At the worst of moments this season — last week for the Mets and this week for the Yankees — they have found a common mantra that is roughly “it’s not like we have played ourselves out of this.”
Put that through The Post’s anti-spin encryption device and it translates to: “Sure, we aren’t very good, but neither is anyone else in our divisions.”
The Yankees and Mets both began Game 3 of the Subway Series at 19-19. Half good. Half bad. Or ideal representatives of East baseball in 2014. Behind dynamic work from Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees won 4-0. As horrible as matters have felt around the team of late, that put the Yankees one-half game out of first in a division in which first and last are separated by 3 ¹/₂ games.
The Mets are three out in a division in which first and last are separated by 4 ¹/₂ games.
A good week can catapult a club into first. A bad week hurts, but doesn’t kill. Problems such as the Mets’ pen and the Yankees’ age feel debilitating. But don’t be myopic. Roster issues are not indigenous to The Bronx and Queens.
The Braves have the second-worst OPS in the majors (Dan Uggla is a substantial problem again) and two starters (Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy) are out for the year after Tommy John surgery. The Marlins just lost arguably the majors’ best starter, Jose Fernandez, for the season to a torn elbow ligament. Something remains off with the Nationals, who are again underperforming and playing woeful defense. The Phillies’ older players have — to date — done well, but their pen is atrocious.
The Orioles still lack top-of-the-rotation heft, have a struggling new closer (Tommy Hunter) and could lose Matt Wieters (elbow) for an extended period. The Red Sox’ rookie plan at short (Xander Bogaerts) and center (Jackie Bradley Jr.) has yet to work, and Clay Buchholz has pitched poorly. The Blue Jays’ lack of rotation quality and depth remains worrisome. The Rays have badly missed Alex Cobb, Matt Moore and Jeremy Hellickson with no one — not even David Price — excelling in their absence.
You know what this probably means: These divisions very well could be decided by which teams buck the 2014 injury trend and get healthiest and which general managers problem solve the best as the season progresses. That makes Sandy Alderson and Brian Cashman as vital as ever during the year.
Alderson already made a significant move during this Subway Series by shifting Rafael Montero into the rotation and Jenrry Mejia into the pen. The Mets’ long-shot chances this season could be about this: Can Alderson take some of that young pitching he has been diligently stockpiling the past four years and turn it into a July bat — a Jose Bautista for mid-lineup heft or an Alexei Ramirez to solve shortstop, perhaps?
Cashman faces a potentially more daunting issue because the Yanks have more age — and thus more potential leaks — and less farm system. At this moment, the Yankees look as if they need a sidekick for Masahiro Tanaka. So they might have to find out just how much a trade fronted by Gary Sanchez or John Ryan Murphy would bring. Does that get them into, for example, a Jeff Samardzija sweepstakes or do they have to lower their sights to the Bronson Arroyo/Jason Hammel level?
It is still a long way until July, a significant enough stretch to see if a team or two can pull away in the Eastern divisions. The bread crumbs, for now, suggest more mediocrity and, thus tight races, and questions if Alderson and Cashman can be the MVPs of their teams.
Subway Series quiz
Who are the only two pitchers to start Subway Series games for the Yankees against the Mets and for the Mets against the Yankees (answer below)?
Big starts for likely relievers
Desperation will take the Subway Series to a rare place Thursday night as Chase Whitley (filling in for CC Sabathia) and Jake deGrom (filling in for Dillon Gee) will make their major league debuts against each other.
Coincidentally, the last time two starters made major league debuts against each other was Gee vs. Washington’s Yunesky Maya on Sept. 7, 2010. The only other time in the 21st century it was done before rosters expanded in September was Toronto’s Ricky Romero vs. Detroit’s Rick Porcello on Aug. 8, 2009.
So who are these guys? Whitley, a 24-year-old righty, has worked mainly in relief since being drafted by the Yanks in 2010. Multiple scouts spoken to believe that will be his ultimate major league role because of inconsistency in his delivery.
He was 3-1 with a 1.61 ERA in three Triple-A starts this year and scouts praised his 89-94-mph fastball and a breaking ball considered above average because it has good downward movement. Scouts offered divergent views on his changeup from fringy to “a plus pitch.”
Most scouts viewed deGrom as eventually settling in as a reliever, as well. But the consensus is that the 25-year-old has come far since also being drafted in 2010. One scout called the righty “impressively improved,” citing a willingness by deGrom to work his fastball and change to both sides of the plate. He is 4-0 with a 2.58 ERA at Triple-A this year and a scout who saw him twice for Las Vegas said deGrom hit 95-96 mph, but pitched comfortably at 91-93.
“He’s definitely ready to pitch in the big leagues,” the scout said.
Gee’s Subway a real roller coaster
Dillon Gee saw the coincidence. His coming-out party from just another guy to high-end dependable starter was last May 30 against the Yanks when he allowed one run in 7 ¹/₃ innings and struck out a career-high 12. This year he was scratched from his Thursday start with a strained lat.
“Last year at this time was a great moment,” said Gee, who was placed on the DL. “This year, not so great.”
Something clicked for Gee beginning with last year’s Subway Series as his precision and sense of responsibility both became more refined. Among pitchers who threw 150 innings from May 30 to today, Gee’s 2.72 ERA is ninth best in the majors. And, before this breakdown, he had been incredibly durable, throwing 202 innings in that period. Only five of the renowned workhorses in the
game — Adam Wainwright, James Shields, R.A. Dickey, Justin Verlander and Cliff Lee — had more.
Quiz answer
Orlando Hernandez and Bartolo Colon.