We have to support Dickey !"
First off Let me stress that I am not here to bury R.A Dickey – but to praise him.
Okay now with that out of the way, we have to ask ourselves what has happened to R.A ? Why has he seemed so mortal this season? Was last year an aberration? Is his torn plantar fascistis still bothering him ? Has the league simply caught up with him ?I think in certain respects there are aspects of truth in these three questions that I have posed.
Last year in 27 starts R.A went 11-9 with a E.R.A of 2.84 in 174.1 innings. So far this season Dickey in 24 starts he is 5-10 with a E.R.A of 3.72. I think part of the reason why Dickey has so many losses is that he is generally erratic in the first 1-2 innings before he settles into a groove. The other reason is the fact that he has gotten poor run support from his offense. But I think the key to Dickey’s lack of success is the fact that it seems that the opposition has taken a relaxed approach at the plate against him. Batters are not going up there hacking at the first pitch like we saw last season, and are waiting for a pitch that they can hit.
It also seems like Dickey has given up a lot more home runs than he did last season, which could mean that his knuckle ball is not knuckling properly, so maybe it is a problem with his mechanics .
The fact of the matter is that we have to look at his entire career and what you see is that he has a career record of 39-47 with a E.R.A of 4.51. So maybe this is what he is- a good pitcher who needs ample run support.
I do not regret that the Mets signed him to a multi year contract last season, in fact I am still happy that they did. He is one of the most genuine players in the game. He speaks his mind, he is an intelligent man – both off the field as well as on. I feel that he is the elder statesman of the pitching staff , and is a good role model and mentor to the younger members of the staff.
I just wish that his season would have turned out different. He deserves to be at the very least 11-6 instead of the 5-10 record that he is saddled with.
And with that said… HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!!!
Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today includes:
Today would have marked the 98th birthday of Bob Scheffing (1913) . Scheffing was a long time member of the Mets family. He was the Director of Player Development from 1966-1967, Vice President of the Mets from ’71-’74, Special Consultant from ’75 until his retirement in 1980. He is best remembered as the Mets General Manager from 1970-1974, and will always be known as the man who traded Nolan Ryan.
Mets pitching coach from 1982-1983, Bill Monbouquette is 75 (1936).
Reserve middle infielder from the ’87 season, Al Pedrique is 51 (1960).
Mets spot starter/middle reliever from ’86-’89, John Mitchell is 46 (1965).
The New York Mets claimed middle reliever, Jeff Tam on waivers from the Cleveland Indians on August 11, 1999. He would spend parts of 2 seasons with the Mets , and end up with a combined record of 1-1 with a E.R.A of 4.91.
The New York Mets has inspired Mo Vaughn to come up with a rally Cry of his own – NEVER SAY DIET !!!!
6 comments
Anonymous
8/11/2011-11:26am at 11:26 am (UTC -4)
probably an “all of the above” situation. The bigger question is probably what can he do in the off season to address the problems, so he can be more consistent and dominant next year!
rusty
8/11/2011-11:36am at 11:36 am (UTC -4)
I have faith in Dickey – he’s a gamer
MetsFan4Decades
8/11/2011-12:21pm at 12:21 pm (UTC -4)
I still think it was a good signing, especially given the state of the finances and how much Alderson had to work with over the last off season.
I’m not sure why RA seems to be having a problem in the early innings this year with his knuckle ball. It’s pretty flat, not knuckling, which has him going to his FB more. His FB can be pretty hittable, especially when he throws it too much. Not sure what the answer is.
Last night he was victimized again by no early run support and shoddy defense along with mental mistakes out there. One of those errors belong to RA so not like he’s completely blameless.
Unfortunately, I think that’s what you get when half your team are rookies and every other night there’s someone different playing 1st, 2nd, SS and RF.
Last night’s game was brutal though. Between the poor defense, Tejada’s non slide, Turner leaving half those men on base in his at bats, and the awful BP, it’s a wonder we even got as close as we did.
talkmets
8/11/2011-12:21pm at 12:21 pm (UTC -4)
3.72 isn’t horrid. part of the problem is, since he is giving up runs early, he is often lifted for a pinch hitter. therefore he gets one less inning or so here and there…where if he’d throw up another zero he’d have a lower ERA. So he causes his own demise so to speak by surrendering a few runs early necessitating his earlier removal from games.
In other words, I’m not worried! Run support would help but I’ll take him in our rotation any day…love RA!!!
Anonymous
8/11/2011-2:51pm at 2:51 pm (UTC -4)
Like most of you, I really do like RA the person. He’s cerebral, classy and well spoken. He is, however, a back of the rotation guy. Knuckleballers always are. So was last year a one hit wonder? Possibly. I can’t ever see him going 15-5, but I can’t see him going 5-15 either. Most likely the ball will bounce his way a couple games and we’ll see 9-13-ish as a record. Either way, to me, he’s neither a strength or a real weakness as a pitcher. As a team mate, a player in the club house, etc., he’s a true plus and he adds those other qualities to his teammates for sure. But thinking RA can be the one good snow tire you throw all the sandbags on to get you out of the snow bank is wrong.
Patrick
8/11/2011-3:26pm at 3:26 pm (UTC -4)
When you look historically at GOOD Knuckleball pitchers, and make no mistake about it, Dickey is a good one, their performance is susceptible to the tides of life. But when you look at Dickey’s overall numbers, there is nothing terribly alarming on the peripherals. He’ll continue to be effective.