The month of May started with a rain-induced doubleheader against the Braves. But even if the Mets are swept out of Citi Field by the defending NL East division champs, they will still end the first month of the 2023 season with a positive record. I know it’s hard to imagine with all the calamity that’s taken place in Queens so far. For starters, the starting rotation to start 2023 has never been in place with injuries preventing that expensive five to ever get on the field. Despite all the money owner Steve Cohen has put into his new Evil Empire, he couldn’t project his investment from five injured arms before they left Port St. Lucie.
For all the talk about the collective age being the biggest concern for potential injury, Edwin Diaz was injured attempting to avoid a celebration. For all the worry about the high-priced import from the Far East, Kodai Senga’s middling performance has been about the lone assurance from this staff. Moderate is a kind description for someone averaging just over five innings a start with a 1.58 WHIP that includes about three free passes each time out.
The assurance has been Senga’s legit 97 MPH fastball, a low-90s cutter, a serviceable slider and a Ghost fork pitch that is truly unhittable. The problem is getting opposing MLB hitters to chase something that hasn’t consistently been thrown for a called strike. That’s been his biggest issue and he’s still averaging over six strikeouts a game. As he gets accustomed to everything involved with restarting your career halfway around the world, is it too much to expect a better result?
As Eppler’s original rotation returns healthy, is it too much to expect better results from Max Scherzer and a healthy Justin Verlander than the serviceable starts from Jose Butto and Joey Lucchesi? Is the midseason addition of Jose Quintana a better deadline acquisition then sending prospects like Pete Crow-Armstrong for a few weeks of an aging veteran starter? Are the early season innings thrown by Edwin Uceta and Jimmy Yacabonis easily forgotten or will either of that duo show up and duplicate their success?
It’s only early for so long. Three games over .500 sounds OK early, but not a successful long-term goal for a team returning starters from a 101-win campaign. The team’s on-base percentage is 10th in the league, built upon being tied for fifth with 109 walks. But that’s about the only good hitting stat they have as a team. After leading the NL in hits (1,422) and batting average (.259) a year ago, the Mets are 25th and 20th respectively.
Brandon Nimmo and Jeff McNeil are hitting; the rest of the team not so much. For all the hate poured upon the DH position, Daniel Vogelbach is batting .271 with a .792 OPS, well above the league average (.726.) But his lack of power is both alarming and a trend throughout the lineup. This isn’t a call for more home runs, but the team’s slugging percentage of .384 is 18th and 42 doubles puts the Mets in 21st All these numbers are the definition of a middling offense.
It’s been puzzling over the last four to six weeks to hear cries to add unproven rookie bats to a lineup with high expectations bordering on unrealistic. But it’s also unrealistic to talk about Detroit as a small market as it is one of 13 U.S. cities/metropolitan areas with all four major sports. They quietly exist in perpetual mediocrity, so much so success is not expected for any of their teams.
I’m old enough to remember when the Red Wings were a standard bearer for the National Hockey League, leading off any conversation with talk of Steve Yzerman. If you’re old enough to remember EA Sports and a thriving Stanley Cup playoffs series, then playing with Sergei Fedorov, Paul Coffey and Chris Osgood isn’t hard to recall.
What’s a little harder is recalling the greatness that was Gordie Howe, Terry Sawchuk and an undefeated run to win the Stanley Cup in 1952. 50 years later, Dominik Hasek, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille joined forces to bring the Cup back to the Motor City again.
The fact I’m talking hockey and not the tire fire that has been the Tigers is the point. Similar to the recent series against the Nationals, how important is it to beat the really bad teams? Detroit is 10-17 with former Mets trade deadline acquisition Javier Baez and first-ballot Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera playing out the final year of a $240 million contract signed eight years ago.
Cabrera is a full-time DH, currently batting .189 with no home runs and three RBIs. This is a bad team and coming off a series against Atlanta, it’s important to start this month on a positive note. Winning two of three would be good, but a sweep is what both the franchise and the fan base need, and that’s the truth.
Upcoming Series: New York Mets at Detroit Tigers
Tuesday, May 2 - 6:40 pm
Joey Lucchesi (1-0, 2.19 ERA) vs. TBD
Wednesday, May 3 - 6:40 pm
Max Scherzer (2-1, 3.72 ERA) vs. TBD
Thursday, May 4 - 1:10 pm
Justin Verlander (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. TBD
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