To think, when the day started with good news from the Mets at Citi Field, it felt natural. Like a marathoner running a crisp 12-mile race in preparation for the next race.
Unfortunately, we should know by now that with this baseball team, even a 60-game sprint will be a marathon.
When Jacob deGrom didn’t come out for a second inning on Tuesday night, after appearing to pass the first frame without much difficulty, alarms went off throughout the vast Mets fandom. Suddenly, the great vibe that had been passed on since the first spring training, one that grew stronger with Robinson Cano’s return from an unexplained absence, vanished as Napster 1.0.
More than an hour later, the Mets provided the update, and it could have been worse: The two-time National League Cy Young Award winner left with strained back. Presumably we will get more information on Wednesday.
Only then, optimism decreases. Positive karma falters. The Mets universe receives a painful reminder that while the lineup looks quite powerful and the bullpen has a high ceiling, its ace cannot be replaced.
Sure, anything can happen this offseason. A list of Mets without deGrom would still be interesting. However, by no means could it be anyone’s favorite to capture the ultra-competitive NL East. Not with number two starter Noah Syndergaard either out for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
In the hours leading up to what they hoped would be a routine day at the office, with deGrom preparing for his opening day kickoff here on July 24 against the Braves, the Mets reveled in his good fortune and strong state of mind. cheer up.
“I think we maintained that environment throughout the pandemic,” said manager Luis Rojas. “The same camaraderie that we had in the first camp is happening right now.”
That first camp at Clover Field, with Rojas just replacing deposed Carlos Beltrán, proceeded jovially and relatively injury-free, laying the groundwork.
“This team is a very close group,” said Dominic Smith. “We are definitely relieved and happy to be back here together and we are just having fun.” Seeing Cano return, after being away for about a week, was “encouraging,” Smith said.
To paint an accurate picture, the air did not leave the stadium when Justin Wilson relieved deGrom for the second inning, the Mets put a runner on second base to simulate the additional inning setup that relievers like Wilson will face. The players continued to yell and scream and cheer each other on.
Maybe deGrom will shake this off and still be ready for 24, for the 12 starts of the regular season plus the playoffs. He experienced back problems in February 2018 and proceeded to win his first Cy Young. That time, however, he had more than a month to prepare for the start of the season (and started the second game of the year, after Syndergaard). At least, this development delays its accumulation.
In this fast season, in this packed division, the Mets prefer not to test the theory that they are deep enough to withstand an absent Syndergaard and even a reduced deGrom. They prefer to face the questions about having too many starting pitchers, as they did at Clover Field in February and March, and then start the guessing game about who becomes the fifth starter after Marcus Stroman, Steven Matz, Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha; The obvious candidates are Walker Lockett, Corey Oswalt, and young David Peterson.
No, the Mets will hold their breath just like their fans. They will cross their fingers because almost six months of positivity, the fate of the franchise seems to change the moment they threw 2017 Astros sign thief Carlos Beltrán out of his manager’s office, he did not disappear in the blink of an eye.
If they could, they would surely trade 75 percent of that good news from January to July for optimistic information on Wednesday. This is not how it works, of course. Therefore, a season hangs by a thread. The only downside to employing an ace in good faith, after all, is the possibility of losing it.
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