Never Forget It

No, Carlos Delgado is not an MVP candidate. I just assumed that my readers knew that already.

By the way, I am really enjoying this Mets team right now. I will always be vocal about injustices like Marlon Anderson/Valentino Pascucci, no matter what. Because it's not just that we win, but that we make the right choices-- the just choices, the choices that put the team in the best position to win.

So of course it is worth noting how delighted I am that Jerry Manuel has been using a good hitter, Ryan Church, in the #2 spot in the lineup. If he keeps it up for the next couple games, I'll check that item off in the list of B!T causes (on the right).

I am reading all over the Metsblogosphere that Aaron Heilman should just be released outright. This is insane. People sort of know, but they do not take to heart just how volatile the win-loss records and ERAs of relievers are.

People sort of know, but they don't take to heart how important it is to have young players under team control. That's why it's a huge deal to trade away a Lastings Milledge or a Scott Kazmir.

Has Aaron Heilman had problems? Certainly. It is his fault that his walk rate is higher than ever, his ground ball rate lower than ever. But the defensive efficiency (the rate at which batted balls are turned into outs) behind him is the worst it has ever been, lower than 70%. And his rate of home runs allowed per fly ball-- attributable to luck-- is very high.

Quite simply, the best way to measure a pitcher's ability is his peripherals: strikeout rate, walk rate, and ground ball rate. Heilman's rates suggest that he has lost a little control and is giving up more fly balls than usual (and more than their fair share are leaving the park), but nothing significant has changed. The reasonable expectation is that he will continue to be a good pitcher.

And to release him? When he is arbitration-eligible for this offseason and the next (and maybe even the one after that as well)? That would be an insanely terrible move based on flukey, short-term results. That would be like signing Marlon Anderson to a guaranteed two-year contract after a handful of successful at-bats.