2019, Now With More Masks

I really thought it was going to be different this year.

I really thought that the delay in the season, causing Jacob deGrom to match up with other team’s fourth and fifth starters early in the season instead of the other team’s aces was going to indirectly get him some more wins this year. By this time of the season, deGrom would have faced pitchers like Max Scherzer and Aaron Nola. Instead, he got Matt Moore and Trevor Rogers. He has 21 strikeouts in 14 innings and has given up one run. The young man should be 2-0.

Instead, deGrom has nothing to show for his great work this year, including today’s start against the Marlins, an eight inning, 14 strikeout gem in which is only flaw was a 100 mph fastball that was letter high and leaked over the middle of the plate. Jazz Chisholm got around on it and put it in the Soft Drink Sections to give the Marlins a 1-0 lead in the second inning. For a normal team with a mere mortal ace, it’s way too early to panic. But for the New York Mets with Jacob deGrom, we know that all too often this has meant “game over.”

deGrom is going to have the quickest Hall of Fame speech of all time. He has nobody to thank. https://t.co/C3paU8j389

— Jason Hoffman (@JasonHoffman93) April 10, 2021

The Mets have had chances to get to Rogers today. First and third with nobody out in the first inning with Michael Conforto and Pete Alonso due up. But Francisco Lindor was caught stealing second, and Conforto and Alonso struck out. Then in the sixth, the Mets had first and third with one out in the sixth. Again, Conforto and Alonso struck out. Conforto in particular looks lost up there, and I wonder when we will start being allowed to talk about the possibility of moving Conforto out of the three hole if this keeps up. I understand that the other lefty hitters that are below him aren’t exactly tearing up the league, but Jeff McNeil looks infinitely better than Conforto right now, and seeing as if there are other options, the Mets should be under no obligation to let Conforto figure it out from the three hole.

Edwin Diaz came in for the ninth and gave up a couple of runs to send the game to the middle of the ocean with Wilson, and the Mets dropped to 2-3 with a 3-0 loss. Diaz giving up 2 runs before being pulled isn’t optimal, but if this is his major misstep, it’s at least well timed as the offense wasn’t pulling this game from the fire anyway. The lineup was supposed to be the bright spot of this team, but outside of Brandon Nimmo, Dom Smith, and deGrom himself, the offensive numbers have been abysmal over the first five games. At 2-3, the Mets had better hope that they start drawing more parallels to the ’86 team that started 2-3, and less parallels to 2019 when deGrom got no run support and Diaz drove everybody nuts.

Today’s Hate List

1. Trevor Rogers
2. Dylan Floro
3. Yimi Garcia
4. Jazz Chisholm
5. Jesus Aguilar