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Heilman is

How back is Heilman?

Back and better than ever	0 votes
Back to his better performing	5 votes
Ready to be a useful contributor this year	6 votes
Still has a way to go	7 votes
Last night was an oasis of excellence in this season's continuing vast desert of suck	3 votes

AG/DC May 29 2008 01:47 PM

What did you conclude from last night?

Gwreck May 29 2008 01:50 PM

I guess it's a mix of #3 and #4. I do think Willie showed a lot of confidence in Heilman by giving him two high-pressure innings late in the game last night. I'd like to see him have a good month before I declare him "all the way back" but as I've said all year, I think the suckage at the beginning of the year was more an anomaly than anything else.

Fman99 May 29 2008 01:51 PM

... bearded. How about a choice that says "no idea." I'm baffled by his up/down-itude.

metirish May 29 2008 01:52 PM

Still has a way to go , right now I would grade him E , for effort.

Benjamin Grimm May 29 2008 01:54 PM

I think it's a positive sign; something to build on. If he can go two or three more weeks with more good outings than bad, maybe get that ERA down into the low 4's, then I'll be more comfortable that the badness is behind him. For now though, I'm reserving judgment.

holychicken May 29 2008 01:55 PM

Heilman has a way of making me say "YEAH BABY! HE'S BACK!" the game before he gives up a 3 run homer to blow a lead or let the opposition's lead grow to virtually unscaleable heights. So I am just going to say he has a ways to go. . .

Fman99 May 29 2008 01:57 PM

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I think it's a positive sign; something to build on. If he can go two or three more weeks with more good outings than bad, maybe get that ERA down into the low 4's, then I'll be more comfortable that the badness is behind him. For now though, I'm reserving judgment. This is the camp that I'm in also. Surely he looked good yesterday but let's see him string a bunch more of those together.

metirish May 29 2008 01:58 PM

I think part of the problem is that no matter how good he is he will always be a big hit away from getting mauled by the Shea crowd.

Gwreck May 29 2008 02:04 PM

metirish wrote: I think part of the problem is that no matter how good he is he will always be a big hit away from getting mauled by the Shea crowd. I think that's a problem for the Shea crowd, not for Heilman. Being booed last year didn't stop Willie from using Schoeneweis, and being booed the last 2 months of last year and this year didn't stop Schoeneweis from being good. Can't see how it'd be any different in this case.

metirish May 29 2008 02:06 PM

Yes I should have made that clear , it's the crowds problem , but it can have an effect I think.

AG/DC May 29 2008 02:08 PM

Fman99 wrote: ... bearded. How about a choice that says "no idea." I'm baffled by his up/down-itude. Perfectly legitimate response, but I forgot to say: There's a gun to your head.

John Cougar Lunchbucket May 29 2008 02:20 PM

...an above-average reliever coming off the worst 6 weeks of his career.

Benjamin Grimm May 29 2008 02:28 PM

I just wonder if he's been hiding some aches and/or pains, like Schoeneweis did last year. Or maybe it was just a lack of focus/concentration, and he's on the verge of snapping out of it. That would be better than the ache and/or the pain.

AG/DC May 29 2008 02:34 PM

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: ...an above-average reliever coming off the worst 6 weeks of his career. Sounds like choice two.

themetfairy May 29 2008 02:35 PM

Maddeningly inconsistent.

Vic Sage May 29 2008 02:40 PM

i was there last night, and he was so totally dominant in his 2 innings that it was inspiring. that being said, i'd like to see a few weeks of excellence before his appearances elicit anything more than nervous dread

Nymr83 May 29 2008 02:41 PM

i voted "still has a ways to go", but the last two outings have at least given me hope that he can get back to where he was.

John Cougar Lunchbucket May 29 2008 02:45 PM

Bah. He's very consistent. His career shows consistent goodness, with a consistent drawback (HR propensity) and most recently has been consistently disappointing. I'm OK choosing 2, though I'm not convinced he's turned the corner necessarily. If anything I agree with Grimm, who feared he might have been hiding an injury and can be hopeful that the classikc Heilman's return means he feels a little better.

Frayed Knot May 29 2008 02:57 PM

Speaking of Schoeneweis, anyone notice that he's sporting a 1.35 ERA and 0.90 WHiP this season including only 1 run allowed in his last 13 IPs? He's faced approx 50/50 RH/LH batters this season compared to about 60/40 last season so maybe the usage pattern has helped him. His R/L splits are still pretty wide but he appears to be managing it better.

AG/DC May 29 2008 02:57 PM

In a binary world where any appearance giving up a run is a failure and an appearance without giving one up is the only success, they can all be called inconsistent. I'd say he's been more consistent than most.

Frayed Knot May 29 2008 03:08 PM

I remember noting last year at some point that Heilman tended to have feast-or-famine quality to his outings - far more so than most relievers it seemed. His appearences tended to be either perfect or perfectly lousy. This year is like last year only with more bad outings than good plus wilder extremes.

Rockin' Doc May 29 2008 08:42 PM

Very good performance last night was a step in the right direction, but he still has a way to go before I think he's back to his prior level of performance. He needs a few more good outings to boost his confidence, or at least mine.

smg58 May 30 2008 06:03 AM

Pitchers in general, and relief pitchers in particular, can lose their form quickly and sometimes regain it just as quickly. I'm cautiously optimistic regarding Heilman. The Mets will need 85+ innings of quality from at least one reliever, and Heilman is still the most likely guy to give that.

Fman99 May 30 2008 07:12 AM

AG/DC wrote: ="Fman99"]... bearded. How about a choice that says "no idea." I'm baffled by his up/down-itude. Perfectly legitimate response, but I forgot to say: There's a gun to your head. Stupid Second Amendment. In that case, I amend my vote to "Ready to Be a Useful Contributor." Optimism abounds.

sharpie May 30 2008 07:50 PM

I blame tonight on this poll.

mario25 May 30 2008 08:00 PM

Heilman blows...end of freakin discussion! He should be the long man when a starter gets taken out early...He CANNOT handle the 7th and 8th innings

seawolf17 May 30 2008 08:09 PM

...an ex-Met soon.

AG/DC May 30 2008 08:11 PM

mario25 wrote: Heilman blows...end of freakin discussion! He should be the long man when a starter gets taken out early...He CANNOT handle the 7th and 8th innings Hey, um, way to place your bet after the horses are in.

mario25 May 30 2008 08:20 PM

I have been saying Heilman is not right for the 7th and 8th innings for a long time.... he will probably go somewhere and be a good starter because that is what he wants to do...he has given up some huge homers over the years including playoffs in the set uprole...

AG/DC May 30 2008 08:28 PM

Got it.

Frayed Knot May 30 2008 09:28 PM

mario25 wrote: I have been saying Heilman is not right for the 7th and 8th innings for a long time Then you've been wrong for a long time. From Duaner's injury on he was almost exclusively an 8th inning guy for around a season and a half and when he was he posted numbers that look like this: 123 IP; 97 Hits; 96 Ks; 31 BBs; 9 HRs; 1.04 WHiP; 2.92 ERA The situations he's being used in aren't the source of his problems, lousy pitching is -- unless you've got an explanation why his desire to start or the inning is suddenly affecting him now but didn't up until now.

mario25 May 31 2008 06:17 AM

The stats look nice and all but out of those 97 hits it seems like they all led to Met losses... there is alot to be said for stats now a days.

AG/DC May 31 2008 06:31 AM

Yeah, those "seems" stats are the worst.

mario25 May 31 2008 06:38 AM

Just an opinion..I never felt he was as good as Sanchez was before he was injured. I think alot of Mets fans would agree that Heilman could use a different role or a new team.

AG/DC Jun 01 2008 04:09 PM

I've been in New York for two days and heard more irrational hatred for Aaron Heilman than I can bear. The guy has given people three straight years of fine pitching. How they've gone from "let him start" to "let him die" is maddening.

Elster88 Jun 01 2008 04:58 PM

avi