New York and national media is up in arms over annexation of Matt Harvey’s rightful duty to start Opening Day.
Instead of yielding to the Dark Knight, GM Sandy Alderson and Manager Terry Collins have the unmitigated audacity to announce they will pit Bartolo Colon against Nationals ace Max Scherzer at Nationals Park April 6.
And there’s no problem with that.
Opening Day at it’s core is just one game of 162. It does carry a certain amount of symbolic importance, but winning on April 6 doesn’t count twice or bestow a playoff berth.
Handing the ball to Harvey against the Washington Nationals would give New York a strong chance to take one from a very strong rival, but it would also put him inline to start the third and final game of a set in Atlanta before their home opener against Philadelphia on April 13. That starter would take on Miami and Atlanta at home, but miss the Yankees April 24-27.
That’s a much better schedule for someone the franchise isn’t spending untold resources developing and growing. Colon may not be the sexiest option when Major League Baseball will see Scherzer and other aces throwing, but it makes sense in the following weeks.
The Mets are known to pick their Opening Day starter based on the prior season and veteran status. Harvey was recovering from Tommy John surgery while Colon threw more than 200 innings in a disappointing 2014 campaign. deGrom earned some cred with 140 innings and a Rookie of the Year award, but is likely too green to be trusted with that much pressure. Unfortunately for the front office, fans and media, obvious choice Zack Wheeler is unavailable at the moment. Jon Niese and Dillon Gee – Opening Day starters from 2013 and 2014, respectively – could take the ball but neither had a tremendous 2014, nor are whom fans are shelling hard-earned cash to see.
Money is another valid reason not to push Harvey onto Opening Day. Any game he takes the mound automatically becomes #HarveyDay, a celebration all it’s own. Why waste Opening Day or the home opener, games when the ballpark will fill on its own?
The mistake is not Colon starting game 1. It’s having deGrom ahead of Harvey in the rotation.
deGrom is scheduled to start the second game in Washington, the home opener and the April series in Yankee Stadium. Harvey will likely pitch the Washington series finale, the first evening game at Citi Field and the Saturday Yankees game. The Mets may not want the home opener to be a #HarveyDay, but the Dark Knight isn’t the brash, star just so he can play second fiddle to another pitching hopeful. And so long as 2014 wasn’t a complete aberration, deGrom should have a career of opportunities to pitch in big games.
No, the Mets should take heed and bestow that mantle to its royalty.
Strategically, i have a problem with this.
Colon was 1-4 with a 4.50 ERA in 5 starts against the Nats last year
He was 1-2 with a 2.45 ERA in 3 starts against the Braves.
Jon Niese on the other hand, has a 3.41 ERA against the Nats in 10 starts and 3.43 ERA against the Braves in 18 starts.
The smart money move would be to let Niese face the Nats, who has a better track record against them, while pushing Colon back to the Braves series.
Colon may be 1-4 with a 4.50 ERA in 5 starts against the Nats last year, but that included his stats at Citi Field. If you look just at the Nationals Park numbers he fared much better. He had 2 starts there with a 3.86 ERA with a 1-1 record. Niese on the other hand was 0-2 last year in 2 starts in Nationals Park with a 8.10 ERA. If you go by Game Score those two were his worst two games of the season. Gee did not fare well in Nationals Park well either.
None of the Mets last year really had a good track record versus the Nationals last year. In 19 games the Nationals scored 98 runs while the Mets only scored 52.
Start whomever you like on Opening Day, but why is deGrom getting the first home billing over Harvey? Are the Wilpons really that desperate for money they need to ensure a second day sellout by having Harvey start?
I think being the reigning ROY should be rewarded while being slightly careful with Harvey is the right thing to do. It’s not like they are sitting him till may
It’s all about the money. First they sold out opening day by saying all winter that Harvey will pitch on opening day at home, then they pulled the old bait and switch and pushed him to day 2 to sell out that one. Sorry opening day ticket holders, no refunds.
Yes they are that desperate Mike! And if you have a chance to have 2 sellouts instead of one early in the season why not? ( being sarcastic) Desperate times for an owner who has very little financial creativity remaining after firing his VP for ticker sales this past off season. Let’s see how Jeff will sell the Mets to the fan base. He’ll simply put baseball strategy on the back burner. Priority is to sell home tickets. It’s not going to matter how well a pitcher does. We have to think like an owner. His input will over ride any game plan we have for the rotation.
The rotation order is poor. If the goal is to win the most games then it follows to send your best pitcher out the most times and set up your rotation accordingly.
Is it better to get one more sellout in April or position yourself for 14 sell outs in September and October? The last three games of the season are at home vs the Nats.
Actually i was thinking about this and how an alternate scenario could be more optimal
Since most teams follow the convention of sending their best pitcher out first, second best second, and so on and so forth, would a strategy of sending your Worst pitcher first, best pitcher second, second best third be a theoretically be a more optimal strategy?
In that case, in game one, youd have the severe disadvantage, but in the other 4 games, your team would have the advantage.
Of course, this is all hypothetical because a #4 on one team may very well be better than a #2 on another team. And with off days and injuries, rotation order gets messed up very quickly in the season. By 2 weeks in, it really doesn’t matter what the order is anymore.
DeGrom earned the right to start the home opener .Being Rookie of the. Year certainly qualifies him!
“Are the Wilpons really that desperate for money they need to ensure a second day sellout by having Harvey start?”
This is about the most ridiculous Wilpon-cynical argument i have heard. First, a few extra tickets sold in one game is not going to make or break an owner’s pockets.
Second, A fan complaining that a game is being sold out as a negative thing?!?? Really?? You’d rather see no one in the stands?
I was being cynical. I know what Alderson is up against with Jeff all over him like a cheap suit. Being in a pennant race means the Mets are playing well and have been able to over come their injuries. I just don’t know if that is at the forefront for Fred and Jeff. You and I know it should be. But if winning is at the forefront then why is Terry Collins still managing the Mets?
Collins would make a good bat boy. He most surely is not even an adequate manager!
Really, this is a non-story. I am fine with Colon-deGrom-Harvey, and I would have been fine with at least two other combinations. Let the season begin!
You nailed it. Totally agree. Harvey will open the 2016 season after he has a healthy and dominant season this year.