May 17, 2007

Sosa Reshaping Rotation

John Delcos at Lo Hud, writes about Jorge Sosa and how he puts a whole new spin on the Mets pitching staff:


Jorge Sosa could potentially reshape the Mets rotation. If you watched him tonight, you’ll understand why. He’s a veteran who throws hard but has finally learned not to depend solely on his fastball to get outs.

That was the problem with Sosa in the past. He gave up a million homers (actually, it was 30 last year, which is an obscene number) because he wanted to blow fastballs by everyone. You can do that… if you throw 98. Sosa tops out at 94. But when he spots his slider the way he did tonight, that fastball sneaks up on batters.

Sosa seems like he finally understands what he has to do. Remember, he went 13-3 two years ago for Atlanta, which was the best winning percentage by a pitcher in the National League. He’s a proven pitcher who, I believe, got overconfident last year and had a meltdown (5.42 ERA between 45 appearances with the Braves and Cardinals).

Give Rick Peterson credit, he believed he could fix Sosa and he has. The Braves and Cardinals cast him aside. He probably won’t remain undefeated or keep his WHIP around 1.00 the whole year. But he could be a major difference maker.

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