Bullpen: Both ‘pens had there share of difficulties, so who had the better (or worse) bunch?

Most Met fans get a little nervous when someone other than Jeurys Familia enters, but he’s been so dominant it’s hard to blame them. Tyler Clippard has been up and down, Addison Reed has contributed more good than bad, Hansel Robles had his moments (not all of them were pretty), and Sean Gilmartin has been excellent in long relief. For lack of a better term, this has been a bend-but-don’t-break kind of ‘pen.

As for the 2000 Mets, they had a fairly mediocre bullpen as well. Closer Armando Benitez was the only pitcher with a sub-3.00 ERA (although his 3.56 FIP suggests he lucked out) and his 41 saves were impressive. Okay, Mets fans–we know you don’t exactly have glowing memories of Benitez, but he was pretty darn good in 2000.

Turk Wendell, Dennis Cook, John Franco, and Rick White made up the middle innings, although no one pitcher was especially effective. All had an FIP over 4.00, although they bridged the gap to Benitez well enough. Thankfully, the 2000 Mets had little problem scoring runs, giving this mediocre ‘pen some wiggle room.

Which bullpen was better?

The 2015 ‘pen is much better than it’s 2000 counterpart. This speaks primarily to how much late game velocity is emphasized in today’s game, and how offensively prominent the game was fifteen years ago. All in all, the current Met bullpen could hold down the fort more consistently than the 2000 team’s could.