The theme that SNY was pumping out in San Diego is that Mike Pelfrey is now an elite pitcher in the National League. I ask myself is this just another Mets propaganda machine invention. Yes, Pelf has been near lights out this season but can we see him do it consistently over a year before we mention him with names like Jimenez, Wainwright and Lincecum.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Pelf but with the exception of his dominating June-August of ’08, this is the first time we have seen him flat out dominate. We have seen him get the yips and almost ruin an entire season because of it. If Pelfrey can turn into a guy that we can rely on for 15-18 wins a season for the next ten years I’m all for it.
As I watch baseball, I still don’t have the same feeling as I do when I see a Lincecum or Halladay. Maybe part of it is the guy managing him and the pen behind him. I knew even though Pelf was sitting down Padre after Padre that he would not get a chance to complete his masterpiece. Maybe when I see a Jimenez or Josh Johnson pitch I know that their managers will not screw them over and go to an inconsistent pen when there ace is dealing.
Maybe if we, the Met fan, are given more opportunity to do things that aces do then we can start to call Pelfrey the ace that the media and the team are trying to pump him up to be.
Again, don’t get me wrong, I want him to succeed, I love this team and if he is an All-Star or even a Cy Young candidate it will only help the team. He certainly seems like an awesome down to earth guy. As a matter of fact, I think there is no one on this team I’d rather see succeed. I just cross my fingers and hold my breathe because I know the Mets have tried to sell us on things that didn’t exactly come to fruition before and I don’t want them to be wrong this time.
