Please Put Away Your Tickets

The Mike Pelfrey Bandwagon is not leaving the garage for some time.
Pelfrey has good velocity and he’s generally around the strike zone, but until he improves his command within that area and develops a reliable strikeout pitch, he’s still a ways from being a dependable major league pitcher. I’m not saying the Mets should pull the plug just yet; Pelfrey is still a significant talent, he’s got learning he needs to do sooner or later, and the alternative options are no better.

8 thoughts on “Please Put Away Your Tickets”

  1. I think it’s time for a trip to the Big Easy. For whatever reason he’s just not getting it done. He does not look ready. I’d send him down now. If not, give him one more outing. I’d rather see a journeyman, not named Lima, get shelled than a building block of the future rotation.

  2. I’d be very surprised if they sent him down or gave him just one more outing. Willie’s made it clear that he’s using the first third of the season to find out exactly what he has, especially with the pitching – Burgos, Schoenweis, etc. I assume that he’ll give Pelfrey at least a few more starts to see what the kid is made of and if he can improve.

  3. The Mets are playing well enough to be patient. A couple more starts like today, and I’d probably send him down, but I’d tolerate quite a few mediocre-but-not-entirely-awful ones in the interest of on-the-job training.

  4. Unless he continues to get bombed to the point where you think it might be detrimental to his further development, they ought to keep him in the rotation. I’d rather see him develop and fight through this than have somebody like Park get bombed. Same result, but at least the former is getting some experience.
    But again, if they think this might hinder his development, I’d consider sending him down.

  5. Depends entirely how bad he is. Pelfrey with an ERA in the low to mid 5s isn’t necessarily any worse than Sele, Park, etc., and is getting experience the way guys like Glavine and Maddux did as young pitchers. If his next 2-4 starts produce 2 more like today, you have to get him out of there both for his own good and to at least give the team a chance to win.

  6. They can give him time, but it seems like the experience is determental to his development. Glavine and Maddux were losing in front of 8000, with a handful of reporters in attendence, for an awful team. Pelfey is failing in front of 35,000 with the ESPN/Deadspin era in full effect, for a contender. I’d rather see Sele get smacked around than Pelfey. Having watched his starts, it seems apparent that he is nowhere close to ready for this level.

  7. If Pelfrey has the mental makeup to be a successful pitcher, he’ll benefit from the experience. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t.

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