Rotation

Okay, so we are now 1 week into the new season and we are 4-3 and in 2nd place.  To all the people who think Matt Harvey should have started today, I say two things- first Opening day has now grown into a 2 day event, and Second, Jacob DeGrom is the Rookie of the Year!  He deserved this honor.

I did not get to watch the game, something to do with work.  Talk about messed up priorities.  DeGrom treated the fanse to a terrific effort.  Since I can't talk about a game I didn't see, I thought I would discuss the rotation.  We have Bartolo Colon, DeGrom, Harvey, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee.  I think that's as deep a rotation as you are going to see in all of baseball this season.  If you think I'm sugar-coating, just look at the name of this blog and read some of my posts.  I do not sugar-coat.

There is an old adage in baseball that says when your bullpen is struggling, the problem is your starting pitching.  We have five guys who have proven they can pitch at this level.  DeGrom went 6 1/3 today, and didn't give up a run.  A quality start is defined as going 6 and giving up 3 or fewer runs.

I have written in the past that I judge a good outing as averaging 15 pitches per inning.  Harvey is going to be limited to 90 pitches per start in April.  That should get him through 6 on most starts.  With 155 games to go, we are going to cycle through another 31 times.  I can think of worse things.

Opening Day and the over/under

After waiting for what seemed an eternity, Opening day has arrived.  The main reason that it has seemed like an eternity is that I have been waiting for this opening day for years!  In 2012, I joked that the Mets slogan for that year was "Mets 2012- check back in 3 years!"  I also joked that the Mets were going to honor the 50th anniversary of their inaugural season by repeating it.  Every spring people would respond to my pessimmism by saying, "Ya never know."  To which I replied, "Actually, as a matter of fact, I do."

Last season, they finished with a 3 month stretch of average baseball, a marked improvement.  A once-in-a-generation talented ace in Matt Harvey was out, and David Wright was beaten all to pulp.  Having Wright and Harvey healthy, Lagares gaining experience, Duda gaining confidence, I felt this team would be better.

They are in a tough division.  Washington has earned its favorite status, and while the Braves no longer own us, they still lease a few shares.  The over/under for wins this season should be 88.  This should be close to the playoff threshold.

1 down, 161 to go.  Let's go Mets!