Steven Matz Injury is a Prime Example of the Mets Managerial Incompetence

By Djack

All year I've heard from Mets fans that they have the worst luck of any franchise in sports, which is just a lazy analysis of what's really going on in Queens. The Mets problems stem from the guys upstairs calling the shots. Who that is, I'm not really sure. Maybe it's Terry Collins, although I doubt he has that much power, more likely it's Sandy Anderson or one of the Wilpon's, but I really couldn't tell you because I'm not apart of the organization. Regardless of who it is, they're the ones to blame for the Mets misfortune, luck has nothing to do with it.

Steven Matz is latest player on a long list of important players to go down with injury this season. Injuries are apart of the game, but at the clip the Mets players get hurt it's outlandish, and clearly not normal. A team built off starting pitching should have the most elite group of doctors and trainers to make sure that their pitching staff stays healthy throughout the course of the season, and to make sure no major injuries derail their entire pitching staff. I understand that's not always possible, but in the Mets case this year it most certainly was. The Mets did the exact opposite of taking every precaution possible when it comes to their starting pitchers, and boy did they end up paying the piper because of it. Somehow, out of the 7 starting pitchers they had coming into this season, 6 of them have had injuries that put them out for extended periods of time. I won't say all of them could've been avoided, but at least 3 should've been avoided, and now there might be long term ramifications due to their negligence.

Let's start with the most recent injury to Steven Matz. Matz has been injury prone essentially his entire tenure with the Mets, hasn't been anything too serious yet, but you'd think they'd be extremely careful with him knowing his history. Well, they weren't, as a matter of fact they decided to have him pitch through discomfort instead because that's always a brilliant idea. Now, he has nerve damage in his elbow, and it'll require surgery similiar to what happened with Jacob deGrom last year. The part that boggles my mind is that they knew he already had elbow problems with the bone spur last season, so why they allowed him to pitch through any discomfort is beyond me. At least it's an excuse for why Steven Matz was so god awful this season, although with his injury history who knows if he'll ever be the pitcher he was expected to be when they originally called him up.

Next, the Mets have the Matt Harvey saga. This one is way more embarrassing than the Steven Matz injury because it easily could've been avoided if the doctors weren't bad at their job. Basically, Matt Harvey was pitching with no muscle behind his throwing shoulder. This caused him to overthrow and still not have the same velocity that he did before the injury. Everyone was questioning why Harvey was so awful when it turns out he had an atrophied muscle. It was half the size of his non throwing shoulder and no one realized for way too long. Matt Harvey is partially to blame since he's not taking care of his body like a major league athlete should, but it's also the Mets job to keep on top of their big stars. No excuses for that injury, just poor management and leadership by the Mets organization. Also, malpractice by those doctors in my opinion.

Lastly, the most devastating and most easily avoidable injury came to Noah Syndergaard early in the year. Thor had faced some discomfort, the Mets told him to get an MRI, but Syndergaard refused. The spineless Mets management backed off because they are afraid of laying the law down with their players, so Thor continued to pitch even though he was injured. Well, what do you know in his next start he leaves with a torn lat. The MRI would've showed this before it completely tore and then the Mets wouldn't have been without their best pitcher the entire season. The reasoning for Thor tearing his lat is that he put on so much muscle in the offseason that his ligaments couldn't quite support it. I don't know, I'm no doctor, but I do know putting on that much muscle that quickly is not good for your body, and his body clearly showed him that. The Mets told him not to put on the muscle, but the players run the ship in the Mets clubhouse, so he did it anyways. Another example of how pathetic and incompetent Mets management is.

Seth Lugo, Robert Gsellman, and Zach Wheeler have all gone down with injuries as well, however I can't blame the Mets for those one's, even though I'm sure somehow they played a part. The fact a team could lose 6 starting pitchers throughout the course of a season is mind blowing. If the Mets want to seize this amazing opportunity of having one of the most elite pitching staffs in baseball for the next several years, then they need to get their act together, and keep these guys healthy. They should be doing everything in their power to accommodate these players without letting them walk all over them. There's a fine line between the two and the Mets certainly don't understand that. I hope for the sake of the loyal Mets fans this gets figured out, but if history tells me anything, it won't.