Category: Pitching

Mets Hall of Fame To Add John Franco

English: John Franco
Image via Wikipedia

I know this post is a little late since the Mets announced that they’ll add John Franco to the Hall of Fame three days ago. But I wanted to make sure that I noted this event because Franco joined the Mets in 1990 so, presumably, there won’t be any more Mets from the ’86 team joining the Hall of Fame. But the importance is that Franco played 14 years with the team and closed for most of them. He could be shaky as a closer but he usually got the job done until he moved to set up relief in 2000.

Here’s the press release from the team:

January 26, 2012 – The New York Mets today announced that John Franco, the club’s all-time leader in saves and games pitched, will be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame during the Mets Hall of Fame Induction ceremony presented by Citi Sunday, June 3 prior to the 1:10 p.m. game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Franco saved 276 games for the Mets over his 14-year career (1990-2004) with the team, the second-longest in franchise history behind Ed Kranepool’s 18 years of service. The four-time All-Star compiled 424 saves during his career, the fourth-most in major league history and the most by any lefthanded reliever.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be elected to the Mets Hall of Fame,” said Franco, who is currently in his fourth year as a Club Ambassador with the Mets. “I would like to thank Fred Wilpon, Saul Katz, Jeff Wilpon, the Hall of Fame Committee, all of my managers and coaches and of course my teammates. My entire family is looking forward to June 3.” Continue reading “Mets Hall of Fame To Add John Franco”

Mets Sign Jon Rauch

Jon Rauch (right) and José Molina
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The Mets signed 6’10” reliever Jon Rauch to a 1 year/$3.5 million deal to, presumably, work the back end of the bullpen. Mets fans are familiar with Rauch from his year in Washington. He’s kicked around the league a bit since then and pitched for the Blue Jays last year with 11 saves and an ugly 4.85 ERA.

Rauch has always pitched in a lot of games. Last season he pitched in 53 games which was his lowest total since 2005. His career ERA is 3.82 and he’s certainly an imposing presence on the mound, not only because of his height but he’s covered in tattoos from head to toe.

Rauch will provide an experienced arm in the back of the bullpen to work in front of Frank Francisco and team with Bobby Parnell to work the seventh and eighth innings.

Mets Agree to Contract with Frank Francisco

Frank Francisco
Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

The Mets got their closer for 2012 and 2012 in free agent Frank Francisco. He agreed to a 2 year/$12 million deal to work the ninth inning for the Mets. He’s one of the last free agent closers to agree to a contract after Jonathan Papelbon got the market going by signing with Phillies early in the game. Since then the closers have been going quickly which left the Mets with the bargain basement choices left without a chair.

Francisco had 17 saves with Toronto last year with a 3.55 ERA. He’s 32 years old and has a career 3.72 ERA.

Bobby Parnell didn’t appear to be up to the closing job in 2011 so the Mets had to go outside the organization. But it didn’t make sense to go for the high end closers like Papelbon or Heath Bell because the Mets don’t look like they’ll be winning a lot of games in 2012. There’s nothing to save if you’re losing.

Francisco is a solid, low-end closer that doesn’t break the bank. He’ll hold down the fort for two seasons while the Mets ride out the contracts of Jason Bay and Johan Santana.

Video: Mets Weekly Report – Jose Reyes and Tim Byrdak

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 24: RY 24: Jos...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

In this week’s Mets Weekly Report, I talk with Kerel Cooper of OnTheBlack.com about two Mets players that have been prominent in the news this week. Everyone is concerned about the looming specter of Jose Reyes’ free agency. But there are some other big names that are going to be in free agency when the 2011 season ends including Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder. Kerel brings up the question “Who is more valuable to their team Reyes or Pujols?”.

We also talk about the Mets decision to re-sign relief pitcher Tim Byrdak before he hits free agency. Byrdak has had a solid year as the lefty specialist and even navigated some full innings during the 2011 season.

Check out the video below for our thoughts on Reyes and Byrdak.

Video: Mets Weekly Report – 9-11 and Bobby Parnell

New York Mets Statue of Liberty, promotion for...
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In this week’s Mets Weekly Report video I talk to Kerel Cooper of OnTheBlack.com about the September 11th game tonight and the future of Bobby Parnell. I’ll be at the game tonight against the Cubs for the September 11th remembrance ceremony. It should be an emotional night with families of the victims in attendance along with some of the heroes of 9/11, some of the members of the 2001 Mets, and Marc Anthony singing the national anthem.

We also talk about the recent struggles of Parnell. The problems that he’s had recently have caused some fans to reconsider whether he should be the Mets closer now and if there’s a future in closing for him. Although I’m not impressed with what I’ve seen from Parnell recently, I think there’s hope for the future. Check out the video below to see why and leave your comments at the bottom of the page.

Who Will Get 300 Saves First? Isringhausen or K-Rod?

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 24: RY 24: Jas...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

So with Carlos Beltran pretty much gone and the Mets having almost no shot at the wild card, there’s not much left to watch the Mets for. At least for the rest of the season. Especially since I don’t see a massive fire sale going on. Beltran’s trading may be the last big story for a while.

I am curious as to who gets to 300 saves first, Jason Isringhausen or Francisco Rodriquez. Izzy has 296 career saves, KRod has 291. KRod should have more save chances but Izzy is the guy I want to see get to 300 first. Wouldn’t you?

So let’s watch this little race to 300 saves. I’m really rooting for Izzy to have a better year than KRod. I feel like Izzy is homegrown talent who’s come home to finish out his career. It may be the only bright spot to the rest of an irrelevant year.

Let’s hope the Mets do the right thing and acknowledge the achievement. Do they even know it’s coming up? This save race may be the only race interesting enough to watch for the rest of the year and of course, 4 saves could take less than a week if the Mets get on a roll but who knows…

If the Mets are out of the hunt, what other milestones will you be watching for this year?

Johan Santana Visits Mets in Miami

During last night’s game against the Marlins, Johan Santana visited with the Mets. He’s been rehabbing from shoulder surgery in Port St. Lucie and even threw a three inning simulated game this week. Santana will be throwing a bullpen session for the Mets front office tomorrow at Sun Life Stadium to gauge his readiness for pitching rehab minor league games.

Unfortunately, Santana isn’t going to make it back in time to have a positive impact on the season. The rumors are swirling about Carlos Beltran trade partners. And Fox Sports reported that the Mets want to trade Beltran early next week so they can work on trading away some other players like Chris Capuano, Willie Harris, Scott Hairston, and Tim Byrdak.

Even without having an impact on 2011, it sure would be nice to see Santana back and pitching well for the Mets in August and September. It would certainly instill some confidence going into the offseason that 2012 won’t be another wasted season.

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