LONELYVILLE, NY – This sleepy town on Fire Island is real. Yours truly is here with the wife and college rugby pals. It also is the most apropos name for locale for a huge portion of NY Mets fans today, figuratively and literally. That’s what happens when Max Scherzer leaves a game after 5 innings and 67 pitches. We’re all left dealing with the aftermath and potential repercussions of: Scherzer Un-Schertainty: Was Yesterday the Worst Day in Mets’ History?
Oblique Fatigue?
Raise your hand if you’re tired of things like fatigue. Shout out if you are weary of dead arm, elbow tendinitis and rib removals. Slam your fist on the table if you’re exhausted by headlines re Tommy John Surgery, lap strains, ulnar collateral ligamen and rotator cuffs. Please make it all go away. Stop the ride, we want to get off. I feel your pain and like you, I’m mad [Max] as hell and not going to take it anymore!
Is the season over?
We don’t know yet. It’s too early. The “precautionary” MRI results are/were not available at the time of this being published. What we do know – without any further detail – is that Mad Max will not be making his next start. You can bet the bank on that. Set your watch to it. You can also bet the mortgage that future Atlanta Brave Jake deGrom will miss a start or three before this regular season ends. It’s the doom that us Mets fans expect.
All is not lost.
The hope is here that Scherzer gets a two-week injury time-out and is ready to go for the playoffs. That’s when his $43,000,000.00 per season matters. That’s when he is expected to step up. A sixth inning vs the Nats means absolutely NOTHING if he has so much as a fingernail out of place. Let David Peterson and Trevor Williams make a start or two. Get Tylor Megill take the bump. Maybe those guys turn into an Ollie Perez, John Maine or Rick Reed. That would be enough to close out the regular season.
Max is the X-Factor
Maxwell Martin Scherzer is the one asset that the Amazins can’t do without – from the pitching perspective. He’s much more than just a starting pitcher. He’s a coach, a motivator, a savant. He is the the bridge over murky post-season waters. To be clear: deGromb is an accessory. Max is the meal ticket.
Hopefully, yesterday was NOT the Worst Day in Mets’ History.
