Shaun Marcum finally makes his much-delayed Mets debut, almost a month later than he or they had expected. But when the veteran right-hander takes the mound today against the Phillies, the frustration of missing 3 1/2 weeks because of a neck injury will have been replaced by the excitement.
“I’m feeling good, ready to go,’’ said Marcum, 31. “It’s been frustrating to be down there [on a rehab assignment in Port St. Lucie], not up here pitching helping these guys. But there was nothing I could do about it. I’m up here now looking forward to getting out there [today].
“I’m sure I’ll have a little bit of adrenaline, a lot more than I had in the extended spring games. But you have to know how to control it, and use it to your advantage, know when to back off, when to add on a little bit. I’m looking forward to it, and I’m definitely excited to get back out there in real games.’’
After inking a one-year, $4 million deal this winter, Marcum suffered a nerve injury in his neck. He didn’t break spring training camp with the Mets, staying behind in Florida and limited to extended spring training. That is, until today.
“The main thing for me is I have to keep the ball down and locate on pitches,’’ said Marcum, who claims he’s fully fit but adds, “If I don’t do that, then whether I’m feeling 100 percent or 50 percent, it doesn’t really matter. I’ve just got to go out there and locate, try to get ahead of hitters and try to put the ball in play early.’’
Marcum — whom the Mets have to make room for on the 25-man roster — said he expects to be on 95-pitch count. He’ll have the benefit of a familiar backstop, with his best stretch coming as a Toronto Blue Jay throwing to catcher John Buck.
“He’s not a guy who’s going to overpower you,” Buck said. “He pitches to contact, uses his defense. He has a really, really good idea of how to pitch.”
With a sinker, slider, cutter, changeup and curve, Buck put his palms together and then quickly spread them apart to show the variation of breaks on Marcum’s pitches. With spacious Citi Field clearly a pitcher’s park, it plays to Marcum’s strengths. He’s 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA at his home park and 2-1 with a 3.51 ERA against the Phillies.
“Having a guy back there who’s obviously been around for a long time, and having a guy back there who’s caught me and caught me against these guys as well — we played them in 2010 when John and I were in Toronto in interleague — that comfort level will be a nice advantage for me,’’ Marcum said.