Conventional wisdom for most New York Mets fans would see right-handed ace Jacob deGrom starting Game 1 of this weekend's Wild Card series. Ace (1A) Max Scherzer would get the nod for Game 2 followed by Chris Bassitt in Game 3, if necessary. These are the precise circumstances owner Steve Cohen and general manager Billy Eppler hired Buck Showalter to manage their baseball team. In most Major League Baseball situations, Buck's been there and a little unconventional wisdom, from his Yankees managerial days, may get the Mets deep into the playoffs.
Friday night may have been the most important game of the 2022 regular season for the New York Mets, actually I think it is Saturday but we'll get to that later. Manager Buck Showalter re-arranged the pitching rotation to start Jacob deGrom in Game 1 in Atlanta, much like you will expect to see in the upcoming playoffs against whomever the Mets face, in whatever series they are in. However, there was much more on the line for deGrom and Mets owner Steve Cohen.
It’s not Jacob deGrom or Max Scherzer, but Carrasco is a significant loss to the Mets starting rotation as they try and hold off Atlanta and win the NL East.
The Los Angelas Dodgers own the best record in the National League right now. LA's pitching and potent offense have made them the favorite out of the NL to face the Yankees in the World Series. The Mets are close behind but have been falling back to Earth as of late, as seen Tuesday in 1-0 loss to the lowly Cincinnati Reds. The Amazin's need a spark, maybe a secret weapon.
He hasn't played for the New York Mets since 1999. Yet, he will make more this season than Mets starting pitcher David Peterson. This is a story that stems from greed. At the time, Mets ownership, led by Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, were invested with their close friend Bernie Madoff. Things were great with Fred and Saul basking in fabricated double-digit returns. So, they made a historically laughable agreement when they wanted to jettison Bobby Bonilla prior to the 2000 season. One that has gone down in sports history as Bobby Bonilla Day.
The texts began on Monday when it was announced by the New York Mets that their All Star pitcher Max Scherzer would be pitching a rehab start in Binghamton for their Double-A affiliate, the Rumble Ponies. My Mets fans friends were taking an interest poll of making the two-hour journey. Due to work obligations I, along with my friends, were out. Then came the text on Tuesday from my 21 year-old son a little after 5pm. "I won't be home for dinner." I had little doubt of where he was going.