hideki Matsui there will be no Matsui's playing in the big apple for a while. That's right the Mets have traded SS/2B Kazuo Matsui to the Colorado Rockies for 1B/OF/C Eli Morrero. For the first time in three season's there will be no Matsui playing in Queens or the Bronx...at least until Hideki comes off the DL.

Adopt A Met

Over at ArmChair GM, Rob is conducting an interesting project. The project is called "Adopt A Baseball Player". Fans can adopt their favorite baseball player and help keep content about that player fresh, by writing news and opinions (blog) about that player and by writing biographies or scouting reports on that player. If you are interested, click here and begin contributing your sports knowledge!

We're Back

Mets Planet is now back in full swing. Now that school is over and I have nothing to do over the summer, I will dedicate all my time to MetsPlanet. You can look forward to Minor League Reports, Morning News, Pre-Game and Post-Game notes, as well as the regular news, stats and rumors. To kick off its return Mets Planet is looking for one or two new writers to join us. I will make a more formal post about this sometime soon. If you would like volenteer or need more information please contact me at MetsPlanet@optonline.net