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New York Mets Should Shut Down deGrom and Syndergaard

By Steve Contursi

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With only 30 or so games left to play and a full four games behind the Cardinals in the all important loss column, the New York Mets should seriously consider shutting down Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard for the rest of the season 

At this point in the season, the loss column becomes more important than the win column. For the New York Mets, it means that in order to gain ground on the teams in front of them, even if the Mets win a game, the other teams have to lose a game. Otherwise, it’s a draw and there is no change in the standings.

Right now, the Mets are 3.5 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the final Wild Card spot in the National League. With only 30 or so games left to play, simple math is not working in favor of the Mets.

This doesn’t even begin to take into account what the other four teams ahead of the Mets are doing. Because again, it’s all about losses now. So if, for instance, the Marlins or the Pirates go on a similar tear as the Mets, the Mets still pack their bags and go home.

So when someone looks at the Wild Card standings today and sees the Mets only 3.5 games out of the race and says to himself, “That’s not so bad. We can still do it”, ………think again.

This all goes to show that the Mets should be seriously thinking about completely shutting down Jacob deGrom along with Noah Syndergaard for the remainder of the season.

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deGrom now has two successive disastrous starts. His earned run average is now approaching 3.00 while a week and a half ago, it was a little more than two. Moreover, his body language on the mound is spelling t-i-r-e-d. deGrom has one complete game to his credit. It came this year and after the game he was quoted as saying (paraphrasing), “I’ve never even seen the ninth inning”. And while this may be an indictment of how he and others were coddled during his development with the Mets, it’s also a statement he’s making that says maybe, “Hey, slow down a bit here. This is all new territory for me “.

Think about the risks, especially since he’s the only remaining starter besides rubber arm Bartolo Colon who hasn’t suffered a injury this year. Of course, don’t send him home. Keep him to throw those all important bullpens that don’t contain the stress of game situations.

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With Syndergaard, the choice should be easier. For him, you do send him home to get those bone spurs taken care of and start a rehab program. We already know he’s a gem and he shouldn’t have anything to prove to anyone. So, what’s the point of having him finishing 14-7 instead of the 11-7 he’s rung up so far.

As far as the question of who pitches if they don’t, that’s not my job. That’s up to Sandy Alderson, Terry Collins, and Dan Warthen to figure out. Oh yeah, what about those all important SNY ratings and ballpark attendance numbers? Soak it up Mr. Wilpon and think about the numbers you’ll have next year if the team can come back to do what they were supposed to have done this year.

This isn’t “never say die” fight for every inch of territory for sixteen football games. This is baseball where you grind out a 162-game season over six months. And with that, you have a better chance of seeing the writing on the wall sooner than you can in the NFL.

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The writing on the wall for the Mets this year was obvious even back in June. Maybe, we didn’t want to believe it, but nevertheless it was there staring right into our faces. This was not going to be their year.

And at this point, it should be even more obvious that the season is over for the Mets. So do the right and wise thing. Shut ’em down, protect your investment, and move on.

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