The results of Max Scherzer’s MRI are in, and the news isn’t great for the Mets. The team announced Thursday that Scherzer has suffered a “moderate to high grade internal oblique strain” and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. He’ll be placed on the injured list alongside co-ace Jacob deGrom (stress reaction in his scapula) and right-hander Tylor Megill (biceps inflammation).
It’s a brutal blow for the Mets, who sit at 25-14 and currently hold a six-game lead over the second-place Phillies in the National League East. Scherzer sustained the injury last night when throwing a slider to Albert Pujols, telling reporters after the game that he’d been experienced some tightness before feeling a “zing” down his side on the final pitch to Pujols. The three-time Cy Young winner immediately called for the training staff and could be seen plainly stating, “I’m done” when the staff reached the mound.
The Mets shattered precedent to get Scherzer into Queens, signing the 37-year-old righty to a three-year deal worth $130MM and giving him the highest annual salary in baseball history in doing so ($43.33MM). Owner Steve Cohen and first-year general manager Billy Eppler surely had visions of the game’s most formidable one-two punch at the time, dreaming of a playoff rotation fronted by Scherzer and deGrom.
It’s possible that duo could yet lead the Mets’ staff in the postseason, but deGrom hasn’t pitched yet in 2022 thanks to that shoulder injury. The team announced earlier this week that his latest MRI revealed “continued healing” but did not provide a timetable for his return. It’s now possible that the Mets won’t have that vaunted duo healthy and on the same roster until after the All-Star break, depending on Scherzer’s recovery.
Even in the absence of Scherzer, deGrom and Megill — whose injury should be downplayed, given the strength of his early performance — the Mets still have a solid starting staff on paper. Chris Bassitt and Carlos Carrasco have been outstanding early in the season, and the Mets have gotten quality work from Taijuan Walker and (in more limited opportunities) lefty David Peterson, too. It’s likely that Williams and Peterson will be the choices to follow the trio of Bassitt, Carrasco and Walker while the Mets navigate this latest batch of injuries.
While that’s a solid group, it obviously pales in comparison to a full-strength contingent of Mets starters. And, more concerning, the depth beyond the current quintet begins to look more questionable. Veteran left-hander Mike Montgomery is pitching with the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate but has been tagged for a 5.52 ERA through seven starts. Twenty-five-year-old Thomas Szapucki has been sharp through six Triple-A starts but has totaled just 21 innings in those outings. Righty Jordan Yamamoto has been a depth option for the Mets in the past, but he was removed from the 40-man roster earlier this season and only just made his minor league debut — 1 2/3 shaky innings in High-A — after missing time on the minor league injured list. Former Angels righty Felix Pena was brought in on a minor league deal, but like Montgomery, he’s struggled in Triple-A.
Given the manner in which injuries have already cut into the team’s depth, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Mets poke around the market for some depth options. Major trades this time of year are uncommon but not unheard of. Otherwise, the Mets could turn to some recently DFA’ed arms (e.g. Jharel Cotton) or veterans who’ve recently opted for minor league free agency (e.g. Drew Hutchison, Carlos Martinez) in an effort to at least stockpile some experienced options in the upper minors.
Doug
The dumpster fire in Flushing keeps on burning.
Cosmo2
Really? We’re in first place what exactly is your criteria here?
BigFootsFart
They’re 26-14 and top 3 in MLB. Shut your gross mouth
You Can Put It In The Books
I keep seeing a lot of posts like this containing negativity about the Mets. They’ve done nothing but continue to win, including today’s walk-off win, and silence you idiots.
sfes
Jealousy
Curly Was The Smart Stooge
Hate to see another great player go down. Verlander came back, lets hope Max can also.
I’m a Braves fan, but the Mets really have it going in 2022
We’ll just have to wait & see what happens
Some folks critize older players, you may have to eat those thoughts.
Milwaukee-2208
Any time a pitcher removes himself from a game you know it’s bad.
DarkSide830
particularly this dude
rememberthecoop
No question. He’s old school in that regard.
taran7
Well except that he removed himself from starting a big NLCS game for LA last year. That put a dent in his old school gamer rep for me.
gbs42
If pitching when you can’t pitch is old school, I’ll take new school.
FSF
I think Scherzer is definitely old school in that regard that he’ll tough it out as much as anyone can but he won’t be stupid and hurt his team if he knows that he doesn’t have his “stuff”.
BeforeMcCourt
Won’t be stupid? At nearly 38, he pitched an entire game feeling soreness in his side and only said something when he aggravated it into medium to severe strain. He should have probably been scratched, frankly
He also pitched himself into the ground on 3 days rest in LA then couldn’t make his next turn when LA REALLY needed him
Neither of those are stupid? Or has he always been willing to risk his body to compete, but his body is finally giving out on him? Only ~110M more left on the deal!
Yankee Clipper
To be fair to Max, he probably pitches with soreness all year, to some degree, in various places. That’s not in jest. If you’ve played baseball professionally, or listened to any upper-level player, these guys all play with some type of pain/strain almost all season long. Rarely do they feel really good every game.
UGA_Steve
That is even true down at lower levels when you might be playing in tournaments with five games in three days and such. Even teenagers learn to play through elbow, shoulder, finger, knee, back and other issues. If you complain about them, you don’t get to play any more and that is not going to fly with most kids that love sports.
I doubt I can find the article, but I once read that by the time most ‘legitimate’ pitchers hit high school, they would have already been under the knife for Tommy John if they had been on an MLB team with the resources. It’s more practical to get it repaired and strengthened while missing a year at the MLB level, but not for young kids they just pitch through the pain, alter their delivery, or swallow some OTC NSAID like Tic Tac’s. It’s hard to say enough when it’s one of the best times of your life despite the pain.
Yankee Clipper
Yeah, UGA, that’s a great point. I don’t really recall playing hurt or sore in my 20s, but I had also wrestled for more than a decade by that time, so I was used to an insane grind.
No doubt those things crop up constantly though. It has to. These guys sacrifice their bodies all the time & they’re playing more than ever (year-round, more tournaments, more, more, more).
I also have no doubt about the TJS now. It’s so prevalent and several of the younger guys coming into the majors have already had one, some two. Max was pitching really well, throwing hard, throwing sharp. He also knew immediately when it strained.
Smart guy, great pitcher, hope he recovers really well.
LordD99
@Clipper, paraphrasing here, but I remember Andy Pettitte once saying something like if I only pitched when I had no pain then I’d never pitch.
I pretty much believe all MLB pitchers are experiencing some level of aches and pains every time they take the mound, and it only gets worse the older they are.
Yankee Clipper
Right on, brother. I believe it.
sfes
Body giving out? An oblique strain?
xalz
Major League Cricket has $120MM investment and is coming stateside to our side of the pond, too! That’s where baseball game is from – is cricket!
More to come…
Bart Harley Jarvis
I spent an afternoon at Lords Cricket Ground that felt more like a month, and that was despite all of the champagne corks being popped onto the pitch and breaking for teatime. I seriously kid you not.
And I thought baseball originated from rounders?
Bart
Baseball did not come from cricket. it came from rounders.
Poster formerly known as . . .
According to Henry Chadwick (October 5, 1824 – April 20, 1908), baseball is derived from a game called Rounders. There’s no agreement on the accuracy of the claim, however, and the first recorded reference to baseball includes references to wicket, cricket, football, cat, and fives:
‘(Pittsfield, MA) May 11, 2004- The continuing debate about which town gave birth to baseball – Cooperstown, NY, or Hoboken, NJ – is now over. And the winner is? Pittsfield.
‘An original document believed to be the earliest written reference to baseball in North America has been located in the city of Pittsfield’s library, the Berkshire Athenaeum. The reference is contained in a 1791 Pittsfield bylaw, which states that:
‘”…for the Preservation of the Windows in the New Meeting House . . . no Person or Inhabitant of said town, shall be permitted to play at any game called Wicket, Cricket, Baseball, Football, Cat, Fives or any other game or games with balls, within the Distance of Eighty Yards from said Meeting House.”‘
web.archive.org/web/20090721171602/http://www.pitt…
Personally, I find it hard to see cricket taking hold in the U.S. when MLB is trying to reduce the length of games, and this is how the BBC describes the duration of cricket:
“There are three formats of cricket match. The test match is the traditional form of the game, played since 1877, and this takes place over five days. Then there are one-day games, and Twenty20s (T20), where each team gets twenty overs to bowl to the opposing team. (There are six balls in an over.)”
Yankee Clipper
This is clearly false – baseball definitely originated in NY, which is why it’s the best…. Lol.
Interesting article man. That would be something if it were around even earlier than 1791. I mean, that’s during the inception of the country for all intents and purposes. That’s…incredible.
Poster formerly known as . . .
Right? That surprised me too. I thought it started around the time of the Civil War.
swinging wood
I’ve heard all the arguments. You won’t be able to convince me that Cricket is a sport worth investing in.
RoastGobot
Oh no metsbros we were too cocky!
LordD99
Worse than I thought. Figured a month.
Poster formerly known as . . .
Not with an oblique injury. Those typically take quite a while to heal. Judge injured his oblique on April 20, 2019 and didn’t get back until June 21, 2019, and didn’t get a hit until the 25th.
Yankee Clipper
Guys, WTH?! Green – Forearm strain & no story about it… I fear the worst & it looks as though the injury bug finally touched the pitching staff. Ugh, hopefully Green is alright, but if it is a UCL issue, it could explain why he’s been off.
Thankfully there’s seems to be a lot of depth in the system, but Gil & Green isn’t a good start. Marinaccio isn’t ready, probably won’t be because of his control issues.
LordD99
I hope Green is ok. He’s a free agent after this year and would have had a nice contract waiting from some team, so heading off to TJS means he’d be done until 2024. Hopefully he’ll be fine. Haven’t heard any update on Gil yet.
jhend12
Wonder how much the Mets are paying players to sit on the IL? Gotta be close to a small market teams entire payroll.
gbs42
Way more than several teams.
damascusj
Or like paying Canó to play in San Diego
just_thinkin
What’s the prorated amount for 8 weeks at his salary? That’s an expensive vacation!
fred-3
I mean, he’ll be 38 in July. This is why you don’t get 40M/yr to pitchers that old lol
xalz
Get better, Max. Did Albert eventually get a hit?
RunDMC
Better, the 42 y/o got a SB…C Mazeika should be wearing the sombrero of shame.
xalz
Thanks, RunDMC. AP got a stolen base with the plantar heels and got in base. Wow!
gbs42
Pujols has been successful on something like 16 of his last 17 SB attempts. Of course, that’s over several seasons.
Smacky
The Mets breaking pitchers is a tradition like no other.
drasco036
Mets still should have enough pitching to stay afloat in the NL East barring a monumental collapse. The problem is, they are going to need to need both DeGrom and Scherzer come playoff time otherwise they are going to be bounced in the first round.
tiredolddude
Monumental collapse? It’s May, and it’s not like they’re up 20 games.
BlueSkies_LA
I don’t know the definition of monumental in this context, but the Mets are currently the only team in the NLE with a winning record, so they are not exactly surrounded by strong challengers at this point.
tiredolddude
Understood. Just a great many games remain and as such, it wouldn’t be surprising if things got interesting if the Mets sputter for a prolonged period
RunDMC
…so far. I mean, we are about at the end of the first quarter of the season. Are you the fan leaving at the end of the first quarter in football games? ATL has barely had Acuña back. ATL was infamously under-500 in July and won the WS.
Sunday Lasagna
……and didn’t have their ace Mike Soroka for the whole season…….next man up Ian Anderson stepped in. It’s next man up time, see what a 96mph lefthanded Szapucki can do for 10 starts while Scherzer is out.
BlueSkies_LA
Yes, so far. Another way of saying at this point. I’d expect the Braves to get it together eventually but then the Mets will get deGrom and Scherzer back eventually too. So probably a two-horse race.
xalz
Philly and maybe the Marlins pitching makes the NLE pretty strong… Never can tell, when the Nats reload and get back in the East, too, it’s a decent division.
revolver
They’ll both get hurt again. It’s inevitable.
BlueSkies_LA
The NLE has an overall losing record so far this year. Yes it’s early going and the odds suggest improvement but that’s how things stand as of now.
sfes
WAS was way under .500 at this point in 2019 too
BlueSkies_LA
Comparing the rebuilding 2022 Nats with the 2019 team is a bit of a reach, don’t you think?
sfes
@blueskies_LA that’s not what I was responding to. It was Run’s comment that the Braves were way under .500 before the all star break so we shouldn’t count them out. I was saying just like the 2019 Nats… Not whatever you’re implying
BlueSkies_LA
@sfes. Fair enough. The way these comments thread it’s often hard to tell who is responding to what.
JoeBrady
Monumental collapse?
=======================
Yup. They’re playing well, but this is not a huge lead or anything. It’s 7.5 games, and they have 16 of their next 22 on the road. And those 16 road games include SFG, LAD, SD, and LAA.
Your record and bad/good luck often have more to do with record than your talent. Last year, they were in 1st in early-August, and then had a ridiculous 13-game stretch against LAD & SFG, and went 2-11. Then they recovered a bit by facing the Nats & Marlins 13 games in a row, and went 8-5. The Mets will have it tough over the next 6 weeks.
Samuel
It’s not even the end of May…..
MLB is a playoff league. No one knows what the contending teams rosters will look like after the trading deadline, or who on those rosters will be totally healthy come the August stretch run. And even then we have to remember that there will be 6 playoff teams this year.
Unless they suffer major injuries I see Atlanta in the playoffs….Mets may get there as well…..although even the Phillies are a possibility if their pitching continues to slowly improve.
The season is only beginning to take shape.
the kutch
With his involvement in the CBA negotiations, I’m sure he wasn’t able to get in peak condition for this season…At his age, you could see an injury coming from a mile away…
Redfish Time
That’s why a bunch of really smart baseball people convinced the Mets to invest $130 million into him. A mile away.
Ted
You really think he couldn’t stay in shape because he had something else to do?
the kutch
Yes, I do…there’s a huge difference between being in shape and being ready for the 6 month grind at an HOF level..
damascusj
That take is silly
JoeBrady
I’m sure he wasn’t able to get in peak condition for this season…
=======================================
I doubt it had anything to do with it. Even had he come in in 90% shape, he’d have likely gotten hurt in his first or second start. If/when I start working out, the rust is apparent immediately.
It probably has more to do with his age. No matter what type of athlete you are, you won’t be as good as you age.
Ella B
An interesting take. Totally inaccurate, but interesting nonetheless.
angt222
Call up Peterson and see if what we got can step up. If not, begin to shop for SP.
JackStrawb
@angt22 I wouldn’t wait. the Mets already know what they have, given they’ve been watching their guys for several seasons. They’re not going to get 2 good months out of a rotation of
Carrasco
Walker
Megill
Peterson
T. Williams.
Will 4 of those 5 even be healthy in a given turn? By the end of July, even if they all stay magically healthy until then, Carrasco, Walker, and Williams will all be up around or past their innings limits.
Mitchell Page
Well Mets GM better come with hat in hand to A’s for Frankie Montas .
VonPurpleHayes
Lol. They don’t need to have a billion dollar rotation. Let’s see how June goes before Cohen destroys the entire Mets future for a starter. I think the Mets can hold the fort until their big arms come back. This team has been good.
sfes
They’ve done well not trading their top prospects. I actually think that they won’t panic that hard and will hang onto at least Baty and Alvarez unless they get a Godfather offer.
Randomuser4567
Not until someone else in that division shows signs of life
Cosmo2
Why does everyone think the Mets need to panic and make a big move every time someone gets injured?
VonPurpleHayes
Because fans love spending Cohen’s money.
Cosmo2
Heh, yep
Goose
As soon as I heard ‘oblique’ then I said 2 months like Flaherty last year.
Smacky
Almost the ten year anniversary of the Johan Santana no-hitter. The ghost of Johan’s left arm must still not be over it.
BigFred
You forgot to put “no-hitter” in quotes.
Say Hey Now Kid
What?
Smacky
Umpire called a ball that hit the LF line a foul ball.
whyhayzee
If blown umpire calls changed history, the Yankees would go 0 and 162 every year. Yeesh.
VonPurpleHayes
He’s 37 years old. Injuries are inevitable. It was a high risk high reward signing, but honestly, better now than later. Get the gang back for the playoffs. Survive June and the inveitable surges from the Marlins, Braves and Phils. Mets will be ok.
C Yards Jeff
Agreed!
sfes
@Von what do you guys (Phils fans) think of Nimmo? I love the guy, he’s almost the perfect leadoff hitter
JackStrawb
It was a high risk, poor reward signing given that the money involved was enough to sign two of 2021’s top starters.
Kewldood69
No amount of money will make a strained oblique heal faster. The current Meta are what uneducated fans think the Dodgers have been the last ten year. Have fun LOLMETS
sfes
How’s the weather in jealous idiot town? They STILL have a decent rotation and Bassitt is an ace on plenty of teams.
Rsox
“No Scherzer, no deGrom, this world will fall”
RobM
Unfortunate. I suppose the glass-is-half-full view is the Mets should have a very rested Scherzer and deGrom for the stretch run and the postseason. I am saying that seriously. Obviously, they’ll need to hold position until both are back. Fortunately, the NL East this year hasn’t been challenging, but the Braves still may rise.
VonPurpleHayes
The Marlins and Phillies are better than what their records show. Just look at the run differentials and expected w/l record. The Phillies also had the hardest April and May schedules in baseball so things should ease up in June for them. The Braves have actually been pretty bad, but they’re the Braves. Personally I don’t think the Mets need to worry much, but June will be very telling.
RobM
Winning the division could be extra important this year as there is no guarantee second place will get a WC spot.
VonPurpleHayes
It’s looking like multiple WCs from the West or perhaps 1 from the Central.
mercurymets
The Mets have a brutal June schedule just fyi.
Fred McGriff
@MercuryMets
You’re the first person that has had a realistic take on everything. June will be a very big factor in deciding who goes to the post season as far as I am concerned.
Now let’s see, so far the Braves have played the Reds 4 games, The Nats, The Padres 7 games, the Dodgers-3 games, The Marlins, The Cubs, Rangers, Mets-4 games, Red Sox 2 games, Brewers 6 games, and now will play the Marlins
Mets have played
Nats 6 games, Dbacks 6 times, Giants 5 games Phillies 9 times + the Cardinals & the Mariners
There are no easy games in MLB but I know out of these 2 comparisons who has had the tougher schedule thus far.
Then go to June, Mets will play the Dodgers, Padres, Angels, Astros Brewers, Marlins, & Astros again…..
Braves will play, Athletics, Rockies, DBacks, Pirates, Nats, Cubs, and finish the end of the month with Giants, Dodgers, Cubs.
The Mets have a huge lead, so the Braves have a lot of work to do just to get on level terms.
June will have a big say in the standings…..but the Braves will have to play a whole lot better, and Matzek is a big hole to fill in the bullpen.
I hope Max is better soon.
sfes
Hell, we have a brutal west coast trip starting tonight
C Yards Jeff
The offense is pretty good this year in comparison to the rest of MLB. IE. getting on base and scoring. As long as this continues, should win the division with only some pushback from the other teams. Playoffs are another story of course. Trade for a durable innings eater vet (stellar ERA not required) to round out staff for now. Heal up that 80 mil duo for later.
sfes
I was wondering early today what it would cost to get Contreras and Hendricks from the Cubs.
goob
@RobM
If I was a Mets fan, I think what would worry me just as much as their current IL placements, is whether or not one or both of these guys has hit a kind-of chronic injury phase of their long, distinguished careers. In other words, a situation where they do come back in July, reasonably strong and able, but their bodies just won’t let them sustain it any more, beyond a month or two at a time or something.
I’d wouldn’t bet against ’em – and I hope they each have more good years ahead! But age and mileage always catch up – inevitably…
RobM
Their ages are a concern. They remain effective, but expecting full seasons from them at this stage is unrealistic. Certainly this year, but also in future years.
JackStrawb
@RobM True, but that assumes good health the rest of the way once each returns. For deGrom, at least, I wouldn’t expect that.
In addition, the Mets are still run by Alderson and Eppler, while the Braves are still run by 2021’s magician, Alex Anthopoulos.
It seems more and more like deGrom is where Koufax was after 1966, or Pedro after 2005.
Aoe3
Tough to see but hell be fresh down the stretch and into the post season.
stymeedone
Fresh but not stretched out, and still rusty perhaps.
Tacoshells
Trade for Montas
damascusj
That billion dollar rotation
Sunday Lasagna
8 weeks, that’s 10 starts. 10 starts. So if the Mets were going to go 8-2 in those starts and now win a few less? We are talking about 3 or 4 less wins for the season. Maybe. Maybe not. Next man up.
revolver
It will likely be more.
AshamedMethGoat
Not so simple. You count on Scherzer going deep into games, which replacements probably won’t do. This taxes the bullpen a bit more, which can have a cascade effect, The Mets bullpen thus far has been slightly better average so far, but it’s not the same as Scherzer pitching onto the 7th.
I think the pitching will be fine. What Mets fans should be wondering about is whether or not the offense will continue to produce at the current rate. They’ve already regressed a bit since the calendar flipped to May, when you’d expect for them to get even better..
I guess time will tell.
qbass187
Oh boy.
Jgwi2az
Article is missing the first name for “Williams”
VegasSDfan
Karma!
damascusj
Padres should trade em nick Martinez for an OF bat
dlw0906
The Mets get Max and now they’ll be lucky to get 20 starts out of him in 2022. Such a star-crossed franchise.
No Salary Cap For You! (Come Back One Year)
They were teammates for a few months last year. Coincidence?
desertbull
That’s so Met
hellsbells51
I bet they wish they traded for Paddack now…oh wait.
Redwolves3
How’s that $130 million contract working out for The Mets? Going to be out 6-8 weeks and he still gets paid.
revolver
Guarantee he bullrushes himself back early and injures something else.
sfes
I’m sure they were realistic in their expectations. They are winning and still haven’t gutted their farm. They had to pay a premium to get him here…. They now are 12 over .500 and have degrom and Scherzer returning after the all star break. I’m not counting out the Phils, Braves, or Fish but judging a 3 year deal a month and a half in is stupid.
Neon Cop
ATL has almost 30 games in a row against bad teams starting tomorrow; whether ATL is itself a bad team remains to be seen…good chance to gain ground.
Samuel
You bring up many good points……
Hang in there.
LordD99
Beating up on the bad teams while holding ground against the good teams is how championship-runs are built. Atlanta has a soft schedule upcoming and the Mets have a tougher schedule in June, so let’s see where things stand at June’s end.
JayRyder
If they Make the Playoffs.
ArianaGrandSlam
Who’s going to cover his spot now?
Khein2006
No one will win this division now.
Yanks4life22
Honestly Mets should be alright. Being there are only like 6 teams in baseball who actually attempt to win games I think they can skate by for a bit.
Phillies have a ton of problems, Marlins are the Marlins, Nationals are rebuilding and last years Braves team was 1/2 luck 1/2 Freddie Freeman and they are already missing 50% of that equation. Honestly the Mets just have to play .500 baseball for a couple months.
I will say Lindor needs to start playing like the player he thought he was when he demanded $300 million.
BigFootsFart
Everyone is hating on the Mets so hard in this article. It must suck to see them do good for once and actually not faking it. All yall drinking haterade, switch to Bleach. It’ll taste slightly better. I promise.
MarlinsFanBase
So, the Mets having a good record in mid-May means that the Mets aren’t faking it?
BigFootsFart
Yes. Last year with that terrible bench mob that somehow pulled out victories was fake. An illusion of greatness. This year they’re actually in the top 5 in most offensive and pitching categories without degrom. Seems legit. We will see though. I like your staff though. Pablo is the truth
MarlinsFanBase
Who said I was ONLY referring to last year considering the Mets history of good records in mid-May, that didn’t turn out so well later?
YankeesBleacherCreature
It’s a long season. I’d put money over the Mets making the playoffs than the Marlins.
MarlinsFanBase
Considering history, until proven otherwise, it’s usually safe to bet that neither make the playoffs. The difference is that the Mets do it in laughing stock disaster form.
You Can Put It In The Books
Do you only come out of retirement to post nonsense on Mets articles??
sfes
The Mets lose AND win in spectacular fashion. When they’re in the postseason the whole city is watching and pulling for them, even Yankees fans.
MarlinsFanBase
Like I said before the season, when you use the line “they are getting older” for each NL East team, it has a different meaning for each team.
You Can Put It In The Books
I guess age doesn’t matter if you’re the Marlins and no matter how good your pitching is you can only win 2 out of every 12 games. Hang in there champ.
Fred McGriff
@BlueSkiesLA
It is comments like yours that are clueless, because you’re not observing the schedule which is all relevant so far. Furthermore, LAD payroll #1 in all of baseball. $288,220,535, so you’ve spent more than the Yankees and the Mets, and let’s see what you can come up with. You are stacked beyond belief, nothing short of a WS win will justify your spending. Braves have spent 100+ million less. You are quantifying results so far one and a bit months into the season roughly. The NL East is as strong as the NL West. Go and have a look at who the Braves have played thus far v who the Mets have played. The Phillies nearly swept you 4-0 except for Knebel blowing it in the 9th, so obviously either the Dodgers are “weak” and a non contender, which is justified by your comment, or you haven’t got a clue..
June will be telling for the Mets as they start to play some really tough teams who are post season contenders. The Braves have played the Brewers, the Dodgers, and the Padres the most out of their small total of games played so far. For sure, they have to turn the page soon, but as I said you haven’t got a clue. Furthermore, how many games will you win against the DBacks this year to try and assert that the Dodgers are the ‘best’ team? It means very little how many games you win in your division as long as you win it, it’s not a measure of depth of roster. The Marlins have a better starting rotation than most teams in your division, you’ve probably never seen Alcantara or Lopez, pitch, ‘who you say’?, yet you’re talking about ‘strong challengers’? It’s laughable what some people write here.
fred-3
The NL West might have 3 100 win teams. That division is best in baseball. Stop trying to hype up the Marlins lol
BlueSkies_LA
Some people posting laughable comments is just about the only thing you got right. I’m not sure what part of what I’ve posted you think you’re responding to here, since you haven’t responded to anything I actually said. How could I have “asserted” anything about the Dodgers when I haven’r even mentioned them? So you just made that up. Anyway, for those who are interested in facts, here’s the combined division win/loss lines as of yesterday:
NLW +27
ALE +13
ALW +3
NLE -10
NLC -15
ALC -16
All games played within a division are factored out of these numbers, by definition. So you might want to think twice about calling anyone clueless. It opens you up to that very charge.
Fred McGriff
@BlackSkiesLA
BlueSkies_LA22 hours ago
I don’t know the definition of monumental in this context, but the Mets are currently the only team in the NLE with a winning record, so they are not exactly surrounded by strong challengers at this point.
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If you’re not asserting that the METS are in a weak division, tell me what you’re putting forth here? So I am not responding to “anything you said”? Yes, of course not, there’s no inference there at all. The Mets “are not exactly surrounded by strong challengers at this point.”
Division win loss tells you nothing, as it doesn’t show who you’ve played so far, so it is no barometer when the season is just 1 and a half months old, but as I said, you’re clueless.
NL West Runs scored 878
NL East Runs scored 830
NL West Runs against 798
NL East Runs against 809
A 48 run differential in the west compared to NL East on offense, because-The Dodgers have played who so far, and beaten up on who so far with that stacked line up?
An 11 run differential on runs against comparing NL West to East, is nothing.
These stats mean hardly anything at this stage, you can cherry pick any stats you like, but to claim the NL East is weak besides the Mets is farcical. Never the less, what did the Dodgers spend last year in comparison to the Braves, and you still lost. This year your club is the number 1 spender in baseball so nothing less than a World Series victory with your outlandish spending will suffice.
Again, your club were nearly swept by the Phillies only for Knebel’s blown save, and you’re playing the DBacks and Colorado every other series most of the time to fatten your wins and inflate your run differential, the same as last year. You Dodgers fans assert. “we were the best team in baseball”. No, you weren’t, you won your division, and no one remembers that, they remember that the Braves won the World Series. Have a nice day, Sir.
dodgers702
and what is your point? seems you are infatuated with the Dodgers a bit. You keep bringing them when I suppose you are a Braves fan.
fred-3
Funny, the Dodgers have only played the Rockies and D’Backs in three series and lost 2 of those series. They played much better against better competition (Padres, Giants, Twins, Braves)
BlueSkies_LA
I write in complete thoughts, and say exactly what I mean. So all you need to do to understand what I’m saying is reading the words, no interpretation required. You should try that for a change and save yourself a lot of anguish and arguing with yourself.
And yeah, I see your snark goes up to 11. Not impressed by that either.
Fred McGriff
@BlackSkiesLa
BlueSkies_LA22 hours ago
I don’t know the definition of monumental in this context, but the Mets are currently the only team in the NLE with a winning record, so they are not exactly surrounded by strong challengers at this point.
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I agree, there’s no interpretation required. You’re saying and asserting and making a statement that the NL East is weak as there’s no “strong challengers at this point”. End.
Fred McGriff
dodgers7028 hours ago
and what is your point? seems you are infatuated with the Dodgers a bit. You keep bringing them when I suppose you are a Braves fan.
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No, it’s more like Dodgers fans who talk about how many games they won last year and try and assert that they were the best team in baseball, they weren’t. If you win 100 games in your division, and win the division, you’re a good team. Does it mean you’re the best team in all of baseball, no, it doesn’t. However, you Dodgers fans, (not all of you), like to talk this up, it’s rubbish… However, keep talking it up, because nothing short of a World Series win in 2022 with your payroll will suffice.
swinging wood
Wade Miley is available and can be traded before the draft unlike FA signees.
mcmillankmm
Feel free to send us an offer for Eovaldi
themed
Too bad. Can’t stand the cocky Mets anyway. They stand on top of the plate and then cry and whine when they get hit with a change up. Then they want to start a bean ball war. Hope they lose!
JackStrawb
In six weeks, without deGrom and Scherzer, and with the inevitable injury to or ineffectiveness of one of Taijuan or Cookie, the Mets will often be running out a rotation something like…
Megill
Walker
Peterson
Trevor Williams
Some Guy
We’ll also see Marte, Nimmo, and Canha rarely starting at the same time.
That’s a .450 team, maybe .425. If they go 17-23 over the next 40 games, that’s a 43-39 record around the halfway mark. If the East remains weak they’ll still be in 1st, but I wouldn’t count on it.