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The New York Mets have moved Kodai Senga to the bullpen, which is good news for the starting rotation. Senga pitched out of the pen last night for the second time against the Atlanta Braves, and he gave up a run in 2-2/3 innings via a homer from Matt Olson in the Mets’ 5-2 loss last night.
“He’s been throwing the ball really, really well,” said interim manager Andy Green, who has inherited the job as the latest Senga apologist. “I know he’s given up a couple home runs, but honestly, I think you have to like the look of it.”
If you’ve seen Senga out of the bullpen, you already know that his relief efforts resemble his starts. He starts out strong by featuring his fastball, which got up to 98.5 mph last night according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, then remembers that he has multiple pitches that absolutely have to be part of his latest pitching masterpiece.
Consider his relief outings the short-form version of these works of art, but sooner or later you know Senga is going to cough up a meatball. His strengths are his fastball and his ghost forkball, but all of his other pitches have below average metrics according to all the analytics.
The Mets have been trying to change this, according to DiComo, but it’s a work in progress. Somtimes he complies, the writer noted, but other times he hasn’t, citing “the difficulty of navigating major league lineups with only two pitches.”
His other comment was to state that things have become “more simple out there on the mound” for him, which is the Senga equivalent of a hitter spitting on a bait pitch out of the zone. Taking a simple approach simply isn’t what he does.
So what’s the plan here? We still don’t know, but it feels ominous that the Mets have an opening in their rotation starting next Tuesday after their four-game set with the Braves.
Mets fans would probably prefer a simpler plan. Showcase Senga in relief, get more outings like the first two that lower his ghastly ERA, and ship him out and make him someone else’s problem.
It’s hard to imagine him having any kind of a future in New York, especially given the innate thorniness of the team’s ongoing interactions with Senga, who has at least been able to acknowledge that simpler can be better.
“Previously, I felt like I had to make the perfect pitch to get guys out,” Senga added. “But I know that it doesn’t have to be perfect. Hitters are going to make mistakes just like pitchers are going to make mistakes. I don’t have to throw every pitch precisely and perfectly. [I’m] going out there and just giving it what I’ve got.”
What Mets fans don’t want to see is Senga giving what he’s got starting games. Putting him back in the rotation would be a rope-a-dope move, and one that will only result in more ugly losses going forward. It’s time to end this messy, complicated relationship, and it really can’t happen soon enough.
Continue reading...
“He’s been throwing the ball really, really well,” said interim manager Andy Green, who has inherited the job as the latest Senga apologist. “I know he’s given up a couple home runs, but honestly, I think you have to like the look of it.”
If you’ve seen Senga out of the bullpen, you already know that his relief efforts resemble his starts. He starts out strong by featuring his fastball, which got up to 98.5 mph last night according to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com, then remembers that he has multiple pitches that absolutely have to be part of his latest pitching masterpiece.
Consider his relief outings the short-form version of these works of art, but sooner or later you know Senga is going to cough up a meatball. His strengths are his fastball and his ghost forkball, but all of his other pitches have below average metrics according to all the analytics.
The Mets have been trying to change this, according to DiComo, but it’s a work in progress. Somtimes he complies, the writer noted, but other times he hasn’t, citing “the difficulty of navigating major league lineups with only two pitches.”
His other comment was to state that things have become “more simple out there on the mound” for him, which is the Senga equivalent of a hitter spitting on a bait pitch out of the zone. Taking a simple approach simply isn’t what he does.
So what’s the plan here? We still don’t know, but it feels ominous that the Mets have an opening in their rotation starting next Tuesday after their four-game set with the Braves.
Mets fans would probably prefer a simpler plan. Showcase Senga in relief, get more outings like the first two that lower his ghastly ERA, and ship him out and make him someone else’s problem.
It’s hard to imagine him having any kind of a future in New York, especially given the innate thorniness of the team’s ongoing interactions with Senga, who has at least been able to acknowledge that simpler can be better.
“Previously, I felt like I had to make the perfect pitch to get guys out,” Senga added. “But I know that it doesn’t have to be perfect. Hitters are going to make mistakes just like pitchers are going to make mistakes. I don’t have to throw every pitch precisely and perfectly. [I’m] going out there and just giving it what I’ve got.”
What Mets fans don’t want to see is Senga giving what he’s got starting games. Putting him back in the rotation would be a rope-a-dope move, and one that will only result in more ugly losses going forward. It’s time to end this messy, complicated relationship, and it really can’t happen soon enough.
Continue reading...
