There have been a few of these diamond in the rough games. Max Scherzer against the Phillies right before it all went to hell. Kodai Senga and Carlos Carrasco as it was going to hell. Tonight, one night after the Mets made Hell look like Sandals for a while, it was Verlander’s turn.
It was a game tailor made for Verlander. Going against a White Sox team that has the highest chase rate in the league, even if Verlander was a little wild like he was against the Dodgers, the White Sox would most likely chase his pitches like Wil E. Coyote Super Genius would chase the Road Runner. And chase they did. Verlander pitched a beauty of a game, throwing 100 pitches but this time in eight innings instead of his normal five. Verlander has been good lately, pitching to a sub 3 ERA in his last small handful of starts. But going eight innings was key in helping a bullpen that had to carry the load last night, and will probably carry the load tomorrow in Jose Quintana’s Mets debut.
It put a tear in my eye, as if the Mets had gotten a few more of these, perhaps they wouldn’t be in the predicament they’re in.
It’s also sad because I know this is fleeting. Verlander said himself tonight that this could be one of the best turnarounds in the history of baseball. Of course, I hope he’s right. But the Mets have just been too inconsistent to believe that they have a 25-6 run in them, which is basically what they have to do to get right. It’s exactly what they did in 2001 from August 17th through September 27th of 2001, and that only got them to three games back of a playoff spot (in this case, the division lead.)
This team was built to have that kind of run, but a lot of folks have to get their acts together for it to happen. Verlander’s outing was a good start. Brett Baty, who had a home run and two RBI today is one of those who needs to find it. But there are about 10-12 more players that have to find their games. I just don’t see it happening. So I’m going to enjoy tonight for what it is: a diamond in some deep rough.
And I’ll be wistful.
Today’s Hate List
- Brian Jordan
- Marcus Giles
- Javy Lopez
- Wes Helms
- Dave Martinez
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