CYBORG JAKE STAYS FOCUSED
deGROM UNFAZED BY AWARD TALK, WHEELER HURLS A ‘W’
A PITCPITCHER is part of a team, yet by hihimself, as close to on an islandland as anyone in sports — literallyerally standing amamid the lone round circle on a baseball field,field the initiator of all action and, if done properly,pro in control of the tempo and temperamenttempe of a game. Jacob deGrom iis even more of an island now. Tim Tebow is not coming to the Mets and David WrightWrigh is dubious as well. For this team, there is mostly just the late-seasonson misery associatedassoci with a long, lost season,son, one that crumcrumbled from 11-1 promise to another sad chachapter in Mets history. Then every five days, deGrom starts. A giftg amid the gloom. BecauseBeca deGrom is a mastemaster craftsmanman at the peapeak of his powers. But also bbecause it brings narrative tto a Mets season that longlo ago stopped matteringmattering. DeGrom is in an NL Cy Young competitioncompetitio against Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola, and Washington’s Max Scherzer,zer, so close that llike a weather vane, it can change directiondirection wwith even the smallest puff. Which leaves deGromde fluttering in an odd environment. He has peace as the focus on that baseball islanisland and the sway he inflicts on a game. But nnot as the reason to care about the Mets ththese days, not as distinct and above, not turturning the last few weeks of a season into a pepersonal quest. “I am not thinkithinking about it when I am out there,” deGrom said.sa “That is just how I take the mound. The ggoal is not to give up any runs, so it is me aagainst you. This is what I have, let me see if you can hit it. Here we go. That’s how I take the mound. Honestly, it has not changed, even with the increased talk of Cy Young.” This is 30-plus mminutes on a Saturday afternoon,ternoon, one-on-on-one with deGrom. He avoidsavoids the brag or all attempts to recalibrate the season from ththe team to himself. Yes, of course, he wants tto win the award. He is curiousrious enough to inquire about the mechanicschanics of ththe voting and what those who fill ouout ballots favor. He just won’t campaign.camp He offered, for example,ample, moremor detail on Scherzer’s statisticstistics than his own. “If I took myself out of it and put somebody where I am at, I would honestly hhave a tough time voting,” deGrom ssaid. He has seven starts left to influenceence the actual voters, to try to wiggle ffree from Nola and Scherzer,zer, cocontinue to arise above the MetsMets wwreckage around him. His candcandidacy is built around the best strikeout rates of his careereer and defying homers in an era when that is as diffi- cult as ever. But mainly in a 1.71 ERA that is the second-lowest in the past three decades among qualified starters, less than half of what he produced in an outstanding season last year and made all the more impressive because the spotty defense behind him has created hits where there should not be, and his lack of offensive support has forced him to treat each pitch like a Game 7 event.
The righty has permitted three or fewer runs in 19 of 22 starts yet is just 8-8, which could hurt his Cy chances for any lingering voters with misplaced emphasis on wins as opposed to, say, the ability to have a 1.71 ERA when all else around you essentially stinks.
“In 2014, when I came up, I threw the ball pretty well and I could not get a win [none in his first seven starts],” deGrom said in explaining why his lack of offense, defense and wins has not derailed him. “I had a couple of starts that weren’t so good, and I started thinking about it. I learned from that to go out there and control what I can control.”
Sentiments like that and his pitching style evoke Mariano Rivera. On the mound, the athleticism resonates in smoothness and economy in his delivery, yet lightning in his pitches. The mien is unhurried, unflappable. That serves to camouflage intensity and an assassin’s soul when it comes to competitiveness.
And, like Rivera, deGrom radiates dignity regardless of if the atmosphere warrants it. He is humble, low maintenance, high performance. It takes a few attempts, for example, to get him to admit he has the juice now to have requested Devin Mesoraco catch his starts for the comfort he finds in the union.
“My job is to prepare for my next start and put us in position to win,” deGrom said. “I don’t complicate things. I am pretty good at blocking stuff out.”
That includes a July of trade rumors floating around him — though the Mets never seriously pursued that avenue despite their words. DeGrom continues to insist his preference is to stay a Met, that it is his comfort zone, that his greatest playing happiness came in the 2015 march to the NL title.
But there will be no such team glory like that this year. So for the Mets, meaning is deGrom’s Cy chase — an award deGrom wants, but without the attention that separates him from this disappointing team.
“I don’t know if it has set in fully yet. There is a lot of baseball left,” deGrom said. “I still have to go out seven times and throw to the best of my ability. A lot can happen in seven starts. I know how those other guys [Nola and Scherzer] are throwing. But my mindset doesn’t change. I take the mound, I am trying to put us in position to win.”
deGrom stands alone with dream season amid Mets wreckage