DENVER — A devastating, season-long run of injuries left Mike Pelfrey as the last healthy man standing in the Mets’ rotation.
Ironically, the big right-hander is also the starter who worries management the most as the Mets play out the string of this lost year and look to 2010.
Tuesday night offered further evidence of Pelfrey’s disturbing regression as he was bombed here by the Rockies, giving up six earned runs on seven hits — including two massive, second-deck homers — and five walks in just four innings of an eventual 8-3 loss.
Pelfrey began the year 4-0 after Jerry Manuel proclaimed him a “future ace” in spring training, but Tuesday’s rout dropped Pelfrey to 9-10 with an unacceptable 5.03 ERA in 26 starts overall.
The numbers are even more dismal since the end of July. In six starts over the past five weeks, Pelfrey is 2-4 with a 6.09 ERA and 18 walks in just 34 innings.
Manuel made it clear before last night’s 5-2 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field that Pelfrey needs to have a strong September if the former first-round pick knows what’s good for his future with the Mets.
“These last couple of starts, we need to see better than what we have seen,” Manuel said. “If we don’t, we’ll begin to question the upcoming season. We believe Mike Pelfrey is a franchise-type pitcher. I believe he has that kind of stuff.”
Although his velocity has dipped to the mid-90s from the flame-throwing levels he routinely reached coming out of Wichita State, Pelfrey’s woes appear to be almost entirely in his head.
The Mets have turned Pelfrey into a sinkerball pitcher, and he appears to have lost confidence in his ability to command that pitch. He nitpicks instead, which accounts for his worrisome rate of 3.6 walks per nine innings this season.
Pelfrey also isn’t showing the mental toughness to bounce back from adversity. Big-inning meltdowns instead are the norm.
At least Pelfrey isn’t in denial.
“I’ve had a terrible year, and [Tuesday’s disaster here] just adds to that,” Pelfrey said. “I definitely need to get that straightened out, because it’s not acceptable the way I’ve been pitching.”
Pelfrey is just as upset as the Mets about his maddening inconsistency. He sat in the dugout long after Tuesday’s loss contemplating all the ups and downs in his year.
Pelfrey became a father for the first time this year, but he also was something of a baseball punchline with a major-league high six balks to go along with the disappointing, sub-.500 record.
“I’m just frustrated,” he said after Tuesday’s loss. “I’m Jekyll and Hyde. I was embarrassed to be out there [Tuesday]. That was embarrassing. I didn’t belong on the field. I was terrible.”
Pelfrey saw a sports psychologist after the initial flurry of balks in May, and Manuel hinted the Mets might have him get more counseling before next season.
“We’re going to have to try and do all we can to get Pelf back on track on a consistent basis,” Manuel said. “We’ve got to find a way to unlock that, because this is not what we anticipated as far as his progression. You always expect there to be some bumps in the road for a young pitcher, but this one’s been kind of confounding.”