NewsWarthen faces challenges with rotation
New York (58-71) at Chicago (64-62), 4:10 p.m. ET
By Marty Noble / MLB.com
08/28/09 8:15 PM ET
CHICAGO -- Pitching coaches do paper work these days. They write -- or print out -- schedules for pregame and pitching assignments for the foreseeable future. They are familiar with their charges. Even Dan Warthen is. But as the Mets pitching coach, Warthen readily consults his roster of pitchers. Of course he does. It has changed 14 times this month alone. He assumes nothing and takes a daily census.No Santana or Ollie now. No Livan before that. Billy Wags was back and he's gone now. Misch was up, Misch was down, and Misch is back. He even pitched well Friday. And here in Chicago, not far from Lake Shore Drive, the Mets have a Broadway on their roster --- Lance. And he's been there for three straight days no less. Such stability will give Warthen a false sense of security.
"I can name my starters," Warthen says with a touch of defiance. "But not as fast as I could a month ago."
They go by these names -- for now: Bobby Parnell, Nelson Figueroa, Mike Pelfrey, Tim Redding and Pat Misch. They are the foreseeable future. But Warthen has learned not to look beyond five games. The five, identified the other day as the Fabulous Five by manager Jerry Manuel, had started merely 44 games in the big leagues this season, 25 by Pelfrey, 11 by Redding.
And in their careers, they have combined for 270 starts -- Redding, 138; Pelfrey, 74; Figueroa, 42, Misch 12, Parnell, four, going on five. Johan Santana has started 234 in his career.
Parnell gets the starting nod Saturday against the Cubs on FOX, with Joe Buck, Tim McCarver and Ken Rosenthal on the call.
Pitching matchup
NYM: RHP Bobby Parnell (3-6, 5.08 ERA)
Parnell's fourth start in the big leagues found the middle ground between the brilliance of his second and the nightmare of his third. Parnell gave up five runs in five innings -- all of them on two Ryan Howard home runs. Parnell walked three and hit a batter but was also the victim of some poor defense. Three errors were made behind him. His ERA as a starter now is 8.82. His '09 ERA away from Citi Field is 3.74 i n 21 2/3 innings. He made two relief appearances against the Cubs late last season, allowing a run on two hits in three innings.
Dempster allowed one run -- unearned -- in seven-plus innings and won in his previous start, against the Dodgers. He struck out five before being removed after 101 pitches. He mixed speeds well and kept the Dodgers off balance. The three runs scored by the Cubs were a surprise. They had scored two or fewer runs in 10 of his 23 previous starts. His record in those 10 was 0-6. He has a 4-2 record and 5.01 ERA in nine starts at home. In six appearances (five innings), all in relief since the beginning of the 2006 season, Dempster has produced a 19.80 ERA and 0-1 record. None of the players responsible for that damage will face him Saturday. Tidbits
The Mets released a statement Friday refuting a report by Reuters which quotes a book about fraudulent investor Bernie Madoff that says the Wilpon family will be forced to sell the franchise because of its losses in the swindle. Erin Arvedlund, author of "Too Good to Be True," published earlier this month, wrote that owner Fred Wilpon lost $700 million because of Madoff.
"The author of the book has no knowledge or facts related to the Mets business operations or finances," the Mets statement said. "Her speculation that the Mets -- or any part of the team -- is for sale is completely false and is irresponsible."
The Reuters report said the author said she doesn't know the terms of the Wilpons' bank loans, but said the losses are steep enough that a sale of the baseball team is certain. "It's qualified by when," Arvedlund was quoted as having said. "It's possible they would have to sell by next year."
The Mets' record is 13 games under .500 for the first time the season. ... Luis Castillo didn't reach base in four plate appearances. ... Feel old? Lou Piniella turned 66 Friday. ... Aaron Heilman, a 2008 Met, played with merely 12 of the 25 players on the Mets active roster Friday.
This date in Mets history
August 29: A leadoff double by Wes Covington and a single by the next batter, Don Demeter, produced the winning run in the Mets' 2-1, 10-inning loss to the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium. Jay Hook, who would finish the season with 19 losses, suffered his 15th loss on this date in 1962. ... Willie Mays hit his 17th home run of the month, breaking a record Mets announcer Ralph Kiner had established in September 1949, as the Giants defeated the Mets, 8-3, on this date in 1965. ... Eight years later, Mays drove in a run, and Jerry Koosman and Buzz Capra combine to shut out the Padres in a 3-0 victory at Shea Stadium. The Mets won for the sixth time in nine games on that day and began the ascent that carried them to the National League East championship. They escaped last place for the first time since June 25.
On Aug. 29, 1975, Jon Matlack pitched a complete game in the Mets' 6-1 victory against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. It was the Mets' fifth straight victory -- each a complete game. Hank Webb, Randy Tate, Tom Seaver, Koosman and Matlack allowed four runs in the five games. ... On this date in 1980, Pat Zachry and Vida Blue pitched complete-game four-hitters in the Mets' 1-0 loss to the Giants at Candlestick Park. ... Six years later on this date, Bobby Ojeda lost a shutout in the ninth inning when an error at third base by Ray Knight led to an unearned run. The Mets won, 2-1, nonetheless.
Two years later, Tony Gwynn, who seldom struck out, struck out twice, but he doubled in the fourth inning for the Padres' lone hit against David Cone. The Mets won, 6-0, in the first of the two one-hitters Cone pitched during his Mets tenure. ... Playing at Mile High Stadium on this date in 1993, the Mets scored once in the first inning and not again in a 6-1 loss to Lance Painter (complete game) and the Rockies. Their record was 40 games under .500. ... On Aug. 29, 1998, Edgardo Alfonzo hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to drive in the decisive runs in the Mets' 4-3 victory in Los Angeles.
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• WFAN 660, WADO 1280 (Español) Up next
• Sunday: Mets (Nelson Figueroa, 1-3, 5.40) at Cubs (Carlos Zambrano, 7-5, 3.80), 2:20 p.m. ET
• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Mets (Mike Pelfrey, 9-9, 4.80) at Rockies (TBD), 8:40 p.m. ET
Marty Noble is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
