The more things change, the more things stay the same.
The Mets’ pitching staff is in a tailspin with seemingly no end in sight. If not for a great start from the recently called up Dillon Gee on Sunday, things would be even bleaker than they currently are.
The aforementioned big news this week was the call-up of Gee. Gee was promoted after the Mets had to inevitably place Chris Yong on the DL with biceps tendinitis. (BTW-who had after the second week in the first trip to the DL for Young pools?)
It’s a shame too, because Young was off to a fine start (1-0, 1.46 ERA). At least Gee provides a beacon of hope in an otherwise dreary setting.
Gee came aboard a sinking ship and pitched 5.2 solid innings against the Braves, allowing only one run on five hits and two walks.
Aside from Gee, in the last week we have seen pretty much more of the same from the Met’s pitching staff: The starters struggle to keep the team in the game. Then the bullpen implodes to give the team basically no shot.
In the last six games, the Mets got only one quality start (Jon Niese’s outing on Tuesday vs. the Astros-more on that later) and the numbers are getting worse.
The Mets now rank dead last in the league in quality starts (three) and WHIP (1.60) and are 28th in ERA (5.26) and BAA (.285).
Mike Pelfrey continues to regress with no signs of improvement imminent. In his last start, Pelfrey gave up a whopping 11 hits in five innings pitched. Pelfrey’s struggles have been discussed ad nauseam. No need to rehash his plight.
R.A. Dickey is scuffling with his knuckle ball and is walking way too many batters.
Niese is also putting too many batters on base. Although he limited the damage in his last start vs. the Astros on Tuesday when it came to runs (two runs in six innings pitched), he did give up seven hits and five walks.
Chris Capuano is still feeling his way back from injuries and is also getting burned with the amount of baserunners he is putting on. In 12.2 innings, Capuano has given up 18 hits and four walks. His one saving grace is the fact that he has fanned 13 batters in those innings.
The bullpen is no better than the starting pitching either. They are a fragile and bruised bunch. Their psyche must be brittle as brittle can be.
Terry Collins had to use D.J. Carrasco in a spot start on Saturday vs. the Braves and that went terribly wrong. Carrasco predictably had a short outing, lasting only 3.2 innings and allowing three runs (all home runs).
Bobby Parnell now has discomfort and numbness in his arm. An injury on top of ineffectiveness, what else can go wrong?
If it weren’t for Pedro Beato’s 10 scoreless innings, there might be no positive to talk about when it comes to Met pitching.
I must say Taylor Bucholz and Jason Isringhausen have been efficient in the time they have pitched though.
If this trend of spotty pitching continues, expect some finger pointing and perhaps a switch of pitching coaches could be looming.
Hey I like Dan Warthen, but sometimes a change is needed to shake things up, and he could be the fall guy.
The Mets are on the precipice of outright disaster and if they are to turn this around it all starts with pitching.
Just how much longer can they go on with status quo before a major shakeup occurs? It’s a dilemma Sandy Alderson will have to grapple with in the next couple of weeks or so.