N.Y. Mets: The Five Hurlers of the Metropolis

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

Will the Real 

Five Hurlers of the Metropolis 

Please Stand Up.

Spring Training: First Word

Year Sixteen After Doubleday

NEW YORK METS: Is this the season Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Zack Wheeler, and Jacob deGrom, all finally endure the grind of a full season together?

Many fans including myself thought this group would already be dominating the National League by now, and not still attempting to get this thing off the surgery table drawing board.  

Obviously that's not the way things worked out over the last few years.  As such, this still theoretical Fearsome Five of Flushing have yet to fulfill their collective promise - much less share the same Citi Field mound together for any worthwhile period of time.  

Injuries - some precipitated by a lack of organizational oversight - are largely to blame for that.

A deteriorating situation came to a head last year.  Sandy Alderson occasionally found himself short for words when hounded by media questioning the sometimes ponderous and inexplicable health issues afflicting his club, particularly the starting pitching.  Despite good intention, even preliminary information would often times devolve into misinformation and thus further exasperate matters.

Alderson finally acknowledged at season's end that everything ranging from medical diagnosis, to preparation, conditioning and recuperation, to field management and communication, to player/coaching supervision, right down to pitch selection and execution, had effectively gone awry.  

He therefore spent the off-season implementing a wide range of alternative reform aimed at realizing maximum player potential through the incorporation of advanced medical sciences and training; staff turnover; updating operational philosophies; and modifying interpersonal relationships.  

Part of this comprehensive overhaul specifically involved hiring Dave Eiland to replace Dan Warthen as pitching coach.  Alderson also opted for the unconventional by replacing former field manager Terry Collins with yet another pitching coach - Mickey Callaway - hired away from the Cleveland Indians.  Ideally speaking, the Mets primary strength is after all their starting pitching.  That's the way Alderson designed his club, and therefore I understand and even respect his attempts at surrounding this pitching staff with redundancy.

Did Sandy Alderson arguably wait too long before undertaking corrective measures?  

Maybe.  

I was never a big Terry Collins supporter, but was at least agreeable in so far as him being suited for piloting a rebuilding club.  Heading into 2015, however, Mets fans were already clamoring for change.  The thinking was in order to achieve higher ground, a new manager was needed to lead the way.  But a funny thing happened that season.  The Mets clinched the National League pennant, essentially earning Collins an obligatory two-year extension.

But it turns out there may have been a more disturbing issue at play involving front office autonomy.  Marc Carig of Newsday wrote back in September how Fred Wilpon shielded Terry Collins from Sandy Alderson and COO Jeff Wilpon whom sought TC's dismissal at various points during his tenure.

So much for Alderson implementing change ...

Even under the most promising conditions, it's hard enough keeping a starting rotation intact from April through September as it is - much less through October.  That goes for all teams.  That's why they say it takes a 40-man roster to win championships.

And that's what makes Mickey Callaway's challenge so daunting.  Jacob deGrom was the only one of the aforementioned five starting pitchers last season to make thirty starts.  The other four totaled a combined 56 starts.  Robert Gsellman was otherwise second on the team with 21 starts, which  certainly wasn't the plan.

Games Started: 2017

• Jacob deGrom - 30 starts.
• Matt Harvey - 19 starts.
• Zack Wheeler - 17 starts.
• Steven Matz - 13 starts.
• Noah Syndergaard - 7 starts!

But there's yet hope for the potential Fearsome Five of Flushing.  Zack Wheeler's return last year finally marked the first time all five ever started games together in the same season.  Obviously nothing went according to plan, but it was a "first" nonetheless.

We've seen a little from each of these pitchers - some more than others.  Now we need a lot more from all of them.  But because we're familiar with their histories, it's fair to say we should expect the occasional setback or two.  At some point, the services of Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo, and Rafael Montero will be called into action.  And of course the acquisition of Jason Vargas imposes sudden competition for the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation.  

But if we're still pursuing this dream rotation, then Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, and Zack Wheeler, must each contribute at least 22 to 25 starts apiece.  It's reasonable to expect deGrom and Syndergaard fulfilling their complement of thirty starts.  And if the Mets get all that, they should be in great shape by the end of September.

However, time is suddenly also of the essence.  This could very well be Matt Harvey's last go with the Mets.  Therefore if the mythical Five Hurlers of the Metropolis are indeed destined to elevate the Mets to their first World Series championship since 1986, then 2018 needs to be the year.  Because if Harvey isn't traded first, stupor agent Scott Boras will surely seek employment for his client elsewhere once the season is through.

Noah Syndergaard

• I called it last season while writing for website Rising Apple.  I knew it then, feeling absolutely sure Syndergaard would get hurt.  I wrote at the time that his off-season conditioning program was complete folly.  What the hell was he thinking?  And that circles back to when I eluded about players getting hurt due to lack of organizational oversight. 

Matt Harvey

• Mickey Callaway is right.  We do not need a return of the Dark Knight; we just need a healthy Matt Harvey.  The most promising thing I've heard came from Harvey himself.  He said it was nice going through a regular off-season for the first time in a while.  I do not believe he's capable of recapturing his elite form of five seasons ago - not after all he's gone through.  But that does not preclude him from reestablishing himself as an effective pitcher.  In fact, he should be a very motivated pitcher considering his future is very much up in the air.  He needs an above average season as badly as any pitcher in major league baseball at this point.

Steven Matz

• He finally went ahead and underwent surgery to re-position that nerve meandering around his  elbow.  With that out of the way, Matz and the Mets might finally tap into his potential.  When he's on, the youngster has demonstrated he can pitch well.  In 2016, he posted a 3.40 ERA through 22 starts.  But during last year's compromised effort, he posted an unsightly 6.08 ERA in just 66.2 innings pitched, and his strikeouts were very noticeably down.

Zack Wheeler

• He missed all of 2015 and 2016, then returned to make 17 starts last season.  Zack is also taking injections in his stomach in order to improve bone strength.  I find that a bit weird, but as I stated Alderson overhauled organizational oversight, particularly on the medical and training side of operations.  So I do believe the Mets were aware of Wheeler's unconventional treatment at all times, and even signed off on it, which may be right in step with the Mets incorporating modern medicines and sciences?  Actually, all Wheeler needs to work on is cutting down on base on balls, and he should be okay.

Jacob deGrom

• He's the one pitcher with no real issues to speak of.  Last season was the first in which he reached 200 innings.  Although his K/9 increased by two full points to a 10.7 mark, his ERA spiked to 3.53, up from 3.04 the previous year.