Friday, February 24, 2012

The New Hulk Hogan

TIM BYRDAK - RP
2011 stats - 2 W, 1 L, 1 S, 3.82 ERA, 47 SO, 19 BB

Of course three out of the first four previous are middle relievers.  Doesn't make this difficult or overly exciting or anything like that.  But that's what baseball is sometimes.  There can be an amazing opening act and a phenomenal finale, but if the glue in the middle isn't there and isn't strong enough, the entire performance goes to waste.

Last season, Tim Byrdak was the main LOOGY (Left-handed One Out Guy) for the Mets bullpen.  This was evident by his combined 37.2 innings pitched in 72 total appearances.  But that's the role every bullpen needs.  Managers in today's game love the lefty lefty match-up, especially late in games, and that works perfectly for a guy like Byrdak.

At this time, the Mets do not seem to have another left handed option for the bullpen so it is safe to assume, for now, that Byrdak will again be that specialist for the Mets.

For some reason it does seem that Byrdak is calling out his inner Hulk Hogan this spring.  Maybe he's a bit nervous about making the roster and is looking to intimidate manager Terry Collins?

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