It’s never fun to root for mediocrity. I don’t need to look back at my reviews of this first six times through the Mets rotation to know the starting pitching has been mediocre at best. To remain optimistic means allowing five innings to be an acceptable standard. It’s all the Mets expected out of Justin Verlander, a 40-year old starter returning from a minor injury that delayed his start to the season.
"I was really happy with Justin today,” Buck Showalter said to SNY and other reporters after the 2-0 loss on May 4. “That was a real highlight to see him work his way through five. We were going to try to keep him around the 80 (pitch) mark, so didn’t want him to get up again.”
Gary Cohen didn’t want Brandon Nimmo to get caught stealing in the top of the ninth, blasting him for all to hear on SNY. Cohen does a great job dancing the delicate line between unbiased announcer and Mets fan and broadcaster for over 30 years, but I’d be lying if I wasn’t thinking the same thing Nimmo was.
“I was thinking it was a tough matchup for Starling and I don’t want a ground-ball double play here, but I also don’t wanna get thrown out,” Nimmo told SNY after the game. “(Alex Lange is) also a guy who likes to throw a lot of curveballs and it was a curveball count – he had just thrown a couple of fastballs in a row – so anyways, I made the decision. It was mine alone and it obviously didn’t work out.”
It might have worked with a head-first slide, but that’s not something properly taught in Wyoming despite elite speed that made drafting Nimmo as an amateur with no high school experience logical. The long-time Met entered the 2023 season with 23 career stolen bases, but added three more in less than a month and may have passed his career high by August before yesterday.
Now, Nimmo will progress with caution in the future; similar to Mets fans who came into this season with high hopes and will proceed with caution going forward. Is this 16-16 team sitting six games out of first place one that will mimic their rivals and get hot in the summer? Last year, the Braves were famously 10.5 games behind on June 1. In 2021, they were eight games back on June 16 before winning the division crown. In 2019, Washington was 10.5 back on September 14, but won 93 games and the World Series as a Wild Card.
Is there enough patience from the Mets’ fan base for something like that with only the bullpen playing above average at the moment? Columnists constantly call for more Mets rookies to make the largest jump in professional sports and provide immediate power to a lackluster lineup. A lineup that tied for the third most runs in baseball last year, while finishing top 10 in team home runs. Yes, it was last year and while SNY shows players stats from 2023, there is always a loud emphasis on what players have done before and how that will determine the future.
What is the future for this Mets team with a hesitant Nimmo on the bases? Starling Marte and Mark Canha barely batting over their weight and Francisco Lindor hitting closer to my body weight at .212? For all the hate piled on Tommy Pham, he still plays a quality outfield at multiple positions. For all the love attributed to Brett Baty, the rookie has less home runs and RBIs than Pham.
Daniel Vogelbach’s .405 on-base percentage leads the team, but voices are crying for the unproven bat of Mark Vientos to take his place. No one knows where this team will finish, but both me and Buck have to believe things will be better once everyone is healthy and on the field.
“(Verlander is) in a good part of the progress now,” said Showalter to SNY, “and he and Max (Scherzer) both got built up something last night, so I hope it goes forward from there.”
With a mediocre start, all fans have to lean on is hope, and that’s the truth.
Upcoming Series: New York Mets vs. Colorado Rockies
Friday, May 5 - 7:10 pm
Kodai Senga (3-1, 4.15 ERA) vs. Antonio Senzatela (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Saturday, May 6 - 4:10 pm
Tylor Megill (3-1, 4.11 ERA) vs. Austin Gomber (1-4, 7.57 ERA)
Sunday, May 7 - 1:40 pm
TBD vs. Ryan Feltner (2-2, 4.68 ERA)
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