Believe it or not, I ended up missing most of the game last night tending to some medical issues. But you have to love the the technology era we live in. Thanks to my phone, those mid-inning video updates from the MLB app, my Twitter app, and of course DVR. It felt like I was there. This morning at 7:05 AM I watched the game in it’s entirety and wow was I impressed.
I can’t even begin to imagine the enormous amount of pressure Wheeler had to deal with in the days, hours and minutes leading up to his first MLB pitch. There was a lot riding on it and the jitters were obvious, but so was everything we ever heard about the kid. That fastball was explosive, the curve was huge, and that slider looked like an effective weapon as well. It’s clear to me that changing speeds will be the key to Wheeler’s prolonged success. Any of those pitches can be an out pitch for him.
This much is now clear to me. The future of the New York Mets is now in the hands of Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, much as it was in 1968 with Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman.
I’m not drawing comparisons to those two all time Mets greats. Of course, Harvey and Wheeler have years to go and a lot to accomplish before we even mention them in the same breath as Seaver and Koosman. But as far as their impact goes, I see a perfect symmetry between 1968 and 2013. In both those years, a pair of highly touted young pitchers created a seismic shift that would impact the franchise in very much the same way.
I don’t need to state the obvious to all of you, but Harvey and Wheeler are here to stay and are permanent fixtures in this plan we keep hearing about. Of course, whether this translates to a new Mets dynasty remains to be seen. You can’t win games without run support, as Harvey has plainly shown, being denied seven wins already this season.
Scoring runs is where it becomes tricky for the Mets. They have no can’t-miss hitting prospects on the way, and it’s already been three years without one significant addition to the MLB roster. That’s an extremely long time for any GM to find just one piece of the puzzle, but it is what it is.
Alderson acknowledged his failure in that area, but preaches patience and sounded like someone who wanted another chance from the Mets fan base before they give up on him like so many already have. Sandy said he would add one and possibly two significant additions to the lineup prior to the All Star break, so I’m willing to see what that is.
Obviously, he knows and we know that it will take at least a couple of young arms, but rest assured neither will be Harvey or Wheeler. So are we talking Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard? Absolutely. Those are the only two arms that rival GM’s know and want.
We’ll see how it plays out. For now, enjoy the moment and the spectacle of Harvey and Wheeler. Any future greatness for this franchise begins and ends with those two.
Terry Collins and David Wright knew the significance of what happened on that mound at Turner Field last night.
“I saw some big things obviously out of those two guys, and I just hope, not only you guys that were here to see it, but people saw it,” Collins said. “They’re going to enjoy watching these two young guys for a long time. They’re going to be around, and they’re going to be in the same rotation. You got two guys that can win some baseball games for you.”
The Mets captain was equally impressed and liked what he saw.
“That’s a formidable two arms that hopefully develop into a 1-A and a 1-B,” Wright said. “Obviously, just like every other Mets fan, I was eager to see what all the hype was about. It gives you a good glimpse of what could be in the very near future.”
Harvey and Wheeler alone are not “The Plan”, but last night we did see a big chunk of that plan.
