Thor, shirtless again, throws off mound After TJ surgery
Noah Syndergaard delighted Mets fans, in classic Thor fashion, in more ways than one.
The flame-throwing right hander on Thursday posted a video of himself — sans shirt and covered with sweat — throwing off a mound. The hard slap of his fastball hitting the back of the catcher’s glove was enough to get fans (and new Mets owner Steve Cohen) hysterical for his return.
Syndergaard is recovering from the Tommy John surgery he had in March. It typically takes pitchers over a year to return to major-league action after surgery, which would make his comeback timeline around April 2021.
The 28-year-old All-Star began ramping up his baseball activity, it would seem. When a fan asked if the video Syndergaard tweeted was new, he confirmed it was.
That indicates the starter is on track in his recovery.
Perhaps all Syndergaard is missing is a shirt that fits? His new owner, worth an estimated $14 billion, should be able to help him out in that department. The two have been getting along so far.
“Enjoyed our conversation Noah, today,” Cohen tweeted in response to Syndergaard’s video. “Good luck with the rehab and can’t wait to see you back on the mound next year.”
Syndergaard tweeted a gif of a person running through a brick wall after Cohen’s introductory press conference on Tuesday. Other Mets players, including Marcus Stroman and Dominic Smith, have expressed their excitement for Cohen’s new front office as well.
Though Syndergaard is expected to miss at least the start of the 2021 season, the Mets rotation is shaping up for a major improvement next year. Jacob deGrom, Stroman and David Peterson are three known starters who will return. Seth Lugo may remain in the starting five, but Cohen and team president Sandy Alderson still must fill a gap or two in the rotation until Syndergaard is 100% recovered.
DOC GETS PROBATION
Former Mets phenom Dwight Gooden has been sentenced to a year of probation over a drug arrest in 2019.
The one-time Mets ace, whose once-promising career was derailed by drug abuse, learned his fate during a virtual court appearance Thursday more than a year after he pleaded guilty to one count of cocaine possession following a New Jersey traffic stop in June 2019.
Gooden’s car was stopped by police in Holmdel, about 20 miles from New York, for failure to maintain a lane and driving too slow, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Monmouth County prosecutor’s office.
Two plastic baggies containing cocaine were found in Gooden’s car, prosecutors said.
Gooden avoided prison, but
only on the promise that he would complete a drug rehabilitation program.
At Thursday’s sentencing, state Superior Court Judge Vincent Falcetano said a recent evaluation found Gooden to have made significant progress “and it’s hard to believe that it’s really the same person.”
“I understand that my recovery has to come first,” the 55-year-old Gooden told the judge. “This has saved my life.’’
The hero hurler pitched the Mets to their last World Series championship in 1986.
Gooden, who also played for the Yankees and the Cleveland Indians, was charged with third-degree possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Authorities said he was under the influence at the time of his arrest.
The with drugs are almost as legendary as his blazing fastball. He admitted years later that he missed the World Series parade because he was feeding his habit.
Gooden, who won the coveted Cy Young award in 1985 for being the league’s best pitcher, tested positive for cocaine in spring training ahead of the 1987 season as well as in the strike-shortened ’94 season.
In 1995, the former Rookie of the Year was suspended for the entire season for failing another drug test.
In 2006, Gooden was arrested for violating his probation and showed up high on cocaine for a meeting with his probation officer. He spent eight months in jail for violating his probation.
Gooden, a native of Tampa, Florida, was also on the Yankees team that won the World Series in 2000.