The Mets Bullpen

David Lennon at Newsday, writes about the Mets Bullpen and his views on them so far:

Whatever the Mets have right now, it's working. The bullpen has a collective 1.82 ERA, having allowed seven earned runs in 34 2/3 innings, with 22 strikeouts.

General manager Omar Minaya made a point of building his pitching staff in a backward fashion this past winter by signing Schoeneweis to a three-year, $10.8-million contract, trading for Ambiorix Burgos and virtually ignoring the starting rotation.

To Schoeneweis, it made perfect sense. The starters may get the bulk of the exposure - and the money - but someone has to finish the job for the team to be successful.

"If you watch highlights of a game, it usually goes from the starter and then straight to the closer," Schoeneweis said. "How did it get there? It's just like in football. You can have a great quarterback and a great running back, but if you don't have a great offensive line, you're not going to win."