Category: Baseball

Mike Napoli Is On The Verge Of Superstardom

By Eriq Gardner //

Last off-season, the Toronto Blue Jays sent Vernon Wells to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Mike Napoli. As soon as it happened, commentators were lauding Toronto GM Alex Anthopoulos for the Herculean feat of getting rid of Wells’ bloated and back-loaded $126 million contract, so much so that it almost became an afterthought when the team shipped off Napoli to the Texas Rangers in a deal shortly thereafter.

Considering the mediocre season that Wells is having with the Angels, the trade is still going to look good for Anthopoulos. However, it’s worth considering whether a real huge mistake was made by the Toronto GM by waiving adieu to Napoli so quickly.

Napoli isn’t just having a very good season down south; He’s having an awesome one — a breakout campaign that’s gone largely ignored thanks to the fact that he missed a few weeks in June with a strained oblique and entered the season as a part-time player thanks to defensive shortcomings.

Lately, Napoli’s hitting strengths have outweighed the fielding negatives, and he’s been playing pretty much every day. If this is a sign of things to come in future seasons, Napoli could be a dark-horse candidate for league MVP.

Sound like a stretch?

Consider the following:

In fantasy leagues, on a per-game basis this season, Napoli rates out to the 10th most valuable batter at any position in baseball (through September 16th). Here’s the top 12 batters on a per-game basis according to our calculations:

  1. Ryan Braun
  2. Curtis Granderson
  3. Jose Bautista
  4. Matt Kemp
  5. Jacoby Ellsbury
  6. Carlos Gonzalez
  7. Adrian Gonzalez
  8. Albert Pujols
  9. Josh Hamilton
  10. Mike Napoli
  11. Robinson Cano
  12. Miguel Cabrera

Yes, if playing time was adjusted evenly, Napoli’s stat line of 26 HR, 67 RBIs, 67 Runs, 4 Steals, and a .312 BA would compare with the elite.

Even with just 333 at-bats this season, Napoli has been plenty valuable for the Rangers, even if his glove will never resemble Yadier Molina. According to FanGraphs, Napoli has been the second most valuable catcher in baseball this season, only behind Alex Avila, who has garnered 513 at-bats.

Texas is known as one of the best hitting environments in baseball, and Napoli’s success there was somewhat anticipated by those who recognized he’d be moving to a more friendly home stadium. We can credit a portion of Napoli’s statistical surge to being a member of the Rangers, but there’s other reasons to marvel at what Napoli is doing in 2011.

Start with his batting eye.

Among all hitting metrics, the measures of a player’s plate discipline (contact rate, strikeout rate, walk rate) tend to be the most stable year-to-year. However, there’s always exceptions. Napoli has jumped from a 0.31 BB/K rate in 2010 to a 0.69 BB/K rate in 2011, a 123% improvement that’s the second largest gain (behind John Buck) among batters with at least 300 at-bats. Other players who have strongly improved their plate discipline this season include Jose Reyes, David Ortiz, and Matt Kemp. Pretty good company to be in.

Napoli was long considered to be a batter who had quite a bit of pop, but would be a batting average anchor — a poor man’s Adam Dunn if you will. This season, though, Napoli has his average above .300 and an OBP above .400, slightly boosted by a fortunate BABIP but not so much that his peripherals don’t indicate his .300+/.400+/.600+ statline is a fluke. Measurable gains in contact and walk rates support what Napoli is doing in 2011.

One other thing that Napoli is doing much better this year is hitting right-handed pitchers. In 2010, he hit an atrocious .208 versus righties while hitting a lovely .305 versus lefties. This season, there’s no noticeable split difference: He’s hitting .313 versus righties and .311 versus lefties.

The justification for not getting Napoli into the lineup is withering. A batter who gets on base more than 40% of the time with ample power is pretty rare in baseball. For days he’s not playing catcher, Napoli can easily provide more value to the Rangers than any other option at first-base and DH.

Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington seems to be noticing. In April and May, Napoli had 108 combined at-bats. He’s now on pace for 170 cumulative at-bats in August and September.

Add everything up, and there’s a reasonable chance that Napoli could top 500 at-bats for the first time in his career in 2012. If that happens, his upside is 40 HRs, 10 steals, a .300+ average, 100+ runs, and 100+RBIs. Since he’s eligible at catcher, that would make him the most valuable player in fantasy baseball. That’s his statistical potential heading into next year.

Five Middle Infielders On the Rise

 

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While the recent trend of middle infielders is to hit the ball with power, a la Chase Utley, Ian Kinsler, and Dan Uggla, there is a new group of young up-and-comers int he infield who are making their mark with speed:

 

Dee Gordon, SS, Dodgers

Just 23-years old, Dee Gordon is making the most out of his second stint in the Big Leagues.  He has recorded multiple hits in four of his last six games and has swiped six bases over the last 10 games.  Similar to a lot of young and up-and-coming middle infielders he lacks power, but he can make up for it with speed.  So if in need for some stolen bases over the final few weeks of the season, Dee Gordon is your target.

 

Cliff Pennington, SS, A’s

After a slow start, Cliff Pennington has really picked up his game since the All-Star break.  Since then he is hitting .324 with four home runs and 32 RBI.  He has also made Billy Beane proud with a .393 OBP.  This performance shouldn’t be too surprising, after all, Pennington was drafted by the A’s with the 21st overall pick of the 2005 draft.  However, the franchise will not be content until he can post solid numbers throughout a full 162 games, helping the A’s offense get out of a decade long swoon. 

 

Jemile Weeks, 2B, A’s

One of the top rookies in baseball this season has been A’s second baseman Jemile Weeks.  Though he does not have the power of his brother Rickie in Milwaukee, Jemile is a line drive machine with an average over .300 and how about those 41 runs and 21 steals through exactly a half season’s worth of games.  Weeks has shown some signs of burgeoning power, with 22 doubles and eight triples.  He could improve his patience at the plate, but he’s definitely worth owning in all fantasy leagues. 

 

Scott Sizemore, 3B/2B, A’s

A former top prospect with the Detroit Tigers, Sizemore never did work out in Mo-Town and is now in Oakland.  There he has been a source for some much-needed power.  His .243 average is nothing to write home about, but his nine home runs and 46 RBI would be doubled over a full 150 games worth of at bats.  At 26-years old, Sizemore has shed the top prospect label, but he is still young enough to earn regular playing time as a middle or corner infielder.  You would imagine that he’d be able to crack as many as 25 home runs should he escape the pitcher-friendly confines of Oakland Coliseum. 

 

Ruben Tejada, SS/2B, Mets

He has yet to hit a home run this season, but the Mets are fine with that as long as Ruben Tejada offers solid defense and line drives.  Tejada is batting .278 right now, which is .065 points better than his .213 mark last season.  He does have 12 doubles and an impressive 31 walks, so he is not getting outmatched in the Big Leagues.  I would like to see some speed from the 21-year-old middle infielder, and the reason you should pay attention o him right now is that he could end up replacing Jose Reyes, should the Mets sensation depart as a free agent this off-season. 

 

 

The Young Guns: Motte, Bumgarner, and Fister

 

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It’s been a week of surprises in Major League Baseball. 

Jason Motte takes over the closer’s role from Fernando Salas despite the fact that Salas was doing perfectly fine and also happens to be younger. 

Madison Bumgarner looks as good as his two colleagues Tim Lincecum and Matt Caine and finally, Doug Fister looks like an absolute steal by the Tigers. 

Jason Motte, RP, Cardinals

There has been talk about Jason Motte becoming the Cardinals closer for a few years now and in his last chance to grab the job, he struggled two years ago and again earlier in the season before Fernando Salas took over.  Salas has been solid with 23 saves and a 2.47 ERA.  The problem here is that Motte has been even better and is a harder thrower that better exemplifies the role of a closer.  Motte has not surrendered a run since the All-Star break, in fact the last run he allowed was back in June.  Though he is older than Salas, with a 1.57 ERA and 0.91 WHIP, Motte earned the opportunity to impress Tony LaRussa in the ninth inning.  

Madison Bumgarner, SP, Giants

We knew Madison Bumgarner was a solid pitcher.  He proved this last season when as a rookie he played a large role in the Giants winning the World Series.  We just did not know until recently that he could be as dominant as his teammates Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum.  Over his last three starts Bumgarner has allowed just three runs to score over 22 and 2/3 innings.  He is averaging just under a strikeout per inning and the ERA is down to 2.69 since the All-Star break.  Poor run support explains the 12 losses on the season, but at just 22-years old this southpaw is clearly an ace in the making. 

Doug Fister, SP, Tigers

Coming into the weekend Doug Fister already had the lowest ERA of any pitcher with 12 or more losses.  Then he went out and threw the game of his life, offering eight stellar frames while fanning 13 and walking one.  The 6’8 hurler was a great acquisition by the Tigers and clearly will have some fantasy value throughout the remainder of the season with a 3.17 ERA.  Fister has now allowed just three runs to score over the last four starts, three of which have been wins.  He is 4-1 with the Tigers with a 2.64 ERA through seven starts.  The Mariners by the way have been happy with Casper Wells while Charlie Furbush has been inconsistent.

Javier Vazquez’s Redemption Song

by Eno Sarris //  

He was done. Finished. His fastball lost two miles per hour in one year and he lost the plate at the same time. Even the fact that he was in the American League East only slightly mitigated the fact that the 35-year-old Javier Vazquez looked like burnt toast.

Maybe we labeled him too soon.

Of course, early this year it looked like he was still done. In the first month of the season, Vazquez was still averaging under 90 MPH on his fastball, and he even dipped as low as 87 MPH in his third start of the year. He had a 6.39 ERA in April, and a 5.67 ERA in May. After another ERA over five in June, his fantasy ownership sagged to a career low.

And then.. a day after he gave up seven runs in three and 2/3 innings… something happened. Take a look at his velocity chart for the year:

Would you look at that. His velocity is back to pre-2010 levels even. He’s been averaging 91.8 MPH since his 13th start. Look at what it did for his results:

First 13 starts: 7.09 ERA in 66 innings, with 45 strikeouts and 31 walks. 

Since: 2.35 ERA in 95 2/3 innings, with 86 strikeouts and 16 walks. 

That’s pretty stark. He’s been vintage Vazquez since June 11, and his velocity is a big part of this.

It’s not all poops and whistles, though. In the last three months, he’s allowed line drive rates over 24%, and 19% is average. That’s a lot of squared-up balls, and yet his BABIP for that time period was only .276. He’s also stranded more runners than the league average in those three months. Luck swung back with him once he had the gas again.

He still has his old flaws, too. As a pitcher that gets his whiffs high in the zone, he’s a fly-ball guy that has been prone to bouts of gopheritis. Only once since 2002 has he managed to allow less than one home run per nine innings. Florida suppresses home runs, but only a little — StatCorner.com has it as 1% below average for home runs by left-handed batters and 5% below for righty batters.

It’s best to still be careful with Vazquez. Even with his old velocity back, his old flaws can make him a bad start in homer-happy ballparks. Considering his recent cryptic remarks about retirement, he’s not a good keeper in any fantasy format, either. But it’s clear that he’s got his gas back and can be a useful role player for any fantasy team down the stretch.

For more on Javier Vazquez and other possible free agents, check out Bloomberg Sports’ Front Office.

Making September Lineup Decisions

By Eriq Gardner //

The final few weeks of the MLB season are upon us. No longer can we wait on a slumping superstar to get his act together. A shortage of games means there’s simply not large enough of a sample size to comfortably project that luck will regress to the norm.

As teams in leagues fight in close categories for those extra few difference-making points, this might be the time where conventional wisdom gets flipped. A hot bat might be better in one’s lineup than a big down-on-his-fortune name.

Here are some examples:

  • Progression over Disappointment: Alex Gordon over Andre Ethier: Since the All Star Break, Gordon has been one of the top 10 batters in the majors,with a .312 average and 9 HR and 8 SB. The Royals outfielder may be finally living up to his potential, and with the team being extremely aggressive on the basepaths, Gordon suddenly looks like a sleeper 25/25 candidate for next season. For now, he’s showing decent plate discipline and production across the board to make him a prime September contributor. Meanwhile, Ethier has been terrible with just 2 HR and a .255 BA in the second half. He’s been extremely unlucky as a nice 20 BB/29 KO rate these past couple of months will testify. But there’s no time to wait on whatever mystery ailments have been keeping him back.
  • Accomplishment over Gimpiness: Edwin Encarnacion over Alex Rodriguez: The aging Yankees superstar has been bedeviled by injuries this season, and still holds tremendous game-to-game potential, but with the Bronx Bombers virtually assured of a playoff spot, don’t be surprised to see A-Rod getting extra rest time down the stretch. Even if his nagging thumb injury clears, he will likely be pulled from any lopsided games, making it very tough to count on his at-bats for the final few weeks. Besides, his full season production in 2011 (14 HR, 57 R, 53 RBIs, 4 SB, .288 BA) isn’t that much different than Encarnacion’s (15 HR, 64 R, 44 RBIs, 5 SB, .273 BA). Of late, EE has been tremendously hot, with 9 HR, 4 SB, and a .300 BA since the All Star Break. In that time, he’s been quietly the #1 rated third basemen.
  • Ambition over Laurels: Jemile Weeks over Andrew McCutchen: Since being called up in early June, Weeks has been better than advertised. He hasn’t contributed anything in the power categories, but he’s certainly hitting (.297) and has been hot to show off his wheels. In the second half, he’s stolen nearly as many bases (14) as any other player in baseball and what’s especially encouraging is that his batting eye seems to be getting better and better. He was always a patient hitter in the minors so expect him to continue getting on base and trying to make the case he’s the A’s leadoff hitter of the future. Meanwhile, McCutchen is having a very fine season, and he will no doubt go into next season as one of the top few outfielders. A player whose long-term future continues to be bright. That said, his fortunes have mirrored those of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’s slumping of late (.227 BA since the ASB with just 5 SB) and it’s hard to figure he’ll be a solid bet for runs and RBIs in the final month. Those in need of speed in the utility spot wouldn’t be faulted for starting Weeks ahead of McCutchen these final few weeks.

Giants’ Giant Moves and the Fantasy Implications

by Eno Sarris //  

The San Francisco Giants finally admitted some of their mistakes today when they designated both Aaron Rowand and Miguel Tejada for assignment. Looking back at why they should have known better can help us for fantasy purposes, and looking forward to the final month might uncover a fantasy sleeper or two. Perspective is important.

Call Aaron Rowand the more obscene mistake of the two. In 2008, Brian Sabean signed the outfielder to a five-year, $60 million contract after Rowand made some high-profile catches for the Phillies the year before. Sabean was no doubt excited about Rowand’s career-high power surger in 2007, too. Unfortunately, it was fairly obviously an outlier season. Even at that point in his career, Rowand had two seasons with an isolated slugging percentage over .200… and five seasons where it was under .166. He’s always hit more ground balls then fly balls, and he’s never walked at a league average rate. Rowand was sure to be a strong defender in center field, but he wasn’t sure to add much power or patience, and his swinging strike rates suggested he’d always be an average whiffer or worse.

And that’s how it turned out. Rowand never saw even his career-average power in San Francisco (.163 average, .158 Giants-best), he struck out more, never walked, and became a defense-only center fielder pretty quickly. Now all of the center field at-bats will go to Andres Torres and Cody Ross, even if neither provides much offense either. With Torres’ strikeout rate, the best his owners can hope for is a mini power resurgence  (three home runs over the final month?) and a .250 batting average, with maybe five steals to boot.

Ross will be the outfield utility player, more likely to play against lefties as his line against them (.918 OPS vs LHP, .718 vs RHP) is much better. Perhaps it will turn into a straight platoon in left field, actually. Baby Giraffe Brandon Belt bats lefty and is the only non-Carlos-Beltran player on the field right now with elite offensive upside. It might be hard to see it right now with his .219 batting average and slightly-better-than-league-average power (.156 ISO), but Belt does have that sort of long-term upside. Right now, he’s striking out 26.2% of the time, which is out of wack with his swinging strike rate (9.7%, only a little worse than 8.5% league average) and his minor league record (22.2% strikeout rate in Triple-A this year). Once he strikes out less and shows more of that power (.218 minor league low in ISO, at Triple-A), he’ll show more of that .280/.375/.500 type of ability that he has. If you are desperate for offense in a deeper league, now is a good time to pick up Belt. Keeper leaguers should be trying to buy low too if their deadline has not passed.

Let’s not forget Miguel Tejada just because his one-year, $6.5 million contract was a smaller mistake. His short stint as the Padres shortstop shouldn’t have erased the fact that two teams had already moved him to third base. Once a player has been moved off of shortstop, it’s very rare for him to return and find any prolonged success. And Tejada’s power has been in a tailspin since his last decent year in Baltimore in 2007. He doesn’t walk, doesn’t have power, doesn’t have a shortstop’s glove any more, has failing health, refused to lay down a bunt when his third base coach called for it, hits way too many ground balls and doesn’t have the speed to take advantage of those grounders any more. Need anyone say more?

His absence will create more opportunities for Mike Fontenot at shortstop. The lefty cajun might enter into a straight platoon with righty Orlando Cabrera there, even. Cabrera has been about as bad as he was in Cleveland for the Giants, and he’s been better against lefties in his career (.739 OPS vs lefties, .697 versus righties). Neither shortstop is very exciting, and in a platoon role they are even less so. Still, deeper-leaguers might want Fontenot since there are more right-handed pitchers in the league.

The Giants tried to erase a couple mistakes, but the players behind them are not incredibly interesting. Only Brandon Belt even approaches mixed league consideration. But with a month left and five games between them and the Diamondbacks, the Giants felt they had to do something. Maybe the biggest thing we can learn from them in fantasy is that this is the time to feel some urgency. Go out there and do something for each of your teams today.

For the best fantasy baseball analysis and insight please visit BloombergSports.com.

A Look at the Young and Old On the Rise


 

 

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Kyle Seager, 2B/3B, Mariners

The Mariners have surprised us in recent weeks with an offense we did not know could exist in Safeco.  While we’ve discussed Dustin Ackley and Mike Carp, another fine hitter to emerge this season is Kyle Seager.  A third round pick in the 2009 draft out of North Carolina, Seager boasts a .313 average after a hitting binge that included 15 hits over six games.  In 24 games at Triple-A Seager hit .387 with a .585 slugging percentage.  So success at the dish is nothing new for the 23-year-old prospect. 

 

John Mayberry, OF, Phillies

While everyone drafted Dominic Brown in their fantasy drafts this season, it’s instead the 2005 first round pick John Mayberry who is enjoying the better season in the Phillies outfield.  The 27-year-old slugger has blasted 12 home runs with 41 RBI through 77 games.  Best of all, Mayberry is not a one-trick pony, as he has swiped six bases already this season.  Mayberry has blasted 18 home runs in 266 career at bats in the Big Leagues and while he can still improve his plate discipline and lift the average some, Mayberry has earned his way to your fantasy roster. 

 

Chipper Jones, 3B, Braves

The Braves legend will not go away.  Chipper Jones has been written off a number of times this season because of his usually array of injuries, but right now he is putting together a nice little hot streak with plenty of power.  The batting average is up to .281 on the season with 13 home runs and 58 RBI.  Since the All-Star break, Jones is batting .387 with five home runs.  51 home runs shy of 500 for his career, the 39-year-old Jones has already stated that he intends to come back for another season. 

 

Derek Jeter, SS, Yankees

Since the All-Star break, Derek Jeter has hit .355 with 26 runs in 37 games.  While that’s nice and all, what’s more remarkable to me is that on the season his average has soared all the way up to .299.  So is Jeter back to being Jeter?  Yes and no.  The average is good and the 13 steals isn’t bad, but the limited power he once had is all but gone.  During his hot streak, Jeter has just 10 extra bases including one home run.  While he’s not a power guy, it seems that a lot of his hits are coming on grounders with eyes.  Regardless, Jeter has played a large part of keeping the Yankees afloat with A-Rod.  He also took away a lot of the pressure for next season, as fans will not be clamoring for a position switch.

The Dude Abides: Lucas Duda’s Power Bat

 

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On television they call him Lebowski, but Mets fans should call him their next great hope.  While David Wright has regressed to being just a solid player and Jose Reyes can’t stay healthy, the team is desperate for a bat to play the role they anticipated from Jason Bay.

 

Fortunately for them a player has stepped up.  His name is Lucas Duda and he boasts a .279 average with seven home runs with 36 RBI.  While those numbers are not the most impressive, if you take a look at what has occurred since the All-Star break it’s a different story: 7 HR, .321 average, with 24 RBI.

 

The best news is that Mets fans may have more power coming.  Justin Turner has played with Duda in the Minor Leagues and he has seen with his own eyes what Duda is capable of, “You guys haven’t even seen him get hot yet… I played with him last year when he was unbelievable… when he starts hitting the ball over the fence, it comes in bunches, so we’re waiting to see that, it’s really fun to watch.”

 

At the moment, Duda has been splitting his time between first base and right field.  Though he has offered decent defense at first base, his future will be at right-field once Ike Davis returns from injury.  “I think wherever.. right field or first base… right field is a work in progress, but anywhere that is going to get me at bats.”  The fact that the Mets will be able to pencil him in at right-field is a big lift for a team that will look to fill some holes after losing Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez in trades. 

 

While there is some fear that Jose Reyes may be the next to leave Flushing, at least Mets fans know that the Duda abides.  “As you play more as you get more at bats…, your confidence grows and I think it is growing right now,” says the red-hot Mets slugger.

 

Not Shooting (Kyle) Blanks

by Eno Sarris // 

Kyle Blanks is a big man. Predictable headlines aside, this large human being (6′ 6″, 270 pounds at least) might be able to power your fantasy team to a late season push. Let’s take a look at his strengths (!) and weaknesses.

His obvious strength is his strength. The hoss bent-armed an inside fastball from Matt Cain into the seats Tuesday night, and he’ll break some distance records when he gets ahold of a pitch with his arms extended. The Big Nasty has a .260 ISO (isolated slugging percentage, or SLG-batting average) this year, which lines up very well with his .264 rookie ISO. Sure, last year, he didn’t show power like that, but he was hurt. Now on the correct side of Tommy John surgery, and coming off a minor league season in which he ISO’ed over .360, he looks to have his power stroke back. And the league ISO right now is .141, so a .260 number is impressive. It would be fourth in the league since 2008 among qualified batters.

How much should fantasy owners worry about his home park, though? Not as much as you might expect. As a right-handed batter, PetCo only suppresses his home run power by 5%. That’s it. Sure, he might lose some doubles (right-handed double power is suppressed by 28%), but Blanks has legit home-run power and will be able to muscle balls out of his home park.

Losing those doubles really only speaks to his major weakness anyway. As a guy who hits half his balls in the air (and should, given his power), Blanks is already at a batting average disadvantage. Add in the fact that he is striking out in 29.6% of his at-bats, and he’s virtually assured of having a mediocre batting average. Since 2008, only four batters have qualified for the batting title while also striking out more than 27% of the time: Adam Dunn, Jack Cust, Mark Reynolds and Carlos Pena. The best batting average of that crew is Cust’s .240. So, yeah, he’s not likely to have a nice batting average.

Could he improve his strikeout rate? His minor league K rates oscillated between about 20% and 25%, so maybe. But only maybe. His 15% swinging strike rate, which has held steady throughout his 400 major league plate appearances. That would be the third-worst swinging strike rate in baseball since 2008 among qualified batters. The only silver lining is that he’d be in a virtual tie with Ryan Howard, who has struck out about 26% of the time in the same time frame. Howard had a .265 batting average over the past three years.

A .260 batting average will play if he has 30+ homer power, that much we’ve learned from Mike Stanton. With offense (and, in particular, power) down around the league, Kyle Blanks towers above the fray both literally and figuratively. If power, and power alone, is your main goal. it’s time to go get some Blanks for your gun. And by gun, we mean fantasy team, of course.

For the best fantasy baseball analysis and insight please visit BloombergSports.com.

Mets Hurler Jason Isringhausen’s Story of Redemption

 

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The Mets free fall has begun, a few months later than most baseball analysts expected, but the team is starting to fall on hard times now that they have traded All-Star Carlos Beltran and closer Francisco Rodriguez.  The team has also lost their two best hitters this season to injuries in Jose Reyes and Daniel Murphy.  While Reyes is expected to return at the end of the month there is no guarantee it will stop the bleeding.  The team has lost six of its last seven and the Mets now sit four games under .500.

 

One piece of good news that has recently unfolded was a personal milestone from a very unlikely Met.  Jason Isringhausen’s career started with the Mets in a cloud of hope as a part of Generation K with Bill Pulsipher and Paul Wilson. 

 

Izzy went 9-2 in his first season with the Mets with a stellar 2.81 ERA.  He was immediately compared to Dwight Gooden and Tom Seaver, the two best home grown Mets aces in franchise history.  Of course, the bottom then fell out as injuries took their toll on all three members of Generation K.  Izzy went 9-19 in his next three seasons with the Mets before getting dealt to the Oakland A’s for Billy Taylor.

 

Izzy was moved to the bullpen where he went on to dominate for the next eight seasons.  He won a World Series, picked up a career-high 47 saves in 2004, and dismissed his legacy of being a bust.  However, that wasn’t enough for the Mets 44th round pick in the 1991 draft.  He had more to prove.

 

Izzy returned to the Mets this off-season with absolutely no idea whether he would ever even make the roster.  “I had no idea… nobody knew what was going to happen,” said Isringhausen after the recent home stand.  “I just try to go about my business the right way and help the team anyway I can and try to get outs when they call on me.”  Izzy has certainly handled his job the right way.  He has offered some wisdom for the younger pitchers and offered some brilliant work out of the bullpen while doing so.  However, the big opportunity did not come until days after the All-Star break when the Mets announced they had dealt their star closer K-Rod to the Brewers.

 

Since that transaction, Izzy has returned to his old role of closer.  In 12 appearances, Izzy has picked up two wins and seven saves.  The seventh save, which took place on August 15th was the 300th of his career.  It’s been an incredible ride for the soon-to-be 38-year-old hurler.  He returned to where he failed and has been a pleasant surprise. 

 

Unfortunately for Isringhausen, reality will now set in.  With the Mets out of contention for a spot in the post-season, the team is looking towards the future and they will turn to flamethrower Bobby Parnell for ninth inning duties.  Izzy, a true professional, has been one of Parnell’s biggest supporters even during his recent struggles.  “It won’t be his last rough spot either… he’s got the stuff to do it… You can take care of the little things and the rest kind of falls in place.”

 

The young bust is now a wily veteran who has redeemed himself in the eyes of Mets fans.  Whether he gets another save or not for the rest of his career, Isringhausen has accomplished what he set out to do.  He went about his business the right way and got outs when needed.  However, his lasting contribution may be the professionalism that he brought to the clubhouse and the lessons that he provided to a new a new generation of Mets hurlers.  Izzy did alright as a Mets hurler.