I Like Dan Warthen

As the Mets near the reality of being mathematically eliminated (Tragic Number: 5), rumors are swirling around about whether or not Omar gets re-assigned, about who might replace Omar Minaya, and about who might replace Jerry Manuel. Because lets face it: Omar and Jerry will not be at the helm for 2011. If one of them is still here and 2011 is totally depressing, at least we know who the common denominator is *cough* Omar *cough* and can assess the situation.

However, with all this talk of firing and hiring, what about the job status of some of Jerry's coaches? Obviously, Howard Johnson is on the chopping block. But if I had to pick somebody to survive the inevitable housecleaning, I would say Dan Warthen.

Pitching has never been an issue for us all season, except when Oliver Perez was in the rotation. But we fixed that...and now we're paying Oliver Perez $12 million to sit in the bullpen (somebody tell me where to sign up for this gig). In our current rotation, only R.A. Dickey is over the age of 30. Jon Niese, Dillon Gee, Jenrry Mejia, and even Mike Pelfrey are still young, impressionable starters. Whatever Dan Warthen is doing with these guys is obviously working. If we were to change that, I don't know how well that bodes over.

Mets pitchers have pitched 18 shutouts this season, and that's no small feat considering the lack of offense they get. Any hit can be the game winner on this team. I think the pitchers have even greater pressure on them when the hitters aren't hitting. I give Warthen and his pitching staff a ton of credit for the job they're doing. I hope everybody sticks around for 2011.

David Wright Strikeout Counter: $14.70