FANTASTIC FOUR
Eiland: Amazin’ rotation championship-worthy
This is the kind of nightly party Dave Eiland imagined when he agreed to become Mets pitching coach last offseason.
Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz. It’s been a parade of stud starting pitchers lately, and Eiland — a World Series-winning pitching coach with the 2009 Yankees and 2015 Royals — is savoring the results for a team looking toward next season.
“We have deeper starting pitching here than I had with either one of those World Series winning clubs,” Eiland said after watching his rotation dominate on the justcompleted road trip. “As far as starting pitching goes we are in good shape. I just hope we do some other things to build around it.
“With this kind of starting pitching you can win a championship. I will put our rotation up against any in baseball in a five-game or sevengame series. It takes more than just that to win, but that part of it is in place. Now it’s just the rest of it and I’ll let somebody else talk to that.”
The somebody else hasn’t been hired yet as the Mets look for a new general manager to oversee the construction of the 2019 roster. But it’s no secret an impact bat or two and additional bullpen arms will be the priority.
After listening to offers for their starting pitchers at the trade deadline, the Mets opted to keep the unit intact. Though assistant general manager John Ricco — a component of the triumvirate running the team for the rest of the season — has indicated the Mets could revisit the idea of trading a starting pitcher this winter, such an approach seems unlikely given this group’s talent.
Over the past 18 games, the Mets’ rotation has pitched to a 1.98 ERA, which includes respectable work from fifth starter Jason Vargas.
Most notably deGrom, Wheeler and Matz have shown improvement. DeGrom is perhaps the front runner for the NL Cy Young award with a 1.68 ERA and Wheeler has been among the game’s best since the All-Star break. Included during that stretch were eight straight starts in which he allowed two earned runs or fewer, a streak that snapped Wednesday when the Dodgers scored three against him.
“As some of these guys have learned this year: Talent only takes you so far,” Eiland said. “There are other aspects of the game. You have to pay attention to the running game. You have to field your position. You need to know how to maneuver through a scouting report. You have got to know what you brought to the dance that night and if you have all your pitches. So it’s a culmination of everything other than just the raw talent. They have all made nice adjustments that has helped them become better all-around pitchers.”
With just over three weeks remaining in the regular season Eiland just wants his starters to remain healthy and continue this surge to the finish line.
“I just want to see them post and see all these guys make their starts,” Eiland said. “I don’t want them to take their foot off the gas pedal. I want their foot all the way down on the gas pedal until the final out is made the last game in September.”