Jacob deGrom
Earlier in the season, Jacob deGrom landed on the IL with tightness in his right side. Since coming off the IL, deGrom has left games for various reasons.
There was fatigue. There was a flexor tendon issue. The latest was his leaving a game with a shoulder issue. Overall, since that IL stint, it needs to be reiterated deGrom has left starts for reasons other than he hit his pitch count, and it was time to bring in a reliever.
With that being the case, everyone has a theory on what the issue is and how to handle it. He has too much velocity. He didn’t heal and is pushing it. As usual, there was Dr. Sal Licata with his input saying deGrom never should’ve made the start:
Should Jacob deGrom have even made Wednesday's start vs. the Cubs?@sal_licata discusses it on @GEICO SportsNite pic.twitter.com/xBMBRdvYGF
— SNY (@SNYtv) June 17, 2021
Actually, no, Licata doesn’t have an MD. The same goes for people like Chris Carlin, who proffered similar advice. Really, anyone rendering an opinion has the same level of medical expertise as Jeff Wilpon, which is to say they have none. As we saw with Wilpon, when people with zero medical expertise renders an opinion on what should be done, bad things happen.
On that note, there is something to be said for what Pedro Martinez said. Remember, Pedro was once what deGrom is now, and we did see Pedro’s prime and career shortened due to injuries. When he speaks, it should carry weight.
It’s unfortunate for DeGrom to have left tonight’s game. The @Mets cannot afford to lose him for the rest of the season. I would just rest him for an outing or two
— Pedro Martinez (@45PedroMartinez) June 17, 2021
Pedro’s advice was rest, and while his words should be heard, it’s not dispositive. Really, nothing is right now.
At this moment in time, no one knows what’s wrong. We don’t know if these injuries are all linked by one core problem, if one injury begat the other, or if these are just three isolated injuries which happened.
No one knows, and those offering advice are just trying to get heard and sound smart. Well, everyone except Pedro, who is someone speaking from experience.
To the question of how to keep deGrom healthy, the answer is no one knows. If they did, he wouldn’t be dealing with different issues right now. That said, someone will figure it out, and everyone will go on from there.
Overall, just be patient and wait with baited breath until we find out what’s wrong and how to best address it. Hopefully, sometime soon, we’ll see deGrom back out there pushing for a third Cy Young and leading the Mets to the World Series.
Jacob deGrom was perfect through three striking out eight of the nine batters he faced. In a two run second, deGrom drove in his sixth run of the year.
Yet again, this had the aura of a special night. Could this be the Mets first perfect game? Could deGrom pass Tom Seaver‘s 10 in a row. Would he surpass Max Scherzer, Kerry Wood, and Roger Clemens for the most strikeouts in a game.
As deGrom left the mound after the third, the answer was none of the above. Instead of history, a very clearly frustrated and upset deGrom left the game.
While in previous starts, it was a flexor tendon or other hopefully innocuous issues, this time it was a shoulder. While it may be nothing, the shoulder strikes fear into the heart into every fan.
This is why the Mets victory was as anticlimactic as they come. It’s a shame because a lot of good happened.
Kevin Pillar was 2-for-4 with an RBI double to open the scoring and a homer. Dominic Smith.
.@TheRealSmith2_ has left the building. #LGM pic.twitter.com/RcazZ3bEae
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 17, 2021
Francisco Lindor was the latest Met to draw a bases loaded walk. Overall, the Mets scored in four consecutive innings.
Sean Reid-Foley surrendered a homer to Anthony Rizzo, but, until the ninth, that was it for a Mets staff who struck out 15 in this game. Three of those strikeouts came from Trevor May, who bounced back nicely by striking out the side in the eighth.
Things got dicey in the ninth. Drew Smith allowed a two run homer to Rafael Ortega. After he threw 20 pitches, and there was a runner on first, the Mets brought in Edwin Diaz to get the save.
Willson Contreras pinch hit, and he hit a sinking liner to center. Mason Williams, who was in for defense, came in and made the sliding catch to end the game.
With that, the Mets won 6-3. That’s great and all, but the real issue on everyone’s mind is deGrom and his shoulder.
Game Notes: Mets pitching staff has struck out 15+ in consecutive games and has more 15 strikeout games than any other team. Miguel Castro had a scoreless inning in his first appearance since he injured his neck.
Yet again, Jacob deGrom flirted with a perfect game. Yet again, he drove in more runs than he allowed. Yet again, records were set.
After facing the minimum through six, deGrom has a 0.56 ERA through 10 starts, which is the best in MLB history. Coincidentally, he has allowed just four earned runs on the season while driving in five himself. He’s the first pitcher to ever accomplish that feat.
During the game, deGrom struck out 10. He now has 103 on the season. With his doing it in 64.0 innings, he’s the fastest in MLB history to record 100 strikeouts.
His career numbers are already heading into another stratosphere. His 2.50 career ERA is already ahead of Tom Seaver for best in Mets history. It’s also just a hair behind Clayton Kershaw for the best since World War I.
deGrom’s 156 ERA+ has not only surpassed Seaver for best in Mets history, he’s also moved past Pedro Martinez and tied Kershaw for best all-time.
Tim Keefe had the best single season ERA+ with a 293 mark in 1880. The modern day record is Martinez with a 291 in 2000. Right now, deGrom has a 689.
Read that again. Jacob deGrom has a 689 ERA+. He’s more dominant than anyone ever has been. He’s going to completely re-write record books. That is why his virtuoso performance is the Neon Moment of the Week!
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Entering this week, MLB.com did their weekly Power Rankings. In those rankings, the San Diego Padres were ranked third, and the New York Mets were ranked 12th.
That was despite the Mets going to San Diego and splitting a four game series. That was despite the Mets pitchers leading the league in fWAR, second in ERA, and leading the majors in FIP.
This is a decimated team, and they’re getting big time pitching, good defense, and good managing from Luis Rojas. They’re in first place with the largest division lead in the NL.
Well, the Mets team that is somehow worse beat the Padres last night behind the best pitcher in baseball. Actually, at this point, we should probably just call Jacob deGrom the best baseball player, especially given how he has more RBI than earned runs allowed.
Today, Marcus Stroman allowed one earned over 6.1 innings while striking out eight. Francisco Lindor and Jonathan Villar homered.
2-Run HOME RUN! @Lindor12BC pic.twitter.com/lgCkB93HYI
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2021
Seth Lugo looks healthy, and once again, he looks like the best reliever in baseball. Behind him, Edwin Diaz once again slammed the door shut to earn the save.
With that the Mets took the first two of this three game set with the Padres. They’ve also won four of the six games between these teams, and they’ve already taken the season series. Not too bad for a team not close to being in the same league as the Padres.
MLB and whoever else can keep under estimating this Mets team all they want. The Mets are still going to win games and the division. They’re still going to have deGrom lead them into the postseason. As we know these Power Rankings are jokes, and the joke is on the rest of baseball.
Jacob deGrom was the difference in this game for the New York Mets more ways than one. The only thing which could stop deGrom was himself.
For the first 4.1 innings, deGrom was simply unhittable, and were once again on the perfect game watch. That was until Wil Myers dribbled one against the shift for a hit.
Myers thought he could steal a base, but James McCann gunned him down. With that caught stealing, deGrom would face the minimum through six. Given how dominant he was even that seemed like a batter or two too many.
These pitches just ain't fair. ?
Eight Ks through 4 IP for deGrom. #LGM pic.twitter.com/A6nCLHCkN6
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2021
Of course, deGrom set all kinds of records. His 0.56 ERA though 10 starts is the lowest ever. He needed just 61.2 innings to reach 100 strikeouts which is the fewest innings to reach that mark. Oh, and by the way, he’s hitting .400 with an .840 OPS.
He went out there and beat the Padres every way imaginable. He allowed just the one hit over 6.0 innings walking none and striking out 10. He’d get the win because he actually got run support.
At first, it didn’t seem that would happen. Blake Snell, who was great his last game against the Mets, had a strong start to this game.
The Mets didn’t get a threat against him until the fourth. It started with a Jonathan Villar single. It’s not a stretch to say at that point in the game it seemed Villar was the only guy who was going to get a hit.
Villar was on second with one out after he stole second, and Francisco Lindor lined out. Snell completely lost the strike zone walking the bases loaded.
That’s when Dominic Smith has a terrible at-bat. Despite Snell losing the zone, he went to attack a tough slider out of the zone. He checked his swing leading to the inning ending 1-2-3 double play.
It was a really tough game for Smith. He was 0-for-4 with two GIDP. He’s slumping as he’s in a 1-for-13 funk.
This wasn’t the Mets last chance. Rather, it was them starting to get to Snell.
Kevin Pillar led off the fifth with a hustle double. His beating out Tommy Pham‘s throw proved serendipitous as Billy McKinney ripped a double down the first base line to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.
Jose Peraza drew a walk, and then Snell would balk to put runners on second and third. deGrom would deliver with a two RBI single giving the Mets a 3-0 lead.
? M-V-P pic.twitter.com/Y2wDMCabhS
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2021
For deGrom, that was more than enough support. However, deGrom would only go six because the flexor tendon in his elbow was bothering him leading him to take himself out of the game.
Perhaps it was deGrom out of the game. It could’ve also been Miguel Castro dealing with a neck issue which would knock him out of this game, but the Padres looked energized.
Jake Cronenworth hit a two run homer pulling the Padres within 3-2. After Castro walked Manny Machado, Luis Rojas pulled his ailing reliever for Seth Lugo.
To the surprise of no one, Lugo did the job retiring the next two to get out of the inning. What was a surprise was that was it for Lugo.
Aaron Loup started the eighth for the Mets. He’d exit the game with one on and two out. That’s when Rojas tabbed Edwin Diaz for the four out save. Jorge Mateo immediately stole second, but it was of little consequence as Pham flew out to end the inning.
Things got interesting in the ninth. Machado hit a two out single putting the tying run on base. Eric Hosmer pinch hit for Myers, and he put a scare into the crowd as he pulled a ball just foul. After that, Diaz got Hosmer to pop out to end the game.
The Mets are now a season high seven games over .500. However, it’s not too much celebrating as there’s reason for concern for deGrom and to a lesser extent Castro.
Game Notes: Luis Guillorme was activates off the IL, and Travis Blankenhorn was sent to Triple-A. The Mets claimed Nick Tropeano off waivers and sent him to Syracuse. Tommy Hunter was transferred to the 60 day IL.
One moment, you’re a player whose career is on the verge of ending before it really began. The next, you find yourself in the right situation, and you’re fulfilling your full potential.
That was the story with players like Jose Bautista and Justin Turner. However, it’s not a story we really see happen favorably to the New York Mets.
Enter Billy McKinney.
McKinney was the Oakland Athletics 2013 first round pick. While a prospect, he was involved in two high profile trade deadline moves. First, he was sent to the Chicago Cubs as part of the Jeff Samardzija trade. Then, he was part of the Aroldis Chapman trade.
Some of the shine came off McKinney’s prospects, and he dealt with a shoulder injury. With his being buried deep on the Yankees organizational outfield depth chart, he was included in the J.A. Happ trade.
McKinney struggles with the Blue Jays, and he was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays late last season. McKinney was claimed by the Milwaukee Brewers. He lasted all of 40 games before the underperforming outfielder was designated for assignment.
Make no mistake. This wasn’t necessarily the case of the Mets seeing something. Rather, with Michael Conforto down and Mets outfielders dropping like flies, the Mets had no other option than to obtain McKinney.
McKinney has been far better than the Mets ever could’ve imagined. Over 12 games, McKinney is hitting .275/.341/.700 with three doubles, a triple, four homers, and 11 RBI.
No, he’s not this good. No one is. However, we do see some positives from his Baseball Savant data. While he’s making a good amount of contact with increased exit velocities, it’s far too soon to adjudge if he can be the player many thought he could be when he was a top 100 prospect.
Right now, the only thing we can be assured of is he can field. Through it all, McKinney has shown himself to be quite a good fielder. If he can hit, his career is about to take off.
Fortunately for McKinney, he’s going to get the time to prove himself. Both Conforto and Brandon Nimmo are on the IL and aren’t returning soon. That allows McKinney to play everyday and to finally establish himself as a Major Leaguer.
On that note, it’s important to note he’s 26 and on the verge of the prime of his career. If he breaks out, that makes him a tremendous asset to a team as he’s under team control through 2024.
The Mets could use that. Aside from the fact this isn’t an organization deep in outfield talent, the Mets need to figure out their outfield past the 2021 season.
After this season, Conforto will be a free agent. In all honesty, he’s going to be extraordinarily difficult to sign. He’s represented by Scott Boras, and he’s basically the only All-Star caliber outfielder available in free agency. For that matter, he may be the only everyday outfielder available.
We can and should expect the Mets to do everything they can to keep Conforto. That said, we learned this past offseason with players like George Springer, the Mets have their limits, and they will walk away if they don’t believe a deal makes sense for them.
There are other factors like re-signing Marcus Stroman and Noah Syndergaard. The Mets also have to try to figure out third base while preparing themselves for the eventual Jacob deGrom opt out.
This is all a long winded way of saying re-signing Conforto is complicated, and the Mets need a viable alternative. It’s possible that could be McKinney. Still, it’s only been 12 games.
A week or month from now, we may be begging for Conforto and Nimmo as McKinney implodes. We may also be even more excited as McKinney continues his breakout. We just don’t know.
The only thing we do know is McKinney has a chance. If he continues playing well, he’ll continue to play. If that happens, he will continue to get his chance to replace Conforto on a more permanent basis.
Time will tell.
Stop being an idiot. It doesn’t exist. Many have pointed to the spin on Jacob deGrom‘s pitches have been fairly static throughout his career.
His current catchers, Tomas Nido and James McCann responded to the false accusations by not only definitively saying he didn’t, but by also pondering what would happen if he did.
We saw similar support of deGrom from Marcus Stroman, Trevor May, Taijuan Walker, and others. The best response came from Kevin Pillar who said he’d bet his paycheck deGrom wasn’t. He then upped the ante by bringing it to Steve Cohen’s attention.
I’d bet my paycheck on it that he doesn’t use anything. He might be from a different planet though ? cc: @StevenACohen2
— Kevin Pillar (@KPILLAR4) June 7, 2021
Look, we know what accusations deGrom is cheating really are. It’s trying to deflect from other pitchers. It’s attention seeking behavior, and overall, it’s plain old sour grapes.
Fact is deGrom is the best pitcher on the planet, and he’s doing things only the greatest of the greats have done. In fact, he’s beating their records. Instead of trying to diminish it, we should all be appreciating his greatness.
Each and every time Jacob deGrom takes the mound, he does something special. Then, there are nights like tonight where he was just on another level.
We saw it with everything including his defense. He took what would normally be a weak infield single, and he turned it into an unassisted out.
That was nothing compared to what he did in the fourth.
Jake Cronenworth hit a one out single. It was a very nice play by Billy McKinney sprinting in the gap to keep Cronenworth at first. Cronenworth did get to second when Francisco Lindor bobbled a Fernando Tatis, Jr. grounder.
Then, we got the biggest play of the game. Eric Hosmer blooped a ball which landed in front of Dominic Smith. Cronenworth got crossed up thereby preventing him of any chance of scoring. As a result, the bases were loaded with one out.
That meant deGrom had them right where he wanted them. He made very quick work of Wil Myers striking him out on four pitches. Tucupita Marcano battled, but he’d strike out on a 3-2 slider to end the inning.
Right there was the Padres chance, and as we know when you fail against deGrom, you’re not going to get another opportunity. The Padres wouldn’t. The question really was whether deGrom would get run support.
After back-to-back nights where the Padres flirted with no-hitters, they threw Joe Musgrove, the only pitcher in Padres history to throw a no-hitter.
Ironically, Musgrove didn’t flirt with the no-hitter. That ended when McKinney led off the game with a double. To the shock of no one, the Mets failed to score.
Entering this game, the Mets hadn’t had a hit with RISP in this series. As such, you had to believe the Mets needed to homer to score.
That happened twice in the fifth as Jose Peraza and Lindor each hit a solo homer giving the Mets a 2-0 lead.
José Peraza puts us on the board. #LGM pic.twitter.com/w06Hu1f5F0
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 6, 2021
It's outta here! @Lindor12BC pic.twitter.com/ZBnzYg1wwe
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 6, 2021
As impressive as these homers were, there was the miracle in the sixth. Kevin Pillar and Tomas Nido began that inning with consecutive singles. That’s when Jonathan Villar, who has been on the bench with a hamstring issue pinch hit for Trevor Blankenhorn.
Villar came up big with the Mets first hit with RISP in the series. Villar drove home Pillar to increase the Mets lead to 3-0.
That was more than enough for deGrom, who was absolutely brilliant. He pitched seven scoreless allowing three hits and one walk while striking out 11. His season ERA is now 0.62. That’s the lowest ERA a pitcher has ever had through his first nine starts.
If someone says there is a pitcher better than Jacob deGrom, you can slap them. ? pic.twitter.com/9uRRVWXibj
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 6, 2021
Now, with deGrom recently off the IL, this was supposed to be no restrictions. Maybe that was the case, and maybe it wasn’t, but we saw deGrom lifted despite throwing just 77 pitches.
While the decision seemed curious, the Mets had Seth Lugo for the eighth and Edwin Diaz for the ninth all lined up. After a scoreless eighth for Lugo, the Mets tacked on an insurance run.
Former Mets prospect Nabil Crismatt was pitching his second inning of relief. Lindor led off the 9th with a lead-off double. After Smith drew a one out walk, Pillar drove home Lindor to increase the lead to 4-0.
The Mets threatened for more, but didn’t deliver. Not even with the bases loaded. This meant it was not a save situation for Diaz.
In years past that was an issue for Diaz. Not tonight. He pitched a scoreless inning preserving the Mets 4-0 win and snap the Padres 12 game home winning streak.
This win was made possible by deGrom who was brilliant. He keeps setting new records and further establishes himself as the best pitcher in the game.
Game Notes: In the game, deGrom passed Sid Fernandez for fourth all-time on the Mets strikeout list. deGrom has given up just 10 hits with the bases loaded in his career over 58 plate appearances.