Matthew Cerrone, MetsBlog.com
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I’m sick of hearing about how the Royals make contact. I got it. You know what else I know? Noah Syndergaard is a monster on the mound.
According to StatCast, Syndergaard’s fastball looks like it’s 98 MPH when it reaches the batter this postseason. I want to see him challenge Kansas City and go after them with all of his might, unlike his teammates, who tried pitching backwards and got burned.
In Games 1 and 2, Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom each averaged roughly 96 MPH with their fastball. Yet, Harvey threw it just 37 percent of the time, while deGrom threw his 39 percent of the time, down from his regular-season norm of 60 percent.
“They don’t swing and miss,” deGrom said after the game. “They put the ball in play and they did a good job of that tonight.”
Sure. But they also hit your off-speed stuff. So, instead of doing what they do best, both Harvey and deGrom may have outsmarted themselves.
“He’s throwing the ball as well as anybody in the playoffs,” David Wright said Wednesday, speaking about Syndergaard (Oct. 29. 2015). “I think when you have that type of stuff and the command he has shown especially in the playoffs, you should have a lot of confidence.”
In three appearances this postseason, Syndergaard, 23, has a 2.77 ERA while striking out 20 batters in 13 innings.
“So much talk has been about the Royals’ ability to make contact,” Jeff Sullivan writes today at FanGraphs (Oct. 29, 2015). “In Game 2, the Mets didn’t even make it a challenge. Their pitches were asking for contact. The Royals were happy to oblige.”
This is exactly right. I realize the Royals are an outstanding fastball-hitting team. However, I’d rather see the Mets go down throwing their A-game, bringing their best stuff, going with what got them to this point, as opposed to second-guessing themselves into the offseason.
The thing I love about Noah is he has no fear. He is VERY serious and self-aware. For a rookie, and a 23-year-old, he knows himself as well as anyone and he’s very cognizant of what is happening around him. I also think he likes to challenge guys, bring them his best stuff. He’s very Roger Clemens in that way, as if to say, ‘Here, I dare you to hit it.’ This is what the Mets need right now. If the Royals hit it, they hit it. But I want to see more fastballs from Thor. Drop the hammer, buddy, and don’t regret it…
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