Aaron Heilman and the Moody Blues

Much has been made over the past two years about Aaron Heilman being Unhappy over his role as a reliever on the New York Mets. This has created much debate at sites such as Metsgeek, Metsblog and Gothem with about half of the people saying "Shut Up Aaron" and the other half saying "Why are the Mets screwing with Aaron." Personally, I wish Aaron would except his great fortune of being a valuable member of a major league team, a contending team in the biggest market in the country no less. Well, lets take a closer look at Aaron the grouch and see if he is truly deserving of the penthouse or should he just stick to living in a garbage can.

A little history. Aaron Heilman was drafted by the Mets in 2001 in the first round after a dominating season for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Somewhere between the draft and his major league debut, Aaron's arm slot changed and he was relatively ineffective until 2005 when coaches during spring training "fixed" him. On federal income tax day, 2005, Aaron threw a one hitter to blank a relatively good Florida Marlins lineup.

Aaron went 2-3 as a starter in 2005. During a game on May 5th, 2005, Aaron relieved a rehabbing Kris Benson with two outs and the bases loaded and pitched splendidly. Next thing he knows, Aaron becomes a dominate reliever, finishing the second half of the season as the most dominate reliever in the NL. Aaron is not happy. Aaron wants to be a starter and asks for a trade through his agent.

Aaron reported to spring training in 2006 with an opportunity to be the Mets 5th starter. Aaron pitches great but is ultimately demoted to the pen because Willie Randolph, Rick Peterson and Omar Minaya see Aaron giving the Mets the best chance to win as a reliever. Aaron has an up and down year but in the end, put up a decent Whip of 1.16. He was one of the better setup guys in the NL. End of Season and Aaron wants to start again.

So is Aaron a starter or a reliever?

Last year, Aaron threw a two seem fastball, a four seem fastball, a changeup and a seldom used slider. He threw a fastball 59% of the time, a change up 35% of the time and a slider 6% of the time. We can assume that Aaron will throw more sliders as a starter and less change ups. In College, his slider was a special pitch;however, it is viewed now as merely average. I think the average fan will say if he threw it more, the slider would be a better pitch. It is probably true but that still wouldn't make him any better in my eyes as a starter. I believe the key to Aaron being a starter is throwing another pitch. Why?

I think, after a major league lineup faces him a couple of times, Aaron would have problems 7/10 times making it through a lineup the third time. I think he would lose velocity on his fastball, thus making his change more hittable (See: Jose Lima's career). He also doesn't have that pitch that changes the eyesight of the hitter like a curveball. I think just showing a curveball helps any starter. The Curve can't be a dud though. It's got to be a pitch a hitter can take seriously. If it isn't, hitter will just sit on location and launch.

Aaron could be a dominant reliever or an average starter. Ideally, he's going to be paid either way. I would rather dominate than be average. Domination is a special trait that most players don't have. Aaron has shown he can dominate at times and can dominate as he matures. I really want the best for Aaron and hope the best occurs in the blue and orange uniform. We will win with or without Aaron. With Aaron as a reliever, we can dominate.