Mets Narrowly Escape the Pad Men

The Friar and friends.

Last night was as close to an undeserved victory as you can come. Against the Flailing Fathers, often described as the doormats of the NL West, the Mets almost chucked another game into the crapper. Fernando "Only Met Worth A Shit with RISP" Tatis left his mark again, and Pelf didn't fare too badly. But there were very few positive signs from the slumping Mets. Heilman came in with a huge cushion and apparently thought his job was to "create" a save sitution.

Contrary to the dreams of some stat-wielding fan boys, letting Aaron Heilman close is insanity, as defined by Albert Einstein. But you don't need to be an Einstein to know that ability and stuff does not equal composure and grace under pressure. Anybody watching Heilman knows that your best bet with him is a 7 or 8th inning gig, depending on his current level of psychic fragility. Does closing involve luck? Sure, and the lousy defense of Beltran and R-Heinous last night behind Heilman would piss off the Pope. But lousy defense at key moments IS the 2008 Mets, so that is going to be part of the picture. And whether you beleive that luck is fickle, or that one makes their own luck, it is clear that Heilman is an unlucky guy when the chips are down. If Eddie Kunz is ever going to close for this team, he'll need to be able to rise to the pressure at some point. Why not find out now, in the total absense of any other suitable candidate?