Pelfrey over-worked in 2008?

Bob Shpigel of NY Times writes about a theory behind Pelfrey's struggles this season. I feel it's a little early in the season to tell if he has a dead arm or if it just might be that Pelfrey is over-rated.

The Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci developed a theory that any pitcher younger than 25 who increases his innings total by 30 or more from the previous season has a greater risk of injury or a decline in his performance. He counts Pelfrey among the 10 prime candidates for a regression this season, along with Cole Hamels (bothered by elbow problems), Jon Lester (0-2, 9.00 E.R.A.) and Tim Lincecum (0-1, 7.56 E.R.A.).

Of the 25-year-old Pelfrey, Manager Jerry Manuel said Monday night, “I haven’t seen his real good stuff yet,” then speculated that he could be going through a dead-arm period, which is rare at such an early stage of the season.

“I don’t know if that’s the case, but I just haven’t seen some of the stuff he showed last year,” Manuel said. “We’re going to sit down and see if there’s anything possibly wrong with him. We’ll watch him a little bit, maybe give him an extra day’s rest here and there. See if we can get that life back. I just haven’t seen the life in those pitches.”

Mets mishandling Church situation

It continues to baffle my mind why the Mets continue to so poorly handle Church's situation. Did they really need to announce to the world that Sheffield is starting on Wednesday? Now, they've created this uncomfortable situation where they are basically sitting down the Mets' best hitter so far in 2009. Bob Shpigel talked about Church's awkward situation in the NY Times.

Once again, Ryan Church is off to a spectacular start, batting .423 for the Mets and making juggling catches in right field. But he is not scheduled to be in the starting lineup Wednesday night against the San Diego Padres.

Instead, he will be benched in favor of Gary Sheffield, who did not play the outfield in spring training for Detroit because he never thought he would be asked to do so during the season, by the Mets.

Still, ready or not, Sheffield will be in right field at Citi Field, manning what could be one of the trickiest corners in baseball, with an upper-deck overhang and assorted quirky angles. And the left fielder will be Daniel Murphy, who is still learning on the job.

Add in a fly-ball starting pitcher like Oliver Perez, who is scheduled to start Wednesday, and Manager Jerry Manuel may be leaving himself open to second-guessing if the game is filled with miscues.

“You can practice, practice, practice, but eventually you have to play,” Manuel said before Monday’s game when asked why Sheffield would be playing for Church. “You have to get on the field. I do think that at this point, with him not playing a couple years in right field or any outfield, that we almost have to take it like a spring training deal.

“We have to put him out here, we have to watch him play. And if there’s a chance for us to defend for him later, we’ll do that.”

They could have avoided a lot of problems by platooning Daniel Murphy w/ Tatis or Sheffield. This way Church gets his playing time and won't unnecessarily sit out just to give Sheffield some at-bats.