Mike's Mets - Man the Lifeboats

 

By Mike Steffanos

Things aren't going well for the 2023 New York Mets one-quarter of the way through the season. Today we'll look at the starting pitching as we try to determine what hope there is for turning things around.

Along with being a Mets fan, I've been a New York Knicks fan almost my entire life. I'm not sure whether that's due to an affinity for the blue and orange color scheme or some inner urge to punish myself. After all, James Dolan and the Wilpons were neck and neck for the worst owner in New York until the Wilpons sold out. Anyway, during Monday afternoon's debacle in the nation's capital, I flashed back on the famous Michael Ray Richardson quote, "The ship be sinking" — something I did quite frequently with the Wilpon Mets.

For those of you who don't know, Richardson was drafted by the Knicks fourth overall in the 1978 draft. He was billed as the "next Walt Frazier" and was supposed to be the savior of the team. Those Knicks teams were only a few years removed from the high point of the franchise, which included NBA titles in 1970 and 1973. Richardson uttered those words about halfway through the 1981-82 season, with the Knicks heading into a last-place finish that would get legendary coach Red Holtzman canned after the season. Little did Knick fans like myself understand how badly most of the next 4 decades would go for that once-great franchise. Thanks, James Dolan.

Fortunately, these Mets are owned by a man who, in my opinion, has proven himself to be a much better owner than Jimmy, Fred, and Jeff. After sinking a ton of money into trying to keep the Mets competitive for a title this season, Steve Cohen is keeping a cool head and not freaking out over how badly things have been going with that investment. Many of the most vocal Mets fans are not taking things quite so well. With the Mets sitting at a disappointing 20-22 just past a quarter of the way into the season, it's hard to blame them.

Criticism is flying around about manager Buck Showalter, GM Billy Eppler, and even Cohen himself. While there is plenty of season left for the Mets to turn things around, the dreary similarity of losses during their recent freefall is pretty discouraging. If the ship isn't sinking right now, it's certainly taking on quite a bit of water and in danger of going down. So let's take a look at the components of this team and try to decipher if there is any hope of the ship staying on top of all that water:

Starting Pitching

The Mets seem intent on running out a 6-man rotation unless there are off days that accomplish the purpose. The club is clearly trying to keep Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer strong while allowing Kodai Senga something closer to the once-a-week schedule he pitched in Japan. With Carlos Carrasco and José Quintana both on the shelf, that's forcing the club to go at least 8 pitchers down in depth. That depth isn't coming through for the team currently.

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