Baseball Articles | 1999
Post-Season Reviews
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Baseball Articles | 1999
Post-Season Reviews
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1999 Post-Season Review -- NewYork Mets Written By Tom Ruane This article takes a look at how the NewYork Mets did in the 1999 season relative to pre-season expectations. For an overview of the approach used in this review, and a definition of some of the key terms and statistics, please see the overview page called 1999 Team-by-Team Performance Reviews. Capsule SummaryProjected Actual Runs for 757 853 Runs allowed 672 711 Run Margin 85 142 Wins 90 97 Pythagorean wins 91 96 Placement 2nd 2nd The Mets spent a small fortune (in baseball terms) to bring a second playoff team to New York last year. In signing Mike Piazza, Al Leiter and Robin Ventura, the Mets tied up $155 million dollars worth of their short- and long-term capital. They failed to sign Brian Jordan, settling instead on 40-year-old Rickey Henderson to help replace departing outfielders Butch Huskey and Tony Phillips. In a move that gave many Mets fans cause for concern, they also dealt disappointing Mel Rojas to the Dodgers for Bobby Bonilla, a mediocre player with a huge contract. It sure looked like a case of subtraction by addition, and the proposed outfield of Bonilla, McRae and Henderson promised to be the worst in all of baseball. There were fewer changes to the pitching staff, as Hideo Nomo was released in spring training to be replaced in the rotation by free-agent Orel Hershiser. Things didn't go well for the first two months. By early June the Mets had a losing record and GM Steve Phillips responded by firing three of Bobby Valentine's coaches. It was probably no more than a coincidence that the Mets proceeded to post the best record in baseball over the next three and a half months. Their annual late September swoon almost cost them the wild card spot, but they managed an unlikely recovery, sweeping the Pirates on the last weekend of the season before trouncing the Reds in a one-game playoff. Key Position PlayersThe Mets were a better hitting team than anticipated in 1999. Much of that was due to great seasons by Robin Ventura and Edgardo Alfonzo in the infield, and surprising performances by Roger Cedeno, Benny Agbayani and Rickey Henderson in the outfield. Bobby Bonilla and Brian McRae were the only real disappointments on offense, but Bonilla's failings were minimized by his lack of playing time and injuries, while McRae was dealt to the Rockies at the end of July. Mike Piazza, c, age 30 (as of July 1, 1999)AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection NYN 491 165 30 1 28 82 99 2 59 13 71 1 1 .336 .406 .572 .979 112 Prorated NYN 523 175 31 1 29 87 105 2 62 13 75 1 1 .335 .404 .564 .968 117 Actual NYN 534 162 25 0 40 100 124 1 51 11 70 2 2 .303 .361 .575 .936 101 Despite tying his career high in both home runs and RBIs (both marks being set in 1997), Piazza hit somewhat worse than projected last year. Most of this was due to a career-low batting average and on-base percentage. He's caught an awful lot of games so far in his career, and I keep waiting for that workload to catch up to him. He missed two weeks in April with sprained knee ligaments and still managed to catch 137 games. He has played his entire career in pitchers' parks and his lifetime road batting average of .346 (with a 1.013 OPS), makes you wonder what he would have done playing half of his games in Coors Field, where his career batting average is .407 and his slugging percentage .738. Todd Pratt, c, age 32AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection NYN 122 32 7 0 4 15 17 2 11 0 29 0 0 .262 .333 .418 .751 17 Prorated NYN 143 37 8 0 4 17 20 2 12 0 34 0 0 .259 .325 .399 .723 18 Actual NYN 140 41 4 0 3 18 21 3 15 0 32 2 0 .293 .369 .386 .754 22 A poor spring in 1998 cost Pratt an opportunity to be the Mets regular catcher. He did as well as expected in his back-up role, playing especially well when filling in for Piazza in April, but didn't hit a home run after April 22nd. John Olerud, 1b, age 30AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection NYN 562 170 32 2 21 86 91 9 88 9 69 0 1 .302 .402 .479 .880 111 Prorated NYN 611 184 34 2 22 93 98 9 95 9 75 0 1 .301 .399 .471 .871 118 Actual NYN 581 173 39 0 19 107 96 11 125 5 66 3 0 .298 .427 .463 .890 122 After hitting .353 and losing a batting title to Larry Walker and Coors Field in 1998, John Olerud came back down to earth last year. He's had a strange career, with two seasons (1993 and 1998) where he was one of the best hitters in baseball, followed by a bunch of others during which he was merely very good. In some ways he reminds me of Mickey Vernon, a first baseman from the forties and fifties who surrounded two outstanding seasons with more than a dozen good ones. Olerud doesn't have a lot of power for a first baseman, but he made up for that by walking a career-high 125 times. He's also an underrated defensive player, something which should become obvious next year when Met fans have the opportunity to watch his replacement (Todd Zeile, a converted third baseman) in action. Matt Franco, 1b, age 29AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection NYN 114 29 5 0 1 14 12 1 11 3 15 0 0 .254 .323 .325 .647 12 Prorated NYN 144 36 6 0 1 17 15 1 13 3 19 0 0 .250 .314 .313 .627 14 Actual NYN 132 31 5 0 4 18 21 0 28 3 21 0 0 .235 .366 .364 .730 17 The team's DH, Franco set a record of sorts last year when he walked 20 times as a pinch-hitter. Despite that, he really doesn't hit well enough to hold down a job as a hitting specialist. Edgardo Alfonzo, 2b, age 25AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection NYN 597 174 29 2 16 94 82 3 68 1 74 10 3 .291 .365 .427 .792 97 Prorated NYN 639 186 31 2 17 100 87 3 72 1 79 10 3 .291 .364 .426 .789 103 Actual NYN 628 191 41 1 27 123 108 3 85 2 85 9 2 .304 .385 .502 .886 126 Alfonzo's game took another big step forward in 1999. After spending the previous two seasons as the regular third baseman, Alfonzo moved to second base last year and responded with a breakthrough season at the plate and a fine season in the field. Along the way, he had the single greatest hitting day in team history on August 30th when he joined Ty Cobb as the only player ever to collect six hits and three home runs in one game. It's strange that the NL's two best hitting second basemen in 1999, Alfonzo and the Diamondback's Jay Bell, were both playing the position regularly for the first time. Rey Ordonez, ss, age 26AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection NYN 542 132 17 3 2 52 45 1 27 8 58 5 6 .244 .279 .297 .576 43 Prorated NYN 541 131 16 2 1 51 44 0 26 7 57 4 5 .242 .275 .285 .560 40 Actual NYN 520 134 24 2 1 49 60 1 49 12 59 8 4 .258 .319 .317 .636 53 He had the best year of his career at the plate in 1999, but still has a long way to go before he's even an average hitting shortstop. He feuded during the season with manager Bobby Valentine over playing time while turning in perhaps his best performance in the field in 1999. Error totals aren't usually a good indication of fielding prowess, but the four errors charged against Ordonez were impressive nonetheless. He's very popular with the fans in New York, which will make replacing him difficult if a better shortstop (one who can both field AND hit) ever comes onto the scene. Luis Lopez, ss/2b/3b, age 28AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection NYN 90 22 4 0 1 11 8 1 5 1 19 1 1 .244 .292 .322 .614 8 Prorated NYN 112 27 4 0 1 13 9 1 6 1 23 1 1 .241 .286 .304 .589 9 Actual NYN 104 22 4 0 2 11 13 3 12 0 33 1 1 .212 .308 .308 .616 11 About the only time in 1999 that Lopez caught the public's attention was when he got in a fistfight with Ordonez in early September. The organization soured on Lopez during the year and he was even left off the post-season roster, a move that gave the Mets no adequate defensive replacement at short and forced Rey Ordonez to bat (with predictable results) in several crucial situations. Lopez was sent to the Brewers after the season for pitcher Bill Pulsipher. Robin Ventura, 3b, age 31AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection NYN 514 131 25 3 19 70 75 1 66 12 88 0 1 .255 .338 .426 .765 76 Prorated NYN 588 150 28 3 21 80 85 1 75 13 100 0 1 .255 .338 .420 .758 85 Actual NYN 588 177 38 0 32 88 120 3 74 10 109 1 1 .301 .379 .529 .908 118 The Mets MVP in 1999, Ventura had the best season of his career. We had anticipated his numbers to be hurt by Shea Stadium, but he ended up hitting nearly as well at home as he did on the road. When he hit two grand slams in a game on May 20th, he became the first player in major league history to accomplish that twice, having previously clubbed two grand slams in a game with the White Sox in 1995. He was a pretty consistent run producer all year long with monthly RBI totals of 20, 21, 21, 22, 20 and 16. He played most of September with torn cartilage in his left knee and had surgery on it and his shoulder following the season. Bobby Bonilla, rf, age 36AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection NYN 476 127 24 3 15 63 73 3 56 6 78 2 3 .267 .342 .424 .766 68 Prorated NYN 123 32 6 0 3 16 18 0 14 1 20 0 0 .260 .331 .382 .713 15 Actual NYN 119 19 5 0 4 12 18 1 19 1 16 0 1 .160 .277 .303 .579 10 Bonilla came to New York during the off-season when the Mets and Dodgers exchanged problem players. Los Angeles took Mel Rojas off of New York's hands and the Mets returned the favor by taking Bonilla. It was hard to imagine the team making a serious playoff run in 1999 with Bonilla playing much of a role in their offense. As it was, he spent most of the season on the sidelines with knee problems and did absolutely nothing while he was active. One of mysteries of last year was why Bonilla was put on the post-season roster. He couldn't hit, couldn't field, and was on the outs with the manager. He made statements during the off-season demanding a more prominent role in 2000, but team officials cut their losses and released him instead. Roger Cedeno, rf/cf/lf, age 24AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection NYN 148 39 7 2 2 21 11 1 19 1 32 6 2 .264 .349 .378 .727 21 Prorated NYN 454 119 21 6 6 64 33 3 58 3 98 18 6 .262 .347 .374 .722 65 Actual NYN 453 142 23 4 4 90 36 3 60 3 100 66 17 .313 .396 .408 .804 84 Another surprise performer in 1999, Cedeno seemed to be a natural to settle in for an extended stay as the Mets leadoff hitter. Instead, he was sent to the Astros in December as part of the Mike Hampton deal. He doesn't seem to have good instincts in the outfield and frequently breaks the wrong way on the ball. Fortunately, he has the speed to outrun many of his mistakes. Brian McRae, cf, age 31AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection NYN 525 129 31 5 15 75 55 6 66 3 79 18 9 .246 .334 .410 .744 75 Prorated NYN 299 73 17 2 8 42 31 3 37 1 44 10 5 .244 .331 .395 .726 41 Actual NYN 298 66 12 1 8 35 36 5 39 1 57 2 6 .221 .320 .349 .669 33 Prorated Col 23 5 1 0 0 3 2 0 2 0 3 0 0 .217 .280 .261 .541 2 Actual Col 23 6 2 0 1 1 1 2 2 0 7 0 0 .261 .370 .478 .849 4 Prorated Tor 87 21 5 0 2 12 9 1 11 0 13 3 1 .241 .333 .368 .701 11 Actual Tor 82 16 3 1 3 11 11 2 16 1 22 0 1 .195 .340 .366 .706 11 Prorated Tot 410 100 24 3 11 58 42 4 51 2 61 14 7 .244 .331 .398 .729 56 Actual Tot 403 88 17 2 12 47 48 9 57 2 86 2 7 .218 .327 .360 .687 48 We weren't too optimistic about McRae's prospects for 1999. He failed to meet even those, however, then complained about his lack of playing time and was sent to Colorado in the Hamilton trade. Once a pretty good baserunner, McRae was successful on only 2 of his 9 attempts last year. I would be very surprised if he comes close to getting 400 at-bats again next season. Darryl Hamilton, cf, age 34AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection Col 631 192 34 5 5 107 55 2 74 1 79 15 9 .304 .377 .398 .775 99 Prorated Col 331 100 17 2 2 56 28 1 38 0 41 7 4 .302 .374 .384 .757 50 Actual Col 337 102 11 3 4 63 24 1 38 0 21 4 5 .303 .374 .389 .763 49 Prorated NYN 165 50 8 1 1 28 14 0 19 0 20 3 2 .303 .373 .382 .755 24 Actual NYN 168 57 8 1 5 19 21 1 19 0 18 2 3 .339 .410 .488 .898 34 Prorated Tot 496 151 26 3 3 84 43 1 58 0 62 11 7 .304 .376 .387 .763 76 Actual Tot 505 159 19 4 9 82 45 2 57 0 39 6 8 .315 .386 .422 .808 83 He came to New York at the end of July along with Chuck McElroy in a trade for Brian McRae and two minor leaguers. He hit very well after coming over from Colorado, especially when you consider that his projected numbers assumed he'd be playing in Coors Field. Shawon Dunston, cf/lf/rf/1b/ss/3b, age 36AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection StL 70 18 4 1 1 9 7 1 2 0 10 3 1 .257 .284 .386 .669 8 Prorated StL 147 37 8 2 2 18 14 2 4 0 21 6 2 .252 .277 .374 .652 15 Actual StL 150 46 5 2 5 23 25 3 2 0 23 6 3 .307 .327 .467 .794 21 Prorated NYN 90 23 5 1 1 11 9 1 2 0 12 3 1 .256 .277 .367 .643 9 Actual NYN 93 32 6 1 0 12 16 2 0 0 16 4 1 .344 .354 .430 .784 13 Prorated Tot 238 61 13 3 3 30 23 3 6 0 34 10 3 .256 .280 .374 .654 25 Actual Tot 243 78 11 3 5 35 41 5 2 0 39 10 4 .321 .337 .453 .790 34 The Mets picked him up at from the Cardinals at the end of July for Craig Paquette. His .321 average was a career high (ignoring a 4 for 10 season in 1993), but vastly overstates his worth as a hitter. He's never walked much at all, but his total of two walks in 255 trips to the plate in 1999 was low even for him. Because the Mets were pretty set in the infield, Dunston saw most of his action for New York in the outfield, where he was dreadful. I'm not sure if it was simply a case of Valentine being out-managed (or over-managing) but it sure seemed as if Dunston was in the field in a lot of crucial late-inning situations for New York. Rickey Henderson, lf, age 40AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection NYN 523 120 16 1 10 98 44 7 125 1 110 58 13 .229 .384 .321 .705 82 Prorated NYN 418 95 12 0 7 78 35 5 99 0 87 46 10 .227 .380 .306 .687 62 Actual NYN 438 138 30 0 12 89 42 2 82 1 82 37 14 .315 .423 .466 .889 96 Henderson turned 40 before the season began and in the three previous years had hit a combined .241. He was a better player than his average indicated, with exactly as many walks (340) as hits during that span and a 80% success rate on the base-paths. Still, it would be an understatement to say that his .315 batting average was surprise last year. While he hit much better than anticipated, he looked every bit of his forty years in the outfield 1999 and was a liability on the bases. Sure, he stole 37 bases, but he was caught 14 times and picked off on another five occasions. In all of baseball only two runners (Cedeno and Womack) were picked off more often than Henderson last year. He missed two weeks in April with a sprained knee. Benny Agbayani, lf/rf, age 27AB H 2B 3B HR R RBI HP W IW K SB CS AVG OBP SPC OPS RC Projection NYN 66 15 3 0 1 8 7 1 7 0 13 3 1 .227 .307 .318 .625 7 Prorated NYN 276 62 12 0 4 33 29 4 29 0 54 12 4 .225 .304 .312 .615 27 Actual NYN 276 79 18 3 14 42 42 3 32 4 60 6 4 .286 .363 .525 .888 51 We didn't expect him to see much action in a crowded outfield last year. He was called up when Henderson went on the DL and responded with an extremely hot first month. Since 1974, here are the players with the highest slugging percentage through the first 90 at-bats of their career: Name AB H 2B 3B HR SPC
Shane Spencer 90 32 7 0 11 .800
Benny Agbayani 90 32 2 2 10 .756
Dave Hostetler 90 26 3 2 11 .733
Alvin Davis 90 30 6 1 9 .722
Gregg Jefferies 90 33 8 2 6 .700
You might not remember Dave Hostetler, and there's a good chance that fifteen years from now you might not remember Shane Spencer or Benny Agbayani either. Considering that Agbayani had never hit more than 11 home runs in a season in the minors, his power display was not expected, and it didn't last. He would bat .244 with only four home runs over the last three and a half months of the season. Key PitchersThe pitching staff allowed slightly more runs than anticipated in 1999. Most of this was due to injuries to Bobby Jones and Rick Reed as well as an off-season by Al Leiter. Kenny Rogers was a valuable mid-season pick-up (at least until the playoffs), but the real strength of this team was its bullpen. Their starters went a long time (until August 15th) without any complete games, but got two complete game shutouts (by Al Leiter and Rick Reed) in their last three games of the season. After the addition of Rogers at the end of July, the Mets went to a six-man rotation for much of the rest of the year. Al Leiter, starter, age 33 (as of July 1, 1999)Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS Projection NYN 3.35 32 32 15 9 0 210 178 13 99 189 .231 .670 Prorated NYN 3.35 33 33 15 9 0 216 183 13 102 195 .231 .670 Actual NYN 4.23 32 32 13 12 0 213 209 19 93 162 .262 .743 Leiter got off to a bad start in 1999 and by the end of May had a 2-5 record to go with a 6.39 ERA. He missed a start in May with a sprained knee and the knee bothered him the rest of the year. Despite that, he pitched pretty well over the last three months of the season, including a 5-0 mark in June, when he was named the NL pitcher of the month, and a brilliant two-hit shutout against the Reds in the playoff game. His ERAs the last four years have been: 2.93, 4.34, 2.47 and 4.23, a pattern that bodes well for next season, especially if his off-season knee surgery is a success. Rick Reed, starter, age 34Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS Projection NYN 3.72 32 32 11 11 0 206 203 26 33 135 .259 .706 Prorated NYN 3.72 25 25 8 8 0 157 155 20 25 103 .259 .706 Actual NYN 4.58 26 26 11 5 0 149 163 23 47 104 .281 .809 He went on the DL in April with a strained achilles tendon and also missed a month later in the season with a strained ligament. His control was poorer than it's been since coming to the Mets and he gave up as many walks in his first 80 innings as he had all of the previous season. The Mets are sure hoping that his injuries were responsible for his off-year. Since bursting onto the scene in 1997, his ERAs have gone from 2.89 to 3.48 to 4.58 -- not exactly the trend you want to see in a 34 year-old pitcher. His final outing of the season, however, was the best of his career, a three-hit shutout of the Pirates with 12 strikeouts. Bobby Jones, starter, age 29Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS Projection NYN 4.14 32 32 11 11 0 198 199 25 57 121 .263 .735 Prorated NYN 4.14 10 10 3 3 0 60 61 8 17 37 .263 .735 Actual NYN 5.61 12 9 3 3 0 59 69 3 11 31 .295 .777 Rotator cuff problems ripped the heart out of Jones' season, putting him on the DL from May 22nd until September 14th. He didn't pitch as badly as his ERA indicated last year, but allowed his hits in bunches, giving up 20 earned runs in 13 2/3 innings in his last three starts before going on the DL. Orel Hershiser, starter, age 40Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS Projection NYN 5.05 27 27 8 10 0 160 179 20 59 88 .287 .810 Prorated NYN 5.05 30 30 9 11 0 177 198 22 65 97 .287 .810 Actual NYN 4.58 32 32 13 12 0 179 175 14 77 89 .260 .742 He replaced Nomo in the starting rotation at the beginning of the season and the two pitchers ended up with very similar seasons: Name ERA IP H HR BB K
Hershiser 4.58 179 175 14 77 89
Nomo 4.54 176 173 27 78 161
Apart from the home runs allowed and strikeouts, these seasons are almost identical. A free agent after the season, Hershiser has signed to pitch for the Dodgers in 2000. Masato Yoshii, starter, age 34Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS Projection NYN 4.42 32 32 10 12 0 196 200 26 59 133 .265 .761 Prorated NYN 4.42 28 28 9 10 0 170 174 23 51 116 .265 .761 Actual NYN 4.40 31 29 12 8 0 174 168 25 58 105 .260 .790 With the exception of a few more home runs and a slightly higher ERA, Yoshii pretty much did in 1999 what he had the year before with the Mets. He was rumored to be heading to the bullpen after the Rogers deal, but instead turned into the Mets' best pitcher down the stretch, going 5-0 with a 1.61 ERA after August 13th. He was traded after the season to the Rockies (ouch!) for pitchers Lariel Gonzalez and Bobby Jones the Younger. Octavio Dotel, starter, age 23Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS Projection NYN 4.00 3 3 1 1 0 18 17 2 8 20 .250 .736 Prorated NYN 4.00 14 14 5 5 0 85 80 9 38 94 .250 .736 Actual NYN 5.38 19 14 8 3 0 85 69 12 49 85 .226 .766 By my calculations (weighting each pitcher's age by their innings pitched), the Mets in 1999 had the oldest pitching staff in the majors and the seventh oldest in major league history. Were it not for the 85 innings pitched by Octavio Dotel (as well as the injury to John Franco), the Mets could have challenged the 1935 Boston Braves for the oldest staff of all time. Since Jason Isringhausen, Paul Wilson and Bill Pulsipher failed to live up to their promise earlier in the decade, the Mets' front office hasn't exactly trusted their young arms. Dotel started the season in the minors before being recalled in June after he pitched a one-hitter with 17 strikeouts in the minors. His 17 strikeouts was the most by a AAA pitcher during the 1990s. He got sent down a couple of weeks later, recalled two weeks after that and was dropped from the rotation in September to make room for the returning Bobby Jones. It would be an understatement to say he was inconsistent. In one five game stretch, he had four outings in which he pitched seven innings while allowing a single run; in his other start, he got blasted for nine runs in only two innings. He was sent to Houston after the season in the Mike Hampton deal. Kenny Rogers, starter, age 34Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS Projection Oak 4.21 32 32 12 12 0 210 213 21 77 120 .266 .737 Prorated Oak 4.21 19 19 7 7 0 124 126 12 45 71 .266 .737 Actual Oak 4.30 19 19 5 3 0 119 135 8 41 68 .288 .740 Prorated NYN 4.21 11 11 4 4 0 74 75 7 27 42 .266 .737 Actual NYN 4.03 12 12 5 1 0 76 71 8 28 58 .253 .723 Prorated Tot 4.21 30 30 11 11 0 198 201 20 73 113 .266 .737 Actual Tot 4.19 31 31 10 4 0 195 206 16 69 126 .275 .734 If nothing else, Kenny Rogers must not be superstitious. Otherwise, he would never have agreed to leave Oakland, where he had gone 15-0 since arriving a year and a half earlier. His home winning streak now stands at 18 games with three different teams (Yankees, A's and Mets). He'll try to continue it with his fourth team in 2000. A free agent after the season because he was not offered arbitration by the Mets, Rogers recently signed with the Rangers. John Franco, closer/setup, age 38Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS Projection NYN 3.16 70 0 4 6 33 74 73 5 29 65 .261 .693 Prorated NYN 3.16 40 0 2 3 19 43 42 3 17 38 .261 .693 Actual NYN 2.88 46 0 0 2 19 41 40 1 19 41 .255 .685 There's an unwritten rule in baseball that a player is not supposed to lose his job due to an injury, that assuming he recovers, his job will be waiting for him when he returns. Well, that rule was broken in 1999. Franco was 19 of 20 in save opportunities last year when Bobby Valentine had him start the ninth inning of the July 2nd contest with the Braves. The Mets were already trailing 12-0, but Franco hadn't pitched in three days and his manager wanted to get him some work. Unfortunately, Franco strained the tendon in the middle finger of his pitching hand in that game and would be out for more than two months. While he was gone, Armando Benitez pitched brilliantly, taking over the closer's job and relegating Franco to a setup role when he returned in September. He posted a 0.96 ERA the last month, but that's a little deceiving, given that he allowed allowed 11 hits and 5 walks in 9 1/3 innings. Armando Benitez, setup/closer, age 26Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS Projection NYN 2.39 70 0 5 5 3 75 48 7 43 105 .182 .600 Prorated NYN 2.39 69 0 5 5 3 75 48 7 43 104 .182 .600 Actual NYN 1.85 77 0 4 3 22 78 40 4 41 128 .148 .496 We expected Benitez to be the class of the Mets bullpen in 1999 and ended up underestimating him. He had a brief rough stretch at the end of July and beginning of August, but finished the year on a roll. His record over his last 23 games: ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K
0.77 23 0 3 1 11 23 11 0 10 39
Dennis Cook, middle relief, age 36Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG OPS Projection NYN 3.36 70 0 5 3 1 72 70 5 29 80 .254 .706 Prorated NYN 3.36 58 0 4 2 1 60 58 4 24 67 .254 .706 Actual NYN 3.86 71 0 10 5 3 63 50 11 27 68 .216 .723 In the space of nine innings in April and early May, Dennis Cook picked up five victories. He couldn't keep up that pace for the rest of the season, but still finished with a career high in victories. He allowed fewer base runners than anticipated but problems with the long-ball accounted for a higher than expected ERA. He had pitched 38 games by July 4th and had a 2.13 ERA. He wore down after that, finishing with 6.48 ERA over his last 33 games. Turk Wendell, middle relief, age 32Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG Projection NYN 3.27 53 0 5 3 0 74 64 6 36 60 .233 .705 Prorated NYN 3.27 62 0 6 3 0 86 74 7 42 70 .233 .705 Actual NYN 3.05 80 0 5 4 3 86 80 9 37 77 .245 .703 Wendell set a Mets' record by pitching in 80 games last year. The previous record holder, Jeff Innis, who pitched in 76 games in 1992, dropped down to number three on the list, as Armando Benitez also topped the previous mark. Despite pitching so much, Wendell probably wished he had pitched even more. He was given six days off from August 24th to 31st, and proceeded to lose three of his next four outings, allowing 8 runs in only 3 innings. He bounced back after that and gave only one more earned run in his last 12 games. Billy Taylor, middle relief, age 37Tm ERA G GS W L S INN H HR BB K AVG Projection Oak 3.67 70 0 4 6 29 74 72 6 26 66 .257 .715 Prorated Oak 3.67 42 0 2 4 17 44 43 4 16 40 .257 .715 Actual Oak 3.98 43 0 1 5 26 43 48 3 14 38 .287 .747 Prorated NYN 3.67 15 0 1 1 6 16 16 1 6 14 .257 .715 Actual NYN 8.10 18 0 0 1 0 13 20 2 9 14 .345 1.002 Prorated Tot 3.67 57 0 3 5 24 60 59 5 21 54 .257 .715 Actual Tot 4.95 61 0 1 6 26 56 68 5 23 52 .302 .813 The Mets got him from Oakland at the end of July for Jason Isringhausen and Greg McMichael in a move that simply didn't work out. Taylor was 32 before he made it to the big leagues and 34 before he became the A's closer for the first time. He saved his 100th major league game the day before he was traded to the Mets and it could very well have been his last. He was released by New York after the season. OutlookAfter teasing New York fans with the prospect of a deal for Alex Rodriguez and then coming within an okay from Junior of bringing Ken Griffey east, Mets' GM Steve Phillips was finally able to complete a blockbuster deal two days before Christmas when he traded Octavio Dotel and Roger Cedeno to the Astros for 22-game winner Mike Hampton and Derek Bell. While the move should strengthen the Mets starting rotation, it dramatically weakens their outfield, and for the second year in a row, the Mets will enter the season with the potential to field the worst outfield in the majors. Rickey Henderson will be a year older and not likely to hit over .300 again. If his defense and base-running continue to erode, he could very well hit .300 and still hurt the team. If he reverts back to hitting .240, forget it. Derek Bell was perhaps the worst outfielder in all of baseball last year, and while Darryl Hamilton should be an improvement over Brian McRae in center, he will be 35 years-old next season and is not likely to play as well as he did over the second half of 1999. It's hard to imagine their infield getting much better next year. Free-agent acquisition Todd Zeile should be much worse at first, both offensively and defensively, than the departed John Olerud. Robin Ventura is coming off of a career year and not likely to do much better in 2000. The same can not be said, however, for Edgardo Alfonzo. As good as he played last season, he could conceivably take his game to an even higher level next year. He'll be only 26 at the start of 2000 and the truth is we still don't know how good he can become. The pitching staff will need to be much better next year. Assuming they stay healthy, a rotation of Hampton, Leiter, Reed, the Joneses, and/or Pulsipher, together with relievers like Benitez, Wendell and Franco, could give New York one of the best staffs in all of the National League. It will have to if the Mets are to overcome their offensive weaknesses and contend for another play-off spot in 2000. Projections and text: Copyright © 2000. Diamond Mind,
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