New York Mets

Once again MLB All-Star and New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom put forth a very mediocre performance. It is now officially time to worry?

By Robby Sabo

Everything is going right for the New York Mets these days. So much so that the 2015 champions of the NL East is a proclamation the entire Big Apple can already utter despite the always dreadful phrase of “7 with 17 to play.”

That’s simply an amazing feat in itself.

More amazing is the fact that these Mets, so prideful and boasting of their young power arms in the rotation, have completely flipped the script by winning through the lineup.

So much so that Jacob deGrom’s mediocrities haven’t phased anybody.

But they should.

deGrom’s been dreadful as of late. Very surprising and unnerving for the de-facto ace and only MLB All-Star for the Mets.

The deGrominator’s latest failure came Tuesday night against the Miami Marlins, at home. He was pounded to the tune of six runs and 10 hits over five innings pitched in the Mets 9-3 loss.

For deGrom, this has unfortunately continued the late-season theme of “average.”

He’s given up 24 earned runs since an Aug. 1 start against the Washington Nationals. His ERA in August was 3.28. His ERA in September currently sits at a shocking level of 5.50.

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This is not what the Mets fan is used to. Perhaps it explains their carefree attitude when it comes to deGrom. After all, all the hoopla surrounding Yoenis Cespedes, the suddenly power smashing lineup, and all of the winning has masked the cloudy situation surrounding the rotation.

Couple deGrom’s question marks with Matt Harvey’s situation heading into the playoffs and we have one serious situation on our hands.

Let’s remember what October is. It’s a pitching game. The once thought of vaunted Mets staff heading into a short series doesn’t look so scary after all. Additionally, the thought of moving either Noah Syndergaard and/or Steven Matz to the bullpen might actually now be out of the window.

The thought that Bartolo Colon now has a realistic shot of starting a postseason game tells explains the current situation perfectly.

Whether he’s worried or not, manager Terry Collins keeps rolling out the faith, via Michael Baron of JustMets.com:

“There were some pretty good swings, which indicate to me there were balls that were not in the right place,” Collins said. “He’s pretty frustrated right now.”

Remember this was once the guy who some players (Carlos Gonzalez) anointed the “best pitcher in baseball” earlier in the season.

“I’d like to keep pitching,” deGrom said. “I’ve had bad starts before. I’d like to get back out there.”

Many speculate it’s fatigue that’s plaguing the second-year righty. He’s already up to 181 innings on the season, already 40.2 more than his ending total of 2014.

This is new territory for the guy who blew away the AL during the midsummer classic in Cincinnati this past July.

Incredible lineup or not, if there’s one thing we know about postseason baseball it’s that pitching and timely hitting wins. Rarely does the superior lineup carry average pitching to the World Series.

For the Mets sake, deGrom better figure it out soon.

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Robby Sabo is a co-founder, CEO and credentialed New York Jets content creator for Jets X-Factor - Jet X, which includes Sabo's Sessions (in-depth film breakdowns) and Sabo with the Jets. Host: Underdog Jets Podcast with Wayne Chrebet and Sabo Radio. Member: Pro Football Writers of America. Coach: Port Jervis (NY) High School. Washed up strong safety and 400M runner. SEO: XL Media. Founder: Elite Sports NY - ESNY (Sold in 2020). SEO: XL Media. Email: robby.sabo[at]jetsxfactor.com