07-24-2004, 06:11 AM
Quote:franco is a situational pitcher, there's no reason to expect him to pitch a full inning. he should be coming in to get out one or 2 guys. you can either blame it on howe for using his bullpen the wrong way or blame it on the mets not having enough good relievers, or both. but to expect franco to come in for an inning and get the outs just isn't something met fans should do.
I can't blame Howe - Stanton and Franco are the only lefties the Mets have out of the pen, and he has to work with what he has. It's just frustrating, if they had another decent lefty they'd probably have at least 3 or 4 more wins than they have now. Franco's already given up 3 HR's to left handed hitters, and he just doesn't seem able to handle the pressure of coming in in a pressure situation. Bring him in while the Mets are trailing, or have a good lead, he's fine. But in a tie or a slim lead, he chokes. 2-7, 5.50...time to call it a career...