Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander have been put on notice.
The tanking Mets have no hope for a turnaround if their pair of aging aces do not regain their form, according to WFAN legend Mike Francesa.
“If Verlander and Scherzer are not going to do it, nothing is going to work,” Francesa said on his BetRivers podcast. “They are here this year. They are here next year. They are walk-in Hall of Famers. But they’re old and they’re not getting the job done. And that is not a good sign. They have to get productivity out of those guys. They have to. They built this team to get productivity out of them. If they can’t, they can’t win.”
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Scherzer turns 39 in July. Verlander turned 40 in February. Both have been disappointments this season due to ineffectiveness and injury. Verlander has given the Mets just 36 innings so far and is 2-3 with a 4.85 ERA. He lasted just three innings in Wednesday’s crushing extra-innings loss to the Braves, giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits. The Mets have lost Verlander’s last three starts.
Scherzer has been better. He’s 5-3 with a 3.71 ERA and 53 1/3 innings pitched. And the Mets had won each of his last four starts before a so-so outing in Wednesday’s loss at Atlanta. But on the whole, it has not been good enough as the Mets have fallen nine games back of the NL East lead in the loss column.
“If Verlander and Scherzer don’t carry them, they’re going nowhere,” Francesa said. “If those two guys don’t get a run going … they’re not going anywhere. They need much better. Much better.”
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
