The Mets were roundly mocked on the back pages of all three city tabloids today for the team\u2019s decision to start Bartolo Colon in the season opener at Washington in two weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cSame Old Mets\u201d was the headline in the Daily News.<\/p>\n
The Post\u2019s main headline simply said \u201cBuzzkill.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Newsday: \u201cOld Timer\u2019s Day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colon is 41 years old and has struggled this spring. He ate 202.1 innings last season going 15-13 with 151 strikeouts. Mets manager Terry Collins said the decision to go with Colon in the opener was based purely on merit. \u201cYou earn that spot from what you did the previous year,\u201d said Collins.<\/p>\n
The speculation from Met camp for weeks however has made clear the organization wants to shield undisputed ace Matt Harvey from emotionally-charged contests at the season\u2019s outset so he could better ease into his return from Tommy John surgery. Cold weather avoidance also likely played a role. By positioning Harvey\u2019s first start in the team\u2019s third game, he\u2019ll have a better chance of throwing in temps that are more friendly to an arm so critical to the franchise\u2018s long term viability. The game time in DC for that April 9 contest is 1 PM.<\/p>\n
If merit was indeed the main criteria, Jacob deGrom probably deserves to pitch the season opener but he\u2019ll go in game two to line things up for the special opportunity to pitch the home<\/em> opener on April 13. If things go as planned, Harvey would pitch the next game at home, which is a night game. That\u2019s where the rub comes in.<\/p>\n The jaded segment of Mets Nation thinks Fred and Jeff want it lined up that way so Harvey\u2019s home start on the second game of that first homestand would help fill an otherwise near-empty park. GM Sandy Alderson admits prospective ticket sales can enter into such decisions but he didn\u2019t acknowledge it was an overriding factor in this instance.<\/p>\n I actually like the way this all sets up. I agree with the organization\u2019s handling of Harvey to start the season even though he\u2019s been lights-out dominant in the Grapefruit League. I\u2019d even go a step further and agree with Francesa who says it would not be unreasonable in the first few weeks of the season to scratch Harvey in extreme cold weather. Harvey of course, given his off-the-charts competitive nature, wants to hear none of this, but has thus far gone along to get along.<\/p>\n The cautious handling of Harvey can fade gradually as the season goes along. He\u2019ll demand it at some point but let\u2019s allow the Mets to take the wraps off at a time of their choosing with the understanding we need #33 to make starts when the race heats up this summer.<\/p>\n A couple hockey notes:<\/p>\n -Henrik Lundqvist returned to Blueshirts practice this morning and is nearing a return to game action after seven weeks on the shelf with a scary blood vessel injury in his neck. The backup goalie Cam Talbot has been excellent during the King\u2019s absence (15-3-3 and a 2.12 goals against). You\u2019re hearing some Rangers fans on the radio raising the possibility of a goalie controversy should Hank struggle in what little time he has left to find his game sharpness before the playoffs. Assuming Lundqvist returns this upcoming weekend, he\u2019ll only have about a half-dozen starts before the postseason opens. What happens if he\u2019s not great? Will Ranger fans start moaning and make noise for Talbot? I would hope not. The King is the clear-cut number one goalie on the Rangers and I think you live and die with him even if he\u2019s a little slow to shake the rust. Goalie controversies are easy to shut down. If you\u2019re the coach, you make it known loud and clear that Lundqvist is your guy and you\u2019re gonna ride him all the way to the Cup. If things go really bad, you can change your mind at some point but until that happens, Alain Vigneault must be very assertive in saying Hank is the goalie and there is no debate about that.<\/p>\n -During last night\u2019s radio broadcast of Devils\/Kings, Sherry Ross did a great between-periods interview with hockey lifer Glenn Merkosky who currently works as a scout for the Detroit Red Wings. Among the many tidbits of interesting information to emerge related to Merkosky\u2019s mostly minor-league career and current duties with the Wings was an explanation of the process leading up to Detroit\u2019s deadline-day acquisition of Devils defenseman Marek Zidlicky. Merkosky described a deliberate scouting examination of Zidlicky that went beyond his on-ice skills. Zidlicky waived no-trade protection in his contract to allow the transaction which has a very unique contingency applied to it. The Wings will ultimately pay more for Zidlicky if they advance to the Cup finals this year. Ross joked with Merkosky that she and the Devils were rooting for the Wings in the playoffs as a result. Should Detroit make the Cup finals, the Devils would get a second-round pick in the 2016 draft. There\u2019s a downward sliding scale of return for lesser advancement by the Detroit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Mets were roundly mocked on the back pages of all three city tabloids today for the team\u2019s decision to start Bartolo Colon in the season opener at Washington in two weeks. \u201cSame Old Mets\u201d was the headline in the … Continue reading