How the Dominoes Fall

More thoughts on constructing a Mets starting rotation in 2023. Is exercising Carlos Carrasco's $14 million option for next season really a no-brainer?

The New York Mets had a rough time down in Atlanta this week. They lost starting pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker to injuries in the first two games of the Atlanta series, although it looks like Walker will only miss one start. Their infield defense took a big hit, losing Luis Guillorme and Eduardo Escobar to the I.L. The Mets' offense seems to be in hit-or-miss mode since the series against the Cincinnati Reds with run totals of 1, 1, 6, 1, 0, 9, 2, 7, 8, and 1 through Saturday's doubleheader split with the Phillies. They lost all but one of the games in which they scored 2 runs or fewer.

Get Used to the Trolls

Andy Martino w/o
the TV makeup

For now, it's speculation about whether Jacob deGrom really "likes" pitching in New York. Trolling Mets fans is a full-time job for the local and national baseball media. My advice is: get used to it and ignore it as much as possible.

Over the weekend, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted out, "There is a perception in some corners of the industry that if Jacob deGrom follows through with what he said in the spring and opts out of his Mets' contract, the Braves will be the favorites to land him." I chuckled when I first read it, the wording was artful in appearing to say a lot without really saying much of anything. There isn't much fact-based stuff going on in claiming that a "perception" exists in "some corners of the industry." For instance, a perception exists among the two canine members of my household that they are entitled to share my dinner with me. Understand that both of these dogs have lived with us for years and have never been given people food during meals. Yet that perception, fundamentally wrong as it is, still persists in some corners of my household.

Decisions, Decisions: Starting Pitchers

The failure during the Wilpon era to institute long-term strategies has forced Billy Eppler and the Mets to face a coming offseason of countless decisions.

The Mets had a tough 2-game series in Houston this week. It was particularly galling for older Mets fans like myself, whose disdain for that club long predates their blatant cheating scandal. And, of course, the Atlanta Braves continue to close the gap between the two clubs. It was down to 4 games after the Braves' win over San Francisco Thursday.

Winning Choices

The 2022 Mets make far fewer mistakes than previous Mets clubs, and it's adding up to many more wins.

As I watch the 2022 edition of the New York Mets, I am constantly reminded of how different this team is from the teams that preceded them. It started with owner Steve Cohen endowing new Mets GM Billy Eppler with an amount of cash that earlier Mets GMs could only dream about. But the direction Eppler chose to take while spending Cohen's money was interesting. I'm not sure that any of the three players that Eppler signed to open the Mets' spending — Starling Marte, Mark Canha, or Eduardo Escobar — were the types of players the Mets would have pursued previously.

Believing in the 2022 Mets

Things have really gone the way of the Braves and Phillies lately, but I still love the Mets' chances to come out on top.

It's been a tough stretch for the New York Mets. Although they had a respectable road trip out west against the Dodgers, Padres, and Angels, breaking even for the ten-game swing, it came at a time when the Braves and Phillies were winning almost every game they played. Since dropping the first two games of a road series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Braves have run off 12 straight wins against second-rate opponents. Meanwhile, the Phillies have won 9 of 10. Their opponents have been stronger than Atlanta's, but they were fortunate to catch the Brewers and Angels amid long losing streaks.

Do the Mets Have a Playoff-Caliber Bullpen?

Winning is awesome, but the bullpen is still a huge question mark for the Mets.

The New York Mets have enjoyed strong starting pitching early on this season, despite the absence of Jacob deGrom. Running the second-highest payroll in MLB allowed them the luxury of adding Max Scherzer and Chris Bassitt to the rotation, giving them a level of depth they never enjoyed in the years that the Wilpons were signing the checks. Not only have the two additions pitched well, but they've also clearly taken on a role as mentors to young pitchers such as Tylor Megill and David Peterson. It's one thing to sign a bunch of guys to reverse the fortunes of a ball club, but it's every bit as essential to have the right mix of guys in the clubhouse. The early returns are positive in that area.

So Far So Good

The Mets' opening series in Washington went as well as we could hope for, but now a real test begins.

The 2022 season got off to a much better start for the New York Mets than 2021 did. If you remember, the Mets were supposed to begin last season with a series against the Nationals, but the entire series was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak among the Nats. MLB did their infamous "abundance of caution" thing by canceling all the games, and the Mets wound up sitting around for an extra 4 days before beginning their campaign. I always believed that the delay played a part in the Mets' slow start last year, although I would hardly hang all last year's woes on that one thing.

And So It Begins

Will this be the dawn of a new era where the Mets finally turn the corner as a franchise and leave "LOL Mets" behind?

The New York Mets' 2022 season gets underway tonight in Washington, provided the storm clouds that have taken over the eastern section of the country decide to allow it. The threat of bad weather and some of the recent injury news have combined to dampen the spirits of Mets fans a bit. But optimism always reigns supreme at the start of a new baseball season — and this has the potential to be the year where the Mets finally leave the Wilpon era in the rearview.

Shouldering the Burden

Jacob deGrom's shoulder injury sucks, but I won't let it ruin my optimism for the upcoming season.

As soon as I heard the news that Jacob deGrom was going for an MRI on his shoulder, I was relatively sure that I wouldn't be watching him take the mound for the New York Mets next Thursday in Washington. Sure enough, the news came out that deGrom would be shut down for at least a month with a stress reaction in his right scapula (shoulder blade). As Jeff Passan points out at ESPN.com, pitcher Michael Wacha suffered a stress reaction in his shoulder back in 2014 when he was pitching for the Cardinals. Wacha sustained the injury in mid-June and didn't make it back to a major league mound until September.

Early Thoughts from Spring Training

The Mets will have some tough decisions to make this spring, particularly in the outfield and who will be the bullpen lefty.

As the New York Mets continue to prepare for the season, Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer have both given fans reasons to feel good about the top of the team's rotation. On Monday, Max Scherzer debuted first, pitching against the Marlins in their ballpark. Scherzer clearly had been doing the work during the protracted lockout. He went 5 innings against Miami, throwing 72 pitches. Scherzer wants to be prepared to throw 100 pitches when the regular season gets underway in a couple of weeks. The Mets hitters gave Max the "deGrom treatment," failing to score a run for him. Scherzer took the loss despite allowing only a solitary run.

A Very Early Look at the Mets' Pitching

The weather here in Southern New England continues to be typical for this time of year: schizophrenically shifting back and forth between winter and spring. One day I was wearing shorts when I took my dogs for a walk with the temperature around 60. The next, I looked out of my window at about an inch of snow on the ground. While this weather can play havoc with my personal plans, it has no effect whatsoever on the New York Mets' preparation for the 2022 season that is underway down in Port St. Lucie. This weekend, the Mets have made some significant moves to bolster their chances of contending for a playoff spot this season.