A cynic looked at the Mets starting rotation and thought pitching Matt Harvey third was just a cash grab. After all, they expect a big crowd tomorrow to see the “Big Guy” as Terry Collins called him.
But you can’t argue with success and with Bartolo Colon now 2-0 and Jacob deGrom winning on Opening Day at Citi Field, the plan is looking perfect.
“I really didn’t think he had his A-Game today,” Collins said of deGrom’s shutout performance. “He was used to this stage. It was a very good outing.”
Even deGrom thought his game wasn’t the best, but you can’t argue with success. Scattering seven hits over six and a third makes for a successful Citi opening, with a 2-0 Met win.
More importantly, the Mets are looking really good and New York is taking notice. After chirping about how they are going to retake New York from the Yankees, the fans are now curious. A Citi Field regular season record of 43,947 showed up in Flushing to see if the Mets are for real and they were not disappointed.
But the Mets win on Opening Day. It’s their thing. This is not about their win today, but the sign of things to come. The Amazin’s look like a team that will take advantage of opponent’s mistakes. Today, Chase Utley made an error in the eight that gave the home team some insurance. Last week in Washington, New York took advantage of some errors in its two wins in the Nation’s Capital.
That’s what winning teams do and the Mets look like they can be one.
Sure it helps that the Phillies look like a sad sack team that is already falling apart, but as Joe Torre says, you play the schedule you are given. Today the Mets did just that.
And after winning two in a row, tomorrow becomes Harvey Day with the Big Guy going for the first time at home since 2013.
Today, though, savor deGrom Day with Jacob looking just as much the ace as Harvey. Top tier pitchers find ways to win even when their stuff wasn’t up to speed. DeGrom had that today and the Phillies could not capitalize on the National League Rookie of the Year.
Tom Seaver, Jon Matlack, and Dwight Gooden all had better seasons after winning the award and now deGrom looks to do the same with the Mets look to have their two aces lead them in 2014.
As John “Hannibal” Smith once said on a 1980s TV show, ”I love it when a plan comes together.”
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