Casey on the Mound

The most talked about battle this spring in the Mets camp has been for the #5 spot in the pitching rotation. The three most likely candidates are former All-Stars Freddy Garcia and Livan Hernandez as well as Tim Redding. Unfortunately for the three pitchers none of them are doing anything to cement their place on the big league club. Redding has the best shot at cracking the Mets roster only because he signed a guaranteed contract this off season. His spring has been plagued by injuries holding him to only 2 innings pitched thus far and he looks headed for the long man role out of the bullpen. Garcia and Hernandez who both signed minor league deals are showing why . Garcia has only thrown 5 innings and posted a 14.40 ERA with 7 hits, 5 walks and 4 strikeouts. Hernandez has been a bit better posting a 3.72 ERA in 9.2 innings with 9 hits, 5 walks and 4 strikeouts. Not exactly encouraging numbers from either pitcher especially walking more batters than their striking out.

So who takes the last spot in the rotation? I say the Mets should give lefty Casey Fossum the first crack at it. This spring Fossum has looked good, throwing 7.2 innings with a 3.52 ERA. His other numbers have been good, allowing only 7 hits and 1 walk while striking out 6. The downside to Fossum is that he hasn’t started a game since 2007 and enters camp with a career 5.47 ERA. My question is can Fossum really do any worse than Garcia, Hernandez, or Redding. I really don’t think so. Outside of resigning Pedro Martinez or bring up youngster Jon Niese I think Fossum is the best option at the moment for the #5 spot in the Mets rotation.

-Robb Lennahan