Davey Johnson didn’t play for the Orioles anymore in 1979 when they won the AL East and eventually lost to the Pittsburg Pirates in the World Series. But he was still close with some of the players. two of his former teammates in Mark Belanger and Elrod Hendricks were on Manager Earl Weaver’s staff. It was probably from one of these two where Johnson got the story of “full back.”

Johnson often told the story of Orioles reliever Don Stanhouse. It seems that while it usually ended well with Stanhouse, his appearances were filled with drama. So much drama in fact that Weaver would cover his eyes and tell one of his coaches to tell him when it was over. And Weaver, a legendary chain smoker during games would have to go to the smokes even more during a Stanhouse outing. The creation of the nickname, “Full Pack,” was an easy thing.

Political correctness and the change in societal morals today don’t allow us to make light of such stories, but the comparison to what Oliver Perez must put his manager through every night.

Last night was a “good Ollie” night. Even in the loss, the Mets looked like a good club against one of the league’s best starters on team that will probably will be playing in October.

You get to play 162 games over half a calendar year, and each season ends up being a different story from the past. While the New York media often seems to want this season to be like last year, it’s just not. And yes, there are so-to-speak moral victories. Perez’ terrific six innings were sqaundered, but the Mets’ valiantly made a run at getting it back in the ninth. Last night in St. Louis can be one of those night’s in which a club gets it’s moxie.

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I love Joe Janish’s cynical assessments of the final roster. He convinced me about Nelson Figueroa. Figueroa should have made the club instead of Sean Green.

I also think he was correct about Ruben Tejeda. He’s not likely to get alot of time and the arbitration clock begins. The only explanation I can make is that the Mets had some roster problems and couldn’t keep Russ Adams.

As it is now, along with Tejeda, Mike Jacobs, Jenrry Mejia, Frank Catalanatto and Hisanori Takahashi have to be added to the 40-man roster. This would put them at 2 over. With Figueroa coming off, it would still leave them with one over. I wonder if the last one will be Omir Santos.

I’m going to depart from Joe on Mejia. I think he’s ready and in the role he needs to be in. He won’t get the 8th inning yet. That will be Pedro Feliciano’s for now. Maybe Fernando Nieve’s. The Mets wanted for Ryota Igarashi to take this in camp, but he didn’t.

The Mets seem to be saying that Feliciano will have this role early on, but I just don’t feel he gets right-handed hitters out well enough. Unlike Bobby Parnell, Mejia has a second pitch. Mejia can be that guy.

Of course all of this is moot if the Mets starters don’t keep the club in the game. Aside from Johan Santana and Jon Niese, the other three didn’t pitch this spring as if they would. So it will come down to the questionable rotation that Omar Minaya failed to bolster in the off-season. They will have to be better than they were in the spring or the clock will begin ticking on both Minaya and Jerry Manuel.

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So its time to chronicle the thinking of Mets’ brass with respect to Jenrry Mejia. Clearly those whom felt that Jenrry Mejia was best suited as a reliever won. There were not enough naysayers that felt that an upside existed to send him out to make him a starter. The former was correct. Mejia is indeed the club’s future closer and will emerge as Francisco Rodriguez’ set-up man by May.

Now about that rotation.

It doesn’t look good at all. The decision to not acquire talent during the off-season looks to be a poor one. Johan Santana is a given and the Mets committed their money well. He’s a Hall of Famer, but could be a 1970′s version of Steve Charlton if no one else emerges to get outs beyond the first five innings of games.

Thus, the Mets have to end their past formula for winning games which dictates just getting five innings from starters and following it up with three relievers working an inning a piece. Aside from Santana, no other starter has demonstrated the ability to do this. A change in philosophy is in order, but the Mets have not shown any inclination to change.

Perhaps they should ask a few of their current employees who do television about it. Bobby Ojeda and Ron Darling understood their role as a starting pitcher very well. They both started for a club that won a World Series, won two division titles and finished second three other times.

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I’ve always been a fans of Matt Cerrone’s use of polling data of Met fans. One today gives me a reason to believe I’ve been right about something. I wrote the following in a post last week:

The Mets’ historical identity of being built around strong starting pitching has always appeared to be absolute. Last year’s failure of any starter to assume the role of a #2 behind one of the game’s best necessitated the club’s turn it’s attention to acquiring one. Met fans have a comfort level when their clubs are built around it’s stating pitching.

Metsblog offers a choice to fans to select between John Lackey, Matt Holliday and Jason Bay. Lackey leads all with 44%.

The Mets are an organization with a relatively short history in that there are fans alive who were there at the beginning. The first taste of glory came with a team built on strong starting pitching in Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack. No one will never forget the Dwight Gooden led staffs of the late 1980′s. It was the Mets dependency on starters which prompted Joe McIlvaine to give up Rick Aguillera along with four other players to get Frank Viola during 1990. Reacquisitions of Seaver, along with such pitchers as Brett Saberhagen, Al Leiter, Mike Hampton, Tom Glavine and Johan Santana support this hypothesis.

Even after a season such as 2009 that witnessed such offensive impotence, Met fans still put a premium on starting pitching.

I voted for Holliday in the poll, as I see the Mets need for a right-handed bat to be the greatest. They must compete with the Phillies whom have very good lefthanded pitching in Cliff Lee, Cole Hammels, J.A. Happ and Jamie Moyers. Righthanded hitters like Holliday and Jason Bay may not be available again.

Maybe I’m being allowed to buy into the weakness of catching last year and am optimistic of a positive return of some of the starters – except for Oliver Perez that is. And don’t get me wrong, if it’s any of these three, I’ll be pleased that the Wilpons are trying to win.

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I’m glad that Adam Rubin is back at the ballpark hopefully no worse for wear. But he makes a good point in linking the high pitch counts of Mike Pelfrey today and Oliver Perez last night.

Pelfrey (8-7) tossed 107 pitches while being charged with three runs on five hits and three walks (one intentional) in five innings. It marked the second straight day the Mets starting pitcher had reached a three-figure pitch count while failing to exceed five innings (Oliver Perez, 112 pitches on Saturday).

This is nothing new to fans and many Mets bloggers such as Joe Janish, Metswalkoffs and Baseball Crank. All three are very aware of stats. So far more than me that I rely on them.

The fact that this is nothing new means there’s something there…there….by design. Is it some sort of organizational philosophy that creates these unwinnable scenarios? Is it the habit of limiting pitch counts in the early season in the minors? Does this then enable lowered expectations for starters?

All these questions and more need to be frankly discussed around the table by their baseball people in the off-season. It may be that in the interest of protecting their investments with pitch counts has produced a pircher who doesn’t help their team win.

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This is good news.

As Putz only needed to have spurs removed, his return this season was likely. If he had soft tissue damage to a ligament or tendon, it would have been see you next year.

A return of both Putz and Billy Wagner seems imminent sometime this month. There wasn’t any need to spend what few minor league assets the Mets had on an arm with these two returning.

September could be different in that Manuel will have an expanded roster with more players on the bench to pinch hit. A bullpen that includes Putz and Wagner will benefit a staff who’s starters do not go deep into games. If the Mets recall a catcher, they will be able to pinch-hit and double switch comfortably.

If they are in contention it will make sense to promote the two major league bats that are on the AAA roster in Mike Lamb and Nick Evans.

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For 3B Josh Bell and pitcher Steve Johnson. I don’t believe that the Dodgers are done and know they really need a top of the rotation guy for the play-offs. This piece by Gerry Fraley speaks to this.

Fraley makes the excellent point in their match-up against the Cardinals at home where they were dominated by Cris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and Joel Pineiro. Facing Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee will be no day at the beach either. But do the Dodgers want to move their young starters. Its what it will take.

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Three All-Stars are out of the starting line-up in Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado. The meaning the three have to the offense is incalculable. No team could be expected to keep going at the same offensive pace without these pieces. Two starters are out and the main set-up man are also missing. The injury situation is cataclysmic making the record understandable. One can never make a complete nor fair assessment of a team with such an injury report.

Having said that, there is something that troubles me about the Mets and it does not involve people in uniform. Bill Madden’s column this week revealed again the odd influence that Tony Bernazard has that clearly serves to undermine the manager. We’ve been down this road before with Bernazard as his role in making Wille Randolph’s job was documented last season.

If Bernadard is again constantly whispering in the Wilpon’s ears and roaming around the clubhouse as a clubhouse lawyer, don’t expect any good to come from it. Even when we get all those players back.

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Good job by Miniya to pick him up. But the Mets still cannot count on Pedro Feliciano, Bobby Parnell and K-Rod to pitch in every game they win. The starters are pogrammed to pitch only 5 to 6 innings and its a prescription for bullpen failure collapse by August. The Mets will finish out of the play-offs again if someone besides Johan Santana can get into the last third of the game.

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A quality start, eh. I wonder whe this psuedo stat first came into existance. Whenever it was, the Mets are obsessed with it. John Maine was terrific yesterday in his best start of the year. Hopefully its a signal that he’s back. But for Mets fans game almost seems like one they’ve seen before. The starter keeps them into the game thru six and then the Mets use three relievers to hold down the win. The more pitrchers in, the incresed likelihood that one of them is no at their best that day. Yesterdays game is the scenario that Omar Minaya set up in the off season when he added JJ Putz and Francisco Rodriguez. One or two guys get them to the 8th and a sigh of relief. The Mets starters are going to have to get much deeper into games or they will not win the division this year. They will wear down the bullpen again. The Mets have played 19 games and four Mets relievers – Sean Green, Bobby Parnell, Pedro Feliciano and Putz have already appeared in more than half of the games. And this number does not take into account the number of times they’ve had to get up and get ready, but don’t appear.

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