By Mike Steffanos
We have it on excellent authority that the current main concern of New York Mets fans is the health of Jacob deGrom. While we at MikesMets.com would never reveal a confidential source, let's just say that he looks an awful lot like the guy on the right. Our source also revealed that human beings need oxygen to function properly, although he didn't offer any data to back up that assertion. As far as the deGrom revelation, that was pretty much a given when Jake exited last night's game against the Cubs after the third inning. While it's fair to say that the news that the MRI on his shoulder came back clean was welcome, it's also fair to note that the unexplained nature of deGrom's physical problems this season is becoming a story in and of itself.
I predict that you're going to come across many different takes on how the Mets should proceed with deGrom from a wide variety of sources. The Mets' decision to take things "day by day" with the best pitcher on the planet is unlikely to satisfy anyone.
More than once today, I've come across the opinion that the Mets should at least temporarily shut down deGrom as a precaution. It's hard to argue against that, except to point out that spending time on the IL already didn't prevent these little nagging problems from surfacing. DeGrom didn't pitch from May 9 until May 25, when he was shut down with the lat injury. He's had 5 starts since he's returned and has experienced problems in the last two.
Jake hasn't experienced notable mechanical problems. There isn't an obvious source of his physical problems. Speculation runs the gamut from "he needs to stop throwing so hard all of the time" to "it's all in his head."
If you choose to believe that deGrom has developed into a hypochondriac this deep into his MLB career, you're entitled to your opinion. I don't believe that at all, but only Jake knows for sure what's going on in his head. There is no objective data to back up anyone's beliefs in the matter, so I'm just going to leave it alone. However, I will note that deGrom had 3 consecutive seasons with > 200 innings before last year's abbreviated schedule, which would make me very skeptical of the whole all in his head thing.
The idea that I believe has some merit is that his velocity has risen once again, and he throws at max velocity all of the time. He does have a marvelously athletic, free and easy delivery. Still, he's turning 33 on Saturday. Maybe the torque and force involved is just too much for a body that is beginning to age. I neglected to get a medical degree in my youth, so I can't provide any real valuable input in this matter. Since deGrom is a bit of a freak, there's not much in the way of comparisons to draw a conclusion from. In any case, if he was going to modify his pitching style to step off of employing full velocity all of the time, he's not going to be comfortable with making that change during the season.
If deGrom continues to endure frustrating, unexplainable physical problems this year, then I believe that changing his pitching style will be something that the club looks at. Big changes will need to wait for the offseason, of course, but possibly some degree of easing off would be merited in-season to see if that helps. I'll leave those decisions in the much more qualified hands of pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, manager Luis Rojas, the front office, and, of course, Jacob deGrom himself. In the meantime, fans like you and I experiencing worry and uncertainty about Jake isn't likely to go away anytime soon.
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