Mets-Padres is the final game on the slate on today’s Wild Card Friday, and ahead of the 8 p.m. first pitch, SNY’s Ron Darling joined Boomer & Gio to discuss the series – and unlike Boomer, he’s with Gio about fans still being upset about last weekend in Atlanta.
“I think fans, that’s kind of how they roll; they were so pumped up for that series and it didn’t go anywhere close to where they wanted it to. But as far as the athletes, they’ve moved far past that, and I think they’re in a good place.”
But he is with Boomer on where the Mets should line up their rotation.
“Sometimes, we have almost too much info now, and I’m sure they’ve given some thought on the best way for the Mets to win 13 games,” Darling said. “That’s all great, but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if deGrom didn’t pitch Game 2. It’s great to save guys, and you do have Bassitt, who had an excellent year, but to not deploy Scherzer and deGrom as many times as you can use them seems to be overthinking it. Just keep it simple – use two of the best pitchers on the planet as often as you can.”
And, that’s because he’s not worried about deGrom’s recent struggles, or his blister issues.
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“It’s a strange season, and I’ve talked to some pitchers who missed a big chunk of time and then had some second-half struggles – deGrom is going through that as we speak,” he said, “but my expectation is that Scherzer and deGrom will do exactly what Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg did for Washington on 2019. If the Mets are to win it all, those two guys have to be the best versions of what they are. I’d be shocked if they’re not great like they usually are.”
Ron believes in the Mets’ relief corps is deep enough to get the ball from the starters to Edwin Diaz, and isn't concerned about Starling Marte returning without any rehab time.
“He’s kind of a natural player – he could come out when he’s 50 and probably get a hit,” Darling said. “If you look at his numbers against the Padres’ best pitchers, he hits almost .400 with some damage. The player they could least afford to lose is Marte, and that’s why they struggled I think, especially against left-handed pitching.”
Regardless, Darling likes the Mets’ chances in the Wild Card Series, as long as the long ball doesn’t come back to bite them like it did in Atlanta.
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“If you want to isolate it, I think what you have is three or four teams in the league – including Atlanta – that are so elite at hitting home runs, that you have to change your game plan to face them,” Darling said. “When you’re not at your best against Atlanta, the result will be home runs – but San Diego is different. They have great players in Machado and Soto, but they do not hit a lot of home runs.”
And, he thinks Jacob deGrom will be a Met in 2023, regardless of what happens in October.
“I think the probability is very high – I can’t see him going anywhere,” Darling said. “The owner has proven that when he decides to do something, he gets it done, and I doubt that wouldn’t happen with Jacob deGrom.
If I were a betting person, I’m taking deGrom in a Mets uniform next year.”
Check out the whole segment above to hear all of Darling’s thoughts on the Wild Card Series!
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