The Crane Pool Forum

What do you do when you're as big as anybody and as intimidating as anybody, and was as GOOD as anybody ... but you haven't quite rediscovered yourself following surgery?

I'm Dellin Betances, and that's my problem. It wasn't even Tommy John surgery, as initially reported. It was "ligament reinforcement" surgery, which sounds like Tommy John Lite, or perhaps Tmy Jn surgery. Whatever it was, I'm not smellin' quite like Dellin since going through it.

That shouldn't be so bad, right? I mean, I'm at the age where my knowledge of pitching should be enough to offset what I've lost in stuff. But if you ask 2020, that isn't quite how it's worked out. So I'm supposed to work on my mechanics, to try and reinvigorate my stuff, right? Or should I still keep working on strategy to gain the pitching mindset that one would hope I've acquired by now?

Or perhaps I need to do more rehab and train my arm back to where it was?

I'm Dellin, and any or all or none of those things might help me in 2021. Which road do you see me going down?

Hey, check it out! I'm not just a Brodie vestige ... I'm a Beltran vestige!!

I really thought that he'd have been traded during this past winter. That's not actually a prediction at this point though. It's more of an admission of a failed prediction that I would have made a few months ago.

I suppose the Mets probably dangled him and didn't find any takers.

For 2021, I'll say that he'll appear in about 30 games, but almost never in the eighth or ninth inning.

Released in June.

Recently read an article in which he said he has "found" his fastball this Spring.
That would be nice, because recently his fastballs have mostly been found under seats in the outfield stands.
If he isn't traded, he will become the classic middle inning reliever, never in a tough spot (OUR Ron Piche) - about 50 games, 52 IP, 4,67 ERA, 1.34 WHIP.

Later

Comes all the way back and has a fuckin' GANGBUSTERS start. Eight appearances, 10 2/3 innings, 16 K's. Then around May 3 we read that he's got "soreness," and he's shut down for the rest of the year.

I was barely paying attention last year but still shocked by how terrible his year-end numbers were. That said we shouldn't make too much of a fraudulent half-season in which the Mets were half-trying, or about velocity reports in the first week of March.

Unless he's injured he's going to get his shots and must understand by now he's under the gun to deliver. So I'm going to err on the side of optimism and say, unless he's hurt he'll be a neutral kinda middle reliver, with good days and bad, a 3.78 ERA, 35 appearances, a few saves even.

10+ K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 3.08 ERA... over about 38 IP, sandwiched around a DL stint

Big ol' pile of $6,000,000 flushed gone sooner than later. Late May? Anyone?

Yup, that. A few bad appearances before going on the injured list for the season with something he tried to pitch through but couldn't.