Bullpen: Say It Is So-sa

I've heard all the whining and complaining about Omar not making a deal to improve the late inning relief which has been rather shaky for most of the season. Of course, Wags is lights out and having as good a season as any closer in baseball. Feliciano has been a blessing and possibly the best left handed reliever in the game as he can get both righties and lefties out.

The 7th and 8th innings have been a casue for concern as both Heilman and Mota have proven to be inconsistent. Heilman has been much better of late (since july 22 he has a 2.07 ERA in 13 ip with a 0.62 WHIP). Mota on the other hand. This guy has been all over the place and he is melting in the hot august sun right before our eyes, giving up 4 runs in 6ip since 8/1. Someone give this guy his needle back! Please! I won't tell i swear.

This brings us to the deadline move that we saw coming for weeks. Nope, it wasn't a trade but you could call it an aquisition. Sosa had pitched out of the pen previously in his career and while he was having a nice year starting, he had been struggling since he came off the DL, going winless in 3 starts in July with an 6.50 ERA. Knowing that Sosa would be a potential solution in the pen Omar stood firm and refused to give up the farm for Chad Cordero. He offered Humber to the Nats but a 3 way deal with Arizona broke down, which meant that the Sosa shift was about to be made.

Sosa seems a perfect fit for late inning relief. As a starter (7-6 4.59 ERA) he flourished in the 1st inning holding opponents to a .111 AVG and .295 OPS. Since his move to the pen Sosa has been solid(1.39 ERA/1.08 WHIP and holding opponents to 213 avg) , giving the Mets flexibility and the ability to pitch multiple innings (he's gone at least 1.2 ip in 5 of his 8 relief appearances).

As for Sosa's replacement in the rotation, Brian Lawrence has made 2 starts going 5ip / 6ip allowing 3 and 2 runs respectively. The Mets are 1-1 when he starts.

SO FAR SO-SA GOOD.