Aug
24
2011

From Left Field: Mets Have Knack For Making No-Name Pitchers Look Great

An article by Jim Mancari

So Steve Carlton picked up the win last night for the Philadelphia Phillies…

Actually, it was rookie Vance Worley, throwing a Carlton-like game, who picked up the win.

During their history, the Mets always seem to have a knack for losing to no-name pitchers.

Granted, Worley is on fire right now, but there’s no reason why this rookie, who was only supposed to tread water in the Phillies All-Star rotation, should have beaten the Mets three out of four times this season.

Of course, never facing a pitcher puts the hitters at a disadvantage. However, Major League hitters should be able to adjust to an unrefined kid just up from the minors.

But then there’s the Mets.

It seems that every time they face someone new, they falter. Jason Jennings, Brandon Webb and Tyler Clippard are the classic examples from the past 15 years, but there are tons of other pitchers who won their big league debut against the Mets.

It’s funny: The team had great success against Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens yet can’t beat Vance Worley.

The problem with Worley is that the Mets have now seen him four times, and for the majority of the time he’s made them look lost at the plate.

That should be the case against Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, but definitely not against Worley. Great, now that Phillies have five aces.

Worley became only the second rookie pitcher since 1869 in which his team has won 12 straight games in which he has started.

I guess Worley is just another reason to hate the Phillies.

About the Author: Jim Mancari

Jim Mancari hails from Massapequa, N.Y. He recently earned a Master's degree in Journalism at Hofstra University. He is a devout Mets fan and takes pride in his team, despite their lack of success over the last few years. Like all Mets fans, Jim has plenty of hope. He also writes as the sports reporter for the Brooklyn Tablet newspaper and the senior editor of metroBASEBALL Magazine. Click my name to view my personal website.

3 Comments + Add Comment

K Maxx August 24, 2011 at 11:04 am

It doesnt even matter how untalented the pitcher is, if you want to beat the Mets just callup anybody you have to pitch against them.
t agee August 24, 2011 at 11:33 am

The Mets have certainly lost to a lot of “no name” pitchers through the years but I don’t know if Worley really deserves that tag.

The Phillies drafted him in the 20th round in 2005 out of HS but he didn’t sign. They then drafted him three years later in the 3rd. (two picks after we took Kirk) Obviously they didn’t consider him to be a “no name.” They liked him as a 17 year old and liked him a lot more as a 20 year old. He dominated the NY Penn and Sally League in 2008 (which we play in) Struggled in the Eastern League (which we also play in) in 2009, then established himself at that level in 2010 before a mid season bump to the International League (which we also play in) and got better. 2010 he also had a successful 13 IP in the Majors then 9 dominant starts in AAA this year before being brought back up.

A 2.65 ERA over 16 starts in the NL this year averaging 7 IP per start, low walks, low HR’s (pitching half his games in CBP) and more strikeouts than hits is nothing to sneeze at.

Turner, Tejada, Thole, Duda and Ike (if he had been playing) would almost certainly have faced Worley in the minors, probably a number of times so he couldn’t have been a no name to everyone and shouldn’t have been a surprise to the organization as a whole as he’s been pitching against our minor league affiliates for parts of four years now.

If we had drafted and developed Worley ourselves it would be looked upon as a good job. Why wouldn’t it be looked upon the same way when another team does that exact same thing?
L.J. Phipps August 24, 2011 at 12:29 pm

I said the same exact thing, how do they face these pitchers and make them look like Drysdale, Gibson, or Koufax? It’s amazing how the Mets play against pitchers they see for the first time and falter, while other teams come in and blow them out. This has been a trend for some time. Does anybody read scouting reports anymore?

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