Meet Takahashi
Give Omar Minaya credit: he’s the best when it comes to signing left-handed relievers with the last name Takahashi. Last season, after the Blue Jays released him, the Mets pounced on Ken Takahashi. He would wind up throwing more than 25 innings out of the pen and generally performed well. Well, that Takahashi is gone, but the Mets added Hisanori Takahashi in his place.
No, they didn’t give Hisanori the same number in order to preserve those surplus replica jerseys and it’s for the best. Hisanori has already thrown 42 innings for the Mets this season and he’s now a member of the Metropolitans’ rotation. The promotion came after 26 innings in the pen; during that stretch Takahashi struck out 33 batters, allowed a single home run, and walked 14 – a total that is deceiving because five of those walks were of the intentional variety – good for a FIP under 2.7.
As one would expect, Takahashi has not continued to strike out more than 11 batters per nine innings pitched as a starter. In fact his strikeout rate sat just under seven per nine entering yesterday; his walk ratio, now unburdened by occasional over managing, sits at a positively cuddle-worthy 1.69 per nine. Takahashi held a 4.21 xFIP entering his start against the Florida Marlins with the main point of conflict being his home run rate. Naturally he allowed two homers, giving him three in 21 starter innings.
Even after those homers, Takahashi’s starter FIP is just north of 4.00. Takahashi very well could be one of those relievers able to translate his skill set into a worthwhile starting performance. Even if his arsenal – which features a high-80s fastball, a loopy high-60s curve, and his sinker-change-up combination of an outpitch known as the shuuto – lacks in sexiness and top-end velocity, he seems to make up for it with the ability to place each pitch wherever he wants.
It’s just amazing that the same guy who gives Alex Cora a contract worth a few million and a vesting option in a non-existent market can take less money and find bargains like either Takahashi.
yeah, but it will be all for naught because the Mets are already talking about taking him out of the rotation. They can’t be trusted to know a good thing when they see it.
I dont believe he belongs in the rotation
The last outing was good actually until they tried to stretch him out a bit too much and he got bombed in his last inning where he was obviously tired. Personally I think he might be a good back end rotation guy, but he definitely seems like a solid 2 inning middle reliever at the very least.
He was a basically a six-inning starter in Japan for the last few years. I liked him as a reliever because I thought his screwball/sinker would be an out pitch, but I’ve always seen his durability as a question mark.
a few fluke quality innings out of the dumpster via Dickey and Takahashi and all-of-a-sudden the Mets are .5 in back of the Phillies.
If your watching alot of Mets games, Takahashi is a breath of fresh air from the stench that is Oliver Perez. They are almost complete opposites; Perez has fantastic looking “stuff” but no control and a 2 cent head on the mound, where as Takahashi’s pitches are less impressive at first look but he attacks the strike zone and has great instincts on how to make the best of his pitches. He should stick in the rotation as long as the alternatives are John Maine and Oliver Perez, because he is clearly better than both.
Maine is due back next week. it’ll be interesting to see what happens. I have a feeling that there’s no way dicky’s going anywhere, but this next start for Tak may determine if he stays in the rotation, or if he goes back to the pen….
If Maine starts again, something near me is going to break. Just because he is due back doesn’t mean he is ready back. HOPEFULLY, the Mets are smart and put him in the pen and trade for someone like Millwood and sent Taka to join Maine in the bullpen and we can send Mejia down and, unless Ryota has turned it around, him down too.
The last start was really weird. He was clearly tiring in the sixth, but the Ross home run was a pop-up that carried down the line in the crazy weather (NYC was under a tornado watch for the whole game).
His HR rate was due for some regression anyway, and I’m not entirely sure he can consistently get righties out. But he is death on lefties and is probably well-suited to the multiple inning relief/swingman role he was in before. I would actually like to see them pair him with Maine in a dual starting role, but god knows Manuel would never do something like that.
Cody Ross HR didn’t seem like a pop-up from my seat down the third base line. It seemed like it was going out the whole time, which sucked