NEW YORK (AP) -Mets manager Jerry Manuel isn’t ready to toss any of his starting pitchers – just yet.
With his team on a four-game losing streak, Manuel warned that changes might be coming if his starters don’t improve the next time through the rotation.
“It’s too early to jump off a bridge, I’ll say that,” Manuel said before Friday night’s game against Washington. “I’m at the bridge. So, if I’m at the bridge, I’ve got to take some folks with me. So that’s kind of how I feel about that. I’ve got to see a little better than what I’m seeing. I’m going to say, ‘Fellas, we’ve got to do some jumping here, you know? Get your life vest, whatever you’re going to take with you. We’ve got to do something.”’
Johan Santana was 2-1 with a 0.46 ERA in three outings going into Friday. Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, John Maine, Livan Hernandez and recently released Nelson Figueroa combined to go 3-5 with a 7.32 ERA.
uring that period we’re looking for obviously some improvement. It might not manifest itself in wins and losses, but it could manifest itself in stuff, location, executing pitches and those types of things. So, you know, we’ll looking very, very closely to see if there needs to be changes in that regard.”
With his team at 6-9, Manuel has been most irked by the lack on control. The starters, other than Santana, have walked 33 in 62 2-3 innings.
“The bases on balls,” he said, “if we can get away from that for the most part, that will satisfy me a lot.”
General manager Omar Minaya sounded a lot more patient than Manuel. For now.
“You have to kind of let those guys go out and play and perform and pitch, and we are going to do that,” Minaya said. “It’s too early to panic, as far thinking about changes or anything like that.”
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