Max Scherzer still dealing with scapula injury as Mets open six-game road trip tonight in Cincy
Max Scherzer still dealing with scapula injury as Mets open six-game road trip tonight in Cincy
The Mets will look to get back on the winning track with three games against the Reds and three against the Nationals this week
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets were off on Monday - they open a three-game series against the Reds at Great American Ballpark tonight
Max Scherzer continues to deal with a scapula injury near his shoulder, but feels it is improving and not getting worse (New York Post)
Injury Updates 🏥
Carlos Carrasco (bone chips in his elbow) will make a rehab appearance for Double-A Binghamton tonight
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (17-18) vs Reds (14-20)
Where: Great American Ballpark - Cincinnati, OH
Starters: RHP Max Scherzer (2-2, 5.56 ERA) vs RHP Luke Weaver (0-2, 7.88 ERA)
When: 6:40 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
It’s time for Max Scherzer to find the best version of himself at this stage of his career… ✍🏼
There’s still plenty of season to go, but it’s not exactly early anymore and the Mets are looking more and more like a team which is completely unprepared and unfit for what has become the modern game of baseball which centers around speed and athleticism.
Oh, and of course pitching, the one common denominator throughout all of the variations and permutations the game has taken on.
To make matters worse (well, its hard to say worse because as I’ve said for months, this is what the Mets signed up for), the club has to navigate this scapula injury for Max Scherzer, who is making his sixth start of the year with hopes of displaying some sort of competency while easing concerns about his stability, stamina and overall health at this stage of his career.
Both he and Justin Verlander have given the Mets a sum total of 27.1 IP over the first six weeks of the season. The sample size isn’t large enough to be indicative of any sort of gauge of their overall performance, but with their health at the center of their concerns and their inability to actually pitch for the Mets in any large measure, its not hard to figure out why the starting pitching’s ERA is the seventh worst in the sport at 5.34, and ninth worst overall at 4.74.
Remember, the whole point in the Mets signing Verlander to begin with, at least how they sold it, was to not only replace Jacob deGrom but to also give the Mets a championship-caliber 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation.
The caveat of course was their age, and the reality of that combination is the Mets could realistically only hope for 50 starts combined from the two, with a need to fill in the gap of about 7-10 starts between them.
Well, the Mets have already needed to fill 7-8 starts combined for both of them, and it’s only May 9. Not October 1.
Again, it’s not hard to figure out why the starting pitching has stunk so much. It’s gone a whole lot worse for the Mets and their two co-aces than anyone could’ve anticipated. The good news with Verlander at least is his muscle strain seems to be in the rearview mirror and he will likely get ramped up in his next start, offering some more sanity to an otherwise chaotic, unhealthy, uncertain and ineffective starting rotation.
As for Scherzer, what lies ahead for him could be variations of all of those words I just used, as his absence and even presence has fit the definition of each and every one of those words.
His tenure with the Mets has certainly been injury riddled and therefore unhealthy and uncertain. His inability to adjust to the new rules has made things chaotic for both he and the club. And he’s been generally ineffective as a result.
This isn’t a knock on him. He’s a hall of fame pitcher who is trying to adjust into the best version of himself at this stage of his career. Every player who survives a long career has to do this no matter how great he or she is, and that time is now for Max. Can he do it and adjust to a game speed he is neither used to or obviously prepared for? Can he keep himself out there, and when he’s out there be effective? He should look no further than Justin Verlander’s locker for guidance on that.
The best version of Scherzer is always better than most, regardless of his age.
Around the League 🚩
The Pirates continued their winning ways with a 2-0 win over the Rockies - they are now 21-15 on the year
The Rays shutout the Orioles 3-0 in Baltimore - Shane McLanahan fired six shutout innings and both Luke Raley and Josh Lowe homered in the win
The A’s have several sites in consideration for a new stadium in Las Vegas (Nevada Independent)
Max should be on the IL. He won't be the best version of himself if he's hurt. He might continue to be the worst version. In that case, we might as well have a replacement level starter instead him going out there and being bad and risking that injury getting worse. (I hate athletes who tough it out. That is not good for anyone.)