It’s always interesting when you dissect a loss and try to figure out what went wrong. When you’re talking about a 5-2 loss, there would seem to be enough blame to go around. Five runs is too many to give up, and two runs is not enough to win on most nights. Everybody gets the blame.
Two runs at Coors Field is an obscenely low amount for one team to score, especially remembering Mets performances in recent mile high excursions. And also, you figured after enduring Clayton Kershaw, Jon Gray wouldn’t seem so tough. Oh but alas, Gray was tough as he struck out eight and gave up six hits in seven innings. His breaking stuff had some bite to it, and if he can unlock the secret of getting that off speed stuff to keep biting in Denver, then Friday night would be Gray’s first major league win … of many. So I can’t be too mad at the hitters.
The other side is a little bit trickier. The Mets are hanging around in or around first place. And yet it hurts to think about where they would be if Matt Harvey had pitched a little better than your garden variety fifth starter. There were flashes … the pitch sequence to Nolan Arenado in the fifth inning after the Rockies had gone ahead had him flailing and wondering what the heck was going on. That Matt Harvey almost made you forget that the watered down version of Matt Harvey gave up a single to Gray earlier in the inning, and he turned out to be the go ahead run. But after the Arenado at-bat you thought maybe he had enough to at least give his team a chance to win, which is all you can ask of a starting pitcher … even the high caliber pitchers the Mets have on this staff. But then the sixth inning came and Harvey, again, couldn’t escape it and was pulled after he was mercifully allowed to strike out Gray. Every fifth day used to be Harvey Day. But now, every fifth midnight is the sixth inning, and nobody is coming to bring Harvey his glass slipper.
The Arenado at-bat probably took whatever gas Harvey had left and brought his needle to empty. But this has happened in most of his starts so far. He hasn’t gotten an out in the seventh inning this year. And yet he has topped 100 pitches in his last four starts. This isn’t the Dark Knight so much as it’s Kite Man. And somebody needs to figure out whether it’s mechanics, workload, ice cream, or a disruptive spirit that could be summoned by a Ouija Board. Or if somebody has kidnapped the real Matt Harvey and replaced with Folgers Crystals. Or Jeff D’Amico. Dan Warthen needs to get on this, even if he has to get his old Ghostbusters outfit out of the closet and dry cleaned.
Today’s Hate List
- Trevor Story
- Gerardo Parra
- Carlos Estevez
- Emilio Estevez
- Patric Hornqvist
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
