Losing back-to-back games at home to the lowly Nationals by identical 7-1 scores is easily the low point of the season. Now, the Mets are off to Pittsburgh to face another poor team in the Pirates. There’s no advantage to playing a bunch of sub-.500 teams if you’re not going to, you know, beat them. Hopefully the last two losses serve as a wake-up call for the team.
With that as our backdrop, here are some brief thoughts on all pitchers currently on the club, as listed by the team’s official website:
Chris Bassitt – Don’t particularly enjoy watching him pitch but he’s easily the team’s third-best starter.
Carlos Carrasco – Seems like we never know what we’re going to get from him. Not down on him for yesterday. If Jeff McNeil fields that ball and turns the DP, it’s an entirely different day.
Jacob deGrom – Despite a year’s absence, he’s still the best pitcher when he takes the mound.
Edwin Diaz – It’s amazing how in a year we’ve gone from begging for a drama-free outing to expecting greatness.
Mychal Givens – The rough streak is over and now he’s primed to be a solid reliever the rest of the way.
Tommy Hunter – He’s done well when given the chance this year but it’s hard to imagine he’ll be on the playoff roster.
Seth Lugo – Whatever the mechanical tweak they identified was, it’s gotten him back to 2019-level efficiency.
Bryce Montes de Oca – It was fun to see 100 mph from him. While he’s not long for the MLB roster, he likely fits in as a piece on the 2023 team.
Adam Ottavino – Because Buck Showalter will use him in the sixth inning, he doesn’t get credit for being a lockdown eighth-inning reliever.
David Peterson – He’s got a 10.42 K/9 and a 51.4 GB% – those are great numbers that should have me singing his praises. Still, somehow, he doesn’t have my complete support.
Joely Rodriguez – After a stretch of holding LHB to 1-21, he’s reverted back to being nothing special against lefties. And if he can’t reliably neutralize lefty hitters, he has no role on the team.
Max Scherzer – If he can stay healthy, he’s an outstanding SP2 behind deGrom.
Taijuan Walker – Maybe a start versus the Pirates in the second half of 2022 will have the opposite effect of the start against them in the second half of 2021, which sent his season spiraling downward.
Trevor Williams – Nice to see him make an appearance yesterday after not pitching for two weeks. My preference is to see more of him and to stop waiting for a super-early exit from a SP to get him into the game.
*****
The pitchers have been very good. And while it helps to have deGrom and Scherzer on the staff, both of those guys have missed substantial time this season. It seems like we don’t give Jeremy Hefner a lot of praise for how the pitchers have performed this year. Hopefully he’ll be back on the club in 2023, too.
Happy Labor Day! Remember, it’s a day game today. Drop by the Game Chatter if you’re off work and have some time this afternoon.
According to ESPN, today’s game has already been postponed.
I wanted Eppler to sign Chafin before the season started. Then I wanted a trade for him. He’s getting paid $6 million to pitch for Detroit. We have Rodriguez.
First off, they only need 13 not 14 pitchers. Montes de Oca should be demoted. The rotation, the closer and primary set up men, Ottavino and Lugo, are reliable. Givens in the last 8 appearances had only giving up 1 ER and Hunter is having a solid year. These five pitchers should cover the 7-9 innings on most games. Peterson and Williams should be used every time for multiple(2-4) innings in the 5th to 9th innings even in a close games instead of multiple relievers and especially used them on blow outs to save the bullpen. With this mix the bullpen should always be rested. That leaves Rodriguez at the 13th pitcher to be the mop up man.