Mike Friere - OK, Zack......Loud and Clear!

As a young lad growing up in a busy household, my step-father was usually occupied with other random responsibilities that took up a good portion of his time.  He did introduce me to the “wonderful” game of golf, which is full of life lessons that I can share with each of you on a different day.

However, one of life’s lessons that he managed to share with me (on several occasions) was that a person’s true character shows itself during moments of adversity.  A semi-related addendum to this advice was that those with integrity are not afraid to admit when they were wrong.  Both of those issues are relevant to the rest of this article, as you will see in a moment.

So, for the better part of two recent articles, I gave Zack Wheeler a pretty good beating with regards to his injury history (not really his fault) and his fleeting control while throwing a baseball, which has led to stunted development and underachievement, in my opinion.   This was only amplified by his first two Spring Training outings where he was knocked around like a "pinata” at an child’s birthday party after too many pieces of cake.

With that said, ZW promptly turned around and delivered the following line against the Yankees on Wednesday afternoon;

3 IP - 4 H - 0 R/ER - 0 BB - 4 K

I’m not sure how many pitches he actually threw, since Spring Training box scores are a bit lacking, but it seems that he faced twelve batters during this appearance.   However, THAT is the Zack Wheeler that we have all been waiting for!   I had to rub my eyes when I saw ZERO walks issued, which is a major statement about ZW’s ability to command the strike zone.  The four strikeouts are also impressive in only three innings worked, which is nearly half of the outs he was responsible for securing.

I don't mind disparaging him right before every one of his starts if that is the result!  Kidding aside, I know that ZW is a talented pitcher and I may have been a bit hasty in shoehorning him into the bullpen.

Just as I was told to “not read too much into Spring Training statistics” while pointing out the negatives, I should do the same here and take it for what it is worth.  Which is “a nice step in the right direction” and I want to see him do it consistently from this point forward.

A few additional comments after today’s matchup;

1.  Robert Gsellman produced a solid pitching line against the Yankees, as well, 

 firing 3 2/3 innings while allowing two hits, one walk and an unearned run.

***Between the two of them, you had what amounts to a “quality” start for a normal starting pitcher.   Makes you wonder if this “piggy backing” set up will continue into the regular season with these two?

2.  With some assistance from Matt Purke (a third of an inning), the Mets led the Yankees 4-1 heading into the eight inning.  Unfortunately, that's when things went a bit sideways (OK, the train derailed prior to bursting into flames).   

***Again, it is just Spring Training, but you don’t like to see three of your potential bullpen pieces give up ten runs in the last two innings, do you?

3.  While it is easy to review positive performances, you also have to give equal mention to the negative ones.  With that said, Rafael Montero, Corey Taylor and Kevin McGowan were less than stellar.   Here is their combined pitching line;

2 IP - 9 H - 10 R - 7 ER - 2 BB - 4K

***Let's hope that this is an aberration and we won’t remember any of this in a few days.   However, you have to wonder what RM’s chances are this spring with a new coaching staff and more bullpen depth in the system?