It was Feb. 11, before pitchers and catchers had to report to Port St. Lucie, when pitching coach Dan Warthen was asked whether Mike Pelfrey was going to be able to become the ace of the Mets’ staff after manager Terry Collins anointed him the Opening Day starter.
“We’ll find out,” Warthen said.
The Mets got their answer throughout Pelfrey’s disappointing 2011 season, and it was brought home again yesterday as Pelfrey finished the year with one of his worst outings in a 9-4 loss to the Phillies at Citi Field.
“I wanted to finish strong and obviously this is the farthest thing from it,” Pelfrey said following his three-inning, five-run performance that dropped his record to 7-13 and lifted his ERA to 4.74. “This year didn’t go the way I wanted it. I can’t change that. All I can do is look forward to next year.”
Pelfrey tried to say the offseason talk of becoming the ace in Johan Santana’s absence didn’t bother him, then acknowledged it had an effect on his psyche.
“I don’t think it affected me one bit,” Pelfrey said. “I think early on, I wanted to take the next step and tried to be perfect.”
Still, Collins said he wouldn’t do it again.
“I’ll take full responsibility if I put a heavy load on his shoulders by naming him the Opening Day starter,” Collins said. “I thought he earned it from what he did last year.”
Instead, Pelfrey couldn’t find the sinker or the split-fingered fastball that made him successful in the past. He gave up his 21st homer of the year yesterday — a two-run shot to Hunter Pence in the first — three more than his previous career high.
Pelfrey’s last win came on Aug. 24 against the Phillies and he finished the season with one victory in his final 11 starts.
“Next year, he really has something to prove, in my opinion,” Collins said. “I think Mike Pelfrey will say, ‘I’m gonna pitch better than I did last year,’ and apply it.”
His teammates will be waiting.
“I can’t help him anymore,” said R.A. Dickey, whose locker sits near Pelfrey’s. “Dan [Warthen, the pitching coach] can only do so much for him. At some point, it’s gonna be up to him. He’s not the young kid that came up anymore. It’s time for him to take his rightful place where he forecasts himself as a pitcher. I’m sure he doesn’t think of himself as a 5.00 ERA guy.”
Pelfrey’s struggles seemed even more pronounced against the Phillies and Roy Halladay, who was given a 9-0 lead in the fourth. The win snapped Philadelphia’s eight-game losing streak and Halladay (19-6) has beaten the Mets in eight consecutive starts. But the Mets should be more concerned about Pelfrey.
“I think it’s gonna be a work in progress for Mike to gather himself,” Collins said. “As Dan talked today on the bench, we’ve gotta start over and get his confidence back up.
“We need to clean the slate and say, ‘Let’s just start making pitches.’ “
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Angel Pagan and Lucas Duda, who injured themselves on the Mets’ recent road trip, are still suffering headaches and could miss the final three games of the season.
“I’d be surprised if all of a sudden he had a miraculous recovery here in the next couple of days,” Collins said of Pagan.