I can understand what the Mets management was thinking of giving Willie Randolph the axe. On the one hand, he has a winning record by a significant margin managing the Metropolitans, but he didn't seem to be getting the job done.
302-253 record aside, the Mets are 34-35 with the largest payroll in the National League. That is lackluster; there's no question about it.
Whether it was a good idea to fire Willie right after a win, or while the team is on the road, or in the middle of the night, or even in the middle of a season, is one debate, but that's not what I want to address. My question is why Rick Peterson had to go too?
What has Peterson done that's so bad? The only thing I can think of is the Kazmir trade a couple years ago. That was pretty bad.
But beside that, Peterson's been great. The Mets' team ERA under Peterson, not counting this season, was 4.06. That's second in the National League over that three year period ('05, '06, and '07).
This year, the Mets' team ERA is eighth in the NL at 4.14, but that isn't as much under par as it sounds. If 4.06 is second in the NL over a three year period, then 4.14 can't be that bad. It only looks bad because there are some teams who have been pitching fantastically for the first half (Cubs at 3.61, Diamondbacks at 3.80, etc); those numbers will probably average out.
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And it isn't just numbers. Besides the infamous Kazmir-Zambrano trade, think of what Peterson has done.
Oliver Perez was abandoned by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who aren't really a team that can afford to abandon players they think have real promise. So Perez was considered hopeless, but over the past two years he has improved greatly under Peterson's tutelage, posting a 3.56 ERA last year.
John Maine was a nobody who came in to pitch because of injuries and has turned into a valuable number two or three starter.
Peterson has been great at squeezing talent out of players who others thought couldn't perform, and it isn't the Mets' pitching staff that has been bad this season. Apart from a team ERA eighth in the league, the staff has let up the fourth-least hits in the NL and is sixth in strikeouts and walks. Those stats aren't dominant, but they're at least average, even a little above.
To me, it's been more the offense this season.
The lineup is ninth in batting average, 13th in slugging, ninth in hits, and 12th in home runs. The only reason the team has stayed around five hundred is the walks. Sixth in the league in walks, putting them fifth in OBP.
Of all the offensive stats I just listed, OBP correlates strongest with wins, but without any power, this team is not going to win the way they were expected to. Beltran and Wright are both guys you'd like to see with 15+ home runs by now, and neither of them has reached that point yet.
So when the offense has been below average and the pitching slightly above, why is it that our phenomenal pitching coach was fired and not HoJo?
-Ever fiddling with the facts of firings,
Louis
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5 months ago
Louis, you make a compelling argument on Peterson's behalf.
Let me give you my take on why Peterson is gone. He is the Mets' "CEO of pitching" and he did a great job developing and nurturing a slew of young arms.
The problem is the nurturing. Last season, the bullpen was so overused they were spent by September. That was the main reason why they folded.
This year, when they brought in Santana they said he would be the 'innings eater' they needed to help alleviate the strain on the bullpen. I didn't believe that bullshit then, and I was right.
Peterson put Santana on a pitch count just like the other starters. As a result, the rotation has no complete games this season and the bullpen is the most used in the NL - AGAIN.
The greatest pitcher of the new millennium gets yanked after 7 innings, as does the rest of the rotation. I can see Pedro getting pulled, because he has yet to regain his stamina. But the rest of them should be given the opportunity to pitch deeper into games. Under Peterson and his bullshit pitch count, they never get the opportunity. That exposes the Mets because the bullpen isn't bad, but if its called on for 2-3 innings every game, it will fail...and it has
He can let the door hit him in the ass on the way out.
5 months ago
Hats off to the Mets pitching stats under Peterson; they are impressive. However, I venture to guess that the upper management felt that Peterson was someone who would not fit in under a new manager. John makes a compelling arguement over the bullpen use.
Either way, the Mets' brass identified him as part of the problem. I am not sure how well Peterson worked with Randolph, but the front office felt that Randolph was to blame for the Mets' failures and that Peterson was also responsible.
5 months ago
Rick Peterson is partly responsible because he suggested to Willie when to pull pitchers based on their pitch count. In the end, Willie had the final say, but Peterson was the one who give him the idea. At leas this is what I have come to believe as the logical reason he was fired.
As for HoJo, I completely agree that the hitting is to blame for many of the failures this season. He hasn't improved anybody's hitting and it just seems that it's getting worse as players start slumping more.
Can somebody please tell Delgado that he can't hit those inside fastballs anymore?
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