Every which way, they lose!
Mets get squeezed & slammed in fifth straight defeat
If the Mets can’t deliver wins for Jacob deGrom on the days he throws gems, the least they should be able to do is take him off the hook for losses on the rare occasions that he’s not at the top of his game.
Yeah, like that was going to happen.
Instead, with deGrom gone after six innings, his teammates managed to turn a 3-2 cliffhanger into an 8-3 blowout loss to the Dodgers, as Matt Kemp took Robert Gsellman deep for a grand slam in the eighth inning.
The misery just never ends at Citi Field, where the Mets are now 13-23 this season, as they’ve fallen to 31-43 overall. And if you really want to put the state of this team in perspective, consider that it is 20-42 since that mother-of-allflukes 11-1 start in April.
You can’t blame it all on Yoenis Cespedes, either. The Mets aren’t being overmatched; they just never get the big hit or make the big play or the big pitch.
And the way Jason Vargas has pitched, it hardly matters that he strained a calf muscle while running a couple of days ago, and won’t make his start today.
It’s just that there’s a calamity a day lately for these Mets, which sure has a familiar ring.
So now they have the thirdworst record in the NL, and they’re only 2½ games ahead of the tanking Marlins. Talk about embarrassing.
And some people want to believe the future can be salvaged without Mets management making some bold moves to go get younger players who can actually hit.
How is that possible, with so little immediate help in the farm system?
I wouldn’t trade deGrom — he’s one of the top five pitchers in baseball. Even on a night when he is sharp, he still managed to go six innings and limit the damage.
But as I write in a column elsewhere in Sunday’s Daily News, I’d have to trade Noah Syndergaard for some bluechip position player prospects, and try to build an offense around them, as well as Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, and whatever they can get from Cespedes over the next two years.
Otherwise nothing will ever change here, and deGrom’s brilliance will continue to be wasted.
Indeed, if anything, though he wasn’t his usual self, this was still another night to appreciate deGrom’s will.
He was clearly frustrated, unable to command his fastball, slider or changeup, and took some of that frustration out on home plate umpire Ed Hickox, but admitted, after going to look at the key pitches in question, that the ump got the calls right.
“I just wasn’t able to locate,” deGrom said. “I’ve had that happen in the past and I’ve been able to battle, but tonight I wasn’t able to make the big pitch when I needed it.”
Even so, he was able to get through six innings and minimize damage, allowing three runs, which was still a solid start, but as usual, the Mets could do nothing, even though
Clayton Kershaw’s fastball was topping out at 91 mph in what amounted to a three-inning rehab start after a month on the disabled list with a back injury.
And so deGrom’s record fell to 5-3, while his ERA rose to 1.69 — still the best in the National League.
As a result, the way the Mets’ season is going, pitching in the All-Star game could be one of the highlights of deGrom’s year, but the way the schedule lines up, he could wind up pitching on Sunday, July 15th, which would make him ineligible to pitch two days later against the American League.
There is still plenty of time to maneuver deGrom’s schedule around off-days and a DH on July 9th, but pitching coach Dave Eiland said Saturday he wouldn’t make changes just so his ace could pitch in the All-Star game.
“I won’t tweak the schedule just to make sure he can pitch,” Eiland said. “A lot depends on how it affects the other four guys, and where Noah (Syndergaard) slots in when he comes back (from his finger injury).
“But I’m only one vote. Others (in the organization) might have an opinion on that. Right now it’s still a little early.”
If deGrom pitched every fifth day, or as close as off-days would allow, he’d finish on Saturday, July 14th, which would allow him to pitch in the All-Star game.
However, an off-day on July 5th could push deGrom’s schedule back a day, if the Mets decide either not to skip any of their starters, which would push him back to that Sunday before the break. I understand Eiland is looking out for all of his pitchers, but with the Mets already falling out of contention, you’d think someone in the organization will make sure deGrom gets a chance in the All-Star game.
Because, let’s be honest, at this point the team goal is fast becoming to simply stay ahead of the dreaded Marlins.