So much ink and so many words have been devoted to the Mets’ bullpen woes, specifically the (potentially long-term) absence of Billy Wagner. So why not some more words?

On Tuesday’s Mets-Braves telecast, Peachtree TV showed a graphic with the Mets’ bullpen ERAs by month. The team’s bullpen ERA for August was 6.65, a full two runs higher than the monthly average. Of course, Wagner has missed almost all of August. In April, back when Wagner was not only healthy but flawless, the Mets’ bullpen ERA was under 4, the season-low.

I know it’s a flawed stat, but let’s take a look at blown saves for each Mets reliever, since the pessimistic Mets fan in us is more concerned with not blowing saves than with maintaining leads. We’ll also look at losses to be fair because relievers are as to blame when they come into tie games.

Heilman - 7 losses, 3 BS
Sanchez - 1 loss, 0 BS
Schoeneweis - 2 losses, 3 BS
Feliciano - 3 losses, 2 BS
Smith - 3 losses, 3 BS
Ayala - 8 losses, 4 BS
Stokes - 0 losses, 1 BS

After looking at these extremely unscientific numbers, I’m inclined to say Heilman has probably gotten, by far, the most opportunities to close games, and he’s not really done well in those situations. Obviously, anybody could make that observation. Unless Ayala becomes stellar in a Mets uniform, I would think any thoughts of him becoming an end-of-game reliever soon are silly. And I kind of think people have overrated Stokes’ early contributions as a reliever, causing Jerry Manuel to put him in a role he shouldn’t have been in and subsequently helping to blow the game. (Let’s face it, that Mets-Pirates game came right after a Johan Santana shutout. And hey, Maine at least went five. Why was Manuel pushing for two innings out of Stokes there?)

Is there a clear-cut solution? Definitely not. Some are inclined to say John Maine, and I agree with SNY’s Ted Berg. If you absolutely had to pick a starter, Maine is probably the guy for the reasons Berg mentions in his latest column. But I’m not convinced that it’s that dire time yet. After all, I perceive the Mets rotation right now as a major strength, so why mess with a good thing there? Has Pedro Martinez put together enough solid outings to start counting on him as a strength in the rotation? Not quite there yet.

I also feel uncomfortable with struggling to watch the last few innings of every Mets game with their disasterous closer-by-committee. Billy, come home soon.