Relievers Who Start

[G-Fafif]

Jerry Blevins takes the ball today -- in the top of the first with nobody out and nobody on and nobody having yet batted. In case you said the hell with it last night, Vargas is on the DL and apparently they're not into starting Chris Flexen, who they called up anyway.

Last instance of anything like this I can recall was in the first series of 2004 when Scott Erickson came up lame in warmups and Dan Wheeler started (Mets were shelled). Jeurys Familia got a late-season start as a callup in 2012, but it wasn't clear that he was a career reliever yet.

[MFS62]

Holy Terry Leach, Batman.
This could be really embarrassing.
Or, a great starter has been hiding in that reliever body all along and is ready to emerge.

Let's hope for the best.
LGM!

Later

[Guest 41Forever]

Kudos to Jerry for steppin gup. But, um, yikes.

[Edgy MD]

I remember in 1973 when Tug McGraw was stinking up the joint. The Mets gave him a couple of starts in late July. He got hit hard the first time out but gave up one run in 5 2/3 in his second start, and boldly proclaimed that he had his shit figured out. Stupid to make such a declaration, maybe, but he threw 54 2/3 innings the rest of the way with a 1.64 ERA

It used to be a not particularly uncommon thing. Let a reliever who is stinking it up get a start or two, on the theory that in short stints, he can't make adjustments over the course of an appearance. I know that wasn't the intent here, and that this was an emergency start, but I like that he settled down after the disastrous start. Maybe he's turned a corner.

Given 20 or 30 games, maybe this team gets things tightened up a little.

Maybe.

[G-Fafif]

I'm thinking less in the stretch him out and see what's up sense and more in the oh crap, we need a starter RIGHT NOW sense. Jeff Innis had one of those starts in 1987 when everybody was dropping like flies around Luis Castillo's glove. Gave Davey four serviceable innings then never started again.

Jerry Manuel gave young Bobby Parnell a Tug-like spin in August 2009. Out pitched Barry Zito, stayed in the rotation for a few turns. Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco also were tried as starters more than once in their rookie years until length got the best of them.

Less remembered than his 1973 cure was Tug did some more starting in 1974. His last win as a Met came in a CG ShO of the Braves, last time the Mets faced Henry Aaron.