I’m
not sure there could have been a different set of circumstances when it comes
to Zack Wheeler’s injury. It’s not like this was
his first MRI so one would guess that this was not left over from last season.
The
Mets seem jinxed to never get their best team on the field at the same time. We’ve
dreamed for a number of years about this incredible rotation that’s going to
dominate this game and frankly, the best guy we have out there right now
already has had Tommy John Surgery and used to be a shortstop.
This
is where it will get interesting in spring training. Matt
Harvey, Jacob deGrom, and Jonathan Niese seem set in the rotation. Bartolo Colon is going to have to pitch really bad to
pitch himself out of this rotation. My guess is the Mets will not dip into
their projected Las Vegas prospects and will add either Dillon Gee or Rafael Montero into
the SP5 slot.
As
John Morosi said this morning, we have to
remember that the Mets only gave up four more runs last year than than the
World Champion, so the best way to look at this is we just traded Wheeler for
Harvey.
Morosi said the Mets are going to have to step up offensively and win
more games with their improved offensive game.
When
was the last time anyone said something positive about the Mets offense?
I didnt know this but if its true that you lose a year of control if they spend the first 21 days in the majors then there is now way in hell Matz or Thor will be up opening day. Gee/Montero it is. Wheeler made some strides late last season but was no where near the domination of Degrom/Harvey. Just look at it as a chance to showcase our other studs sooner.
ReplyDeleteThe loss of Wheeler is a major loss, but this team can survive with Gee here.
ReplyDeleteI hope that Montero gets the call.
Also, the Mets REALLY need a good outing today from Harvey to settle the heads down
Harvey in fact gave us a really good outing.
ReplyDeleteThe team needs to bring back Rick petersen as a special advisor and use his biomechanics to help with this abundance of tommy john surgeries.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just the Mets - i found an article in 2013 that said 124 pitchers currently in the MLB had TJ surgery
ReplyDeleteLast year the Braves had two starters and Darvish just went down
It seems that is general the elbow has a limited ability for torque - there is a price for pitchers throwing as hard as they do.
Let's pause a minute and reflect how all wrong those screaming that Sandy screwed up by not trading Gee / Colon this off season.
ReplyDeleteYes would would still have Montero (Matz and Thor aren't seeing the major before May to make sure we keep them through 2021), but our depth would be gone.
The Mets were concerned about Wheeler's elbow, so they weren't going to trade Gee without getting blown away.
Best thing that can happen now is that Colon looks great through May and we can deal him then
I'm bumming about the Wheeler news because I really liked to watch him pitch and thought this year would be big step forward. However, the Mets have the depth to withstand this and still be competitive. Someone from Gee, Montero, Thor has to step up and win 10 - 12 games. Not easy but also it's not like they have to win 20.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of depth it's nice to a have a little for the position players as well with Reynolds, Herrera, Plawecki, and DD all having the potential to step in and contribute at the major league level. I also think that Tejada can serve a very valuable role as a super utility player.
There is still reason to be optimistic.
We're beginning to see a poor version of the six man rotation. You can almost count on one of your starters being on the DL recovering from TJS. You need at least 6 to begin a season and at least 7 or 8 to get through a season.
ReplyDeleteI think they'll figure it out and go to a smarter version of the 6 man rotation.
Much less TJS victims in Japan. Once they come over here it is a different story. Ask Yu Darvish.
This isn't a big surprise. I remember this being predicted for Wheeler when he was still in the minors, because his pitching motion put extra stress on his elbow.. His motion pits his elbow higher than his shoulder during his motion.If I remember, this is called an "inverted W", and it's supposed to be a dead-on indicator of future TJS. Put your arm in that position and make a throwing motion. , and then try it with your elbow below your shoulder. You'll feel the extra strain in your elbow. It feels like the major difference is the normal, below-the-shoulder elbow even out the strain more between your elbow and shoulder, while the "inverted W" puts more strain on the elbow. If I was a high=school pitching coach and saw a pitcher throwing from this position, I'd start training him out of it IMMEDIATELY!. Someone that enjoys correlating stats should do a study on this.
ReplyDeleteThe Giants attempted to change his delivery the year before they traded him. Reports from the Giants camp was that Wheeler was very reluctant to change it and the Mets allowed him to return to his original delivery when he joined their organization.
ReplyDelete