N.Y. Mets: First Pitch

From the desk of:  HEAD-BUTTING MR. MET

OPENING DAY

ALL-TIME 

OPENING DAY RECORD

36-20 (.642)

Let The Games Begin..!

Sandy Alderson's off-season can be summed up in two words: comprehensive change.  Perhaps his organizational reforms came a year or two later than we fans may have preferred.  But change has come to Citi Field nonetheless.  And with Thursday's call to Play Ball, so begins the process of validating his every move.

The Mets have had a devil of a time keeping numerous key players on the field in recent years, but none more so than their starting pitchers.  The extent of injuries and seemingly endless surgeries have been such that Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, and Zack Wheeler have yet to complete a full season together as a unit.  Meanwhile, Syndergaard's misguided decision to bulk up last off-season and his resulting season ending injury exemplified just some of the folly that took place previously in the absence of proper supervision.

As per Alderson's design, the unquestioned strength of the New York Mets is indeed their starting pitching, and if healthy their collective efforts will undoubtedly determine whether or not the Mets emerge as playoff contenders come late September.  Therefore, completely overhauling physical conditioning and oversight were part and parcel to Alderson's sweeping changes.  To that end, Sandy Alderson says the organization will be adopting more modern and advanced training, conditioning, and recovery sciences and applications, while also reformulating their operational procedures and philosophies.

On a more conventional level, Alderson also incorporated redundancy into his corrective measures by hiring former Cleveland Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway to replace Terry Collins as manager, along with hiring Dave Eiland (highly experienced and very well respected throughout baseball) to replace Dan Warthen as new pitching coach.  Because pitch selection and execution oft times proved problematic, as well.  Dan Warthen used to be responsible for calling pitches from the dugout.  But with these new changes, I'm anticipating a completely different approach with a focus on craftsmanship, and particular emphasis on reclaiming the inside portion of the plate.

The time for putting Sandy Alderson's redesign into effect has come.  Opening Day is upon us.  Before a single game is played, though, I'll credit Alderson for pinpointing these two particular hires and thereby creating more conducive conditions through which this rotation can achieve elevated success.

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Unfortunately, the long anticipated debut of the Five Hurlers of the Metropolis has been postponed yet again.  After surrendering nine earned runs on 22 hits though ten innings of Grapefruit League action, the Mets optioned Zack Wheeler to the Las Vegas 51s.  That comes on the heels of Wheeler's somewhat defensive reaction earlier in Spring Training when media questioned him over the club's acquisition of Jason Vargas.  Pitching coach Dave Eiland characteristically offered no quarter, providing little more than biting words of encouragement for Zack to ponder during his trip back to the desert - essentially telling him potential is all fine and well, but there comes a time when that must translate into major league results.  In other words, the time for babying these guys, is over.

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Off-season acquisition Jason Vargas, recovering from surgery to his non-pitching hand, will open the season on the disabled list.  That leaves the Mets with one left-handed starting pitcher, and just one left-handed reliever.  His role upon return remains to be determined.

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