As was reported here at Hot Foot by Gary Grund earlier, the Mets have called up Carlos Muniz to replace Claudio Vargas. Not only are the Mets now once again without a long man, but the team also heads into a gigantic 18-game stretch beginning with Friday’s doubleheader without a viable extra starting option on the major league club.

In his four-start stint with the Mets, Vargas was adequate and certainly as much as the Mets could hope for. He went 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA, holding the fort so well that people wondered whether he or Mike Pelfrey should continue on in the rotation. Thankfully, Pelfrey got yet another opportunity, and it has paid dividends for the team.

Vargas’ equally short tenure as Mets’ long man has proven as adequate. It’s not spectacular because, after all, the vast majority of the time Vargas was just eating innings in mop-up duty. Out of the seven games Vargas appeared in as a reliever, the Mets only won one game — the 13-inning endurance test with the Diamondbacks on June 11.

But it still stands to reason that the demotion of Vargas is odd, considering he has filled the role of long man well and the Mets are heading into a stretch where the team will need a spot start or two. It’s fine to see what Muniz has, but this is bad timing, especially when the Mets have limited options at the Triple-A level.

The Mets may end up using Muniz in a game or two at most, and then when the need for a starter is more pressing in about a week, the team might send him down yet again for Tony Armas. In 16 starts at Triple-A New Orleans, Armas is 5-6 with a 2.50 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. Despite Armas’ good efforts at Triple-A, he’s probably the same caliber as Vargas. If this scenario plays out, it still won’t make much sense.

Other options at Triple-A include the converted starter Willie Collazo (4-5, 3.83 ERA) and a rebounding Nelson Figueroa (3-2, 2.89 ERA). Still, Armas remains the most likely choice.

Should the Mets always carry a long man? After all, the organization’s respect for emergency catchers has led them to want to take on three catchers instead of two, always going the extra mile. Well, personally, I think the long man is a bit overrated. The position almost always has either failed starters or the worst bullpen arm or both, and it seems more like a euphemism in today’s baseball than anything else.

On top of all this, most times the ‘long man’ only pitches two innings at most, which is the ceiling for every relief pitcher in a bullpen, anyway. While Vargas filled his long man obligation after an Oliver Perez meltdown on June 2, going 4.2 IP and giving up zero earned runs on three hits, the situation doesn’t happen often. Pitchers do implode occasionally, though, and they do get hurt from time to time. Better safe than sorry.