ONCE was the time that the stomachs of Mets fans tightened at the prospect of Billy Wagner being called upon to nail down an October game. If only that were the issue now, with the playoffs just six weeks away and The Closer nailing down one case after another on SportsNet New York just like Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson does on TNT.
Wagner was perfect yesterday in dispatching the Rockies in the ninth to finish a 2-0 victory in which Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez furnished a vintage opening six innings before Chad Bradford and Aaron Heilman each contributed an inning of spotless bridge work. It was the left-hander’s eighth straight save since the first of the month, and his 16th in 17 opportunities since June 21.
The problem isn’t going to be Wagner, now not only entering to, but singing the same song as Mariano Rivera. It doesn’t appear as though it’s going to be the set-up men, either, even if Duaner Sanchez suffered the greatest collateral damage from getting into a taxi cab since Jamie Foxx gave a ride to Tom Cruise in the movies.
No, the Mets’ problem is going to be the top of the rotation, precarious from the moment Pedro Martinez reported to spring training with a bruised toe on his right foot, and more delicate than ever with the revelation that Tom Glavine could be lost for the remainder of the season because of a blood clot in his left shoulder.
Glavine’s fate won’t be determined until he completes a series of medical procedures over the next two or three days. It’s possible he might only miss a turn or two. It’s also possible, as the 40-year-old pitcher himself admitted, that it could be a career-ender.
“I’m scared, and wonder about the rest of my career, if there’s going to be one,” the 287-game winner said. “I’m hoping for the best, but I’m prepared for and understand what the worst is.”
Willie Randolph and Omar Minaya understand the implications as well. Even as each spoke about thinking positively and being optimistic, each knows that the next 48 to 72 hours will tell just how cruel a (left) hand they’ve been dealt by fate.
For it’s one thing to fill in at the bottom of the rotation in order to navigate the 162-game season into the playoffs – as the Yankees did last year by catching lightning in bottles labeled “Aaron Small” and “Shawn Chacon” – but quite another to be able to survive even an opening round best-of-five with a band of starters resembling Question Mark and the Mysterians.
Minaya talked bravely yesterday about having a quantity of pitchers including John Maine, Dave Williams, Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, Brian Bannister and Alay Soler on whom to call if necessary, but if the Mets don’t have an effective Martinez-Glavine combination to open the playoffs, the GM will likely be crying many more than 96 tears.
Martinez, on the DL most of July with a hip problem and the second half of this month with a calf injury, has made only four starts since June 28 in which he’s pitched to a 5.76 ERA over 20 1/3 innings, and is 4-5 since the end of April. Glavine, meanwhile, is 1-4 in his last 10 starts, pitching to a 5.14 ERA while allowing 75 hits in 56 innings since June 23.
That’s why Minaya attempted so diligently to turn a package of Lastings Milledge and other prospects into Houston ace Roy Oswalt on July 30. That’s why the GM made a serious run at San Francisco ace Jason Schmidt at the deadline.
Even before Pedro’s second trip this summer to the DL and Glavine’s ongoing saga, the GM understood championships are won by quality at the top of the rotation, not quantity at the back end.
Now, six weeks out from their manifest destiny, the Mets’ dream summer isn’t all that far away from turning into a terrible fall. A season, you see, is as fragile as the human body.
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Second-half swoon
Here’s a look at how Tom Glavine’s numbers compare from before July 1 and afterward:
GS IP H ER BB SO HR W-L ERA
Before July 1 17 107 2/3 101 40 33 75 15 11-2 3.34
After July 1 9 53 68 30 20 28 5 1-4 5.09