Going into the season, the major concern was Tommy John.  There was the fear that Noah Syndergaard would need Tommy John surgery due to his velocity and work load.  There was concern over whether Zack Wheeler would be able to successfully return from Tommy John surgery.  There was less of a concern about whether Josh Edgin could as well.  There were concerns over how Matt Harvey would handle his second year post Tommy John surgery.  All of that concern was misplaced.

As it turns out, everyone should have been concerned over bone spurs even if Syndergaard won’t admit he has one.Both Syndergaard and Steven Matz have gone from All Star Cy Young caliber seasons to everyone wondering if they need surgery, if their seasons are over.  We don’t know when the problems began, but we do know that something is affecting them now.

Starting with Matz, who has admitted an elbow problem, there has been a precipitous drop off in his pitching.  In a nine start stretch, Matz was 7-1 with a 1.38 ERA and a 1.007 WHIP while averaging roughly 6.2 innings per start.  He was limiting batters to a .222/.266/.282 batting line.  At that point, Matz was the favorite for the Rookie of the Year award.  He was putting up All Star caliber numbers.  His last three starts present a much different pitcher.

In Matz’s last three starts, he is 0-1 with a 6.61 ERA and a 1.470 WHIP while only averaging roughly 5.1 innings per start.  Batters are teeing off on him to the tune of a .324/.338/.529 batting line.  What is really troubling in each of these starts is that Matz falls apart in the fifth inning.  In each of the aforementioned three starts, he has no allowed one run through the first four innings of a game.  The worst of it was when the woeful Braves offense chased Matz from the game after allowing six runs in two-thirds of an inning.  Now, he’s missing today’s start, and the Mets are debating whether or not he needs surgery.

Syndergaard is a more interesting case as he’s denying the bone spurs rumors, but again like Matz something is wrong.  As the season began, all we could talk about what Syndergaard’s new 95 MPH slider, and his emergence as the ace of the Mets pitching staff.  Up until his last two starts, Syndergaard was 7-2 with a 1.91 ERA and a 0.965 WHIP.  He was averaging roughly 6.2 innings per start.  He stymied batters limiting them to a .223/.252/.312 batting line.  If Clayton Kershaw were not alive, we would have been talking not just about the Cy Young award but also the possibility that Syndergaard is the best pitcher in baseball.

In Syndergaard’s last two starts we saw something uncharacteristic from him.  He struggled.  While his pitching line from his June 22nd start against Kansas City didn’t raise any red flags his pitching did.  Syndergaard didn’t seem to have the pinpoint command he has had all year, and on a couple of occassions, he crossed up his catcher Rene Rivera.  At the time, it was seen as a blip on the radar, but after last night’s start and the reports from yesterday, there is a real reason for concern.

The Nationals, who are no offensive powerhouse themselves, took Syndergaard to the woodshed.  Syndergaard only lasted three innings allowing five earned runs.  To put it in perspective, Syndergaard only allowed five earned runs in all of April.  He had a season high three walks.  Runners were stealing bases left and right off of him and Travis d’Arnaud.  Now Ron Darling did point out that he didn’t seem in sync with Travis d’Arnaud, but was that really the problem?  This is the second straight start Syndergaard has had trouble locating pitches.  There are a numbers of explanations why that could be the case, but after the reports of his having a bone spur in his elbow, the bone spur seems to be the most likely reason for Syndergaard’s recent struggles.

Overall, Matz and Syndergaard might be fine and be able to finish out the year.  Right now, that proposition is a little hard to believe seeing them struggle recently and hearing news about bone spurs in their elbows.  If Syndergaard and Matz are unable to pitch effectively through these bone spurs, the Mets are going to be in trouble.  If that is the case, it will be bone spurs, not Tommy John, that will damage the Mets chances of going back to the World Series.