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Mets’ rookie starting pitcher Steven Matz made a strong impression in his first two major league starts, but now all fans are left with is their team’s incompetence. Matz suffered a torn lat muscle, and won’t throw again for three weeks -- it’s unclear when he’ll pitch again, as that all depends on how the muscle responds to the PRP injection he received and how long it takes him to build back up. Why is this the Mets’ fault, and not just another in a line of unfortunate injuries across the game? Because the Mets knew Matz’s lat wasn’t feeling right, and they had him pitch again anyway.
Matz complained of lat stiffness following his first start in the bigs, and the Mets -- specifically manager Terry Collins -- waved it off as some overthrowing due to adrenaline making him a little stiffer post-start than they’d like. The way they handled it? Keeping Matz to “just” 101 pitches in his second start. Surprise, all that caution didn’t work, as Matz continued to feel tightness in his lat, causing the Mets to actually look into the issue, only to discover that hey, their rookie’s lat was partially torn. Did they trust Matz’s word that it felt good once he got on the mound? Well, that’s nice, but Matz isn’t a doctor. That’s why teams have a medical staff and players, you know.
How no one bothered to look at this in the days after his first start is curious, but this is the Mets, you know. They have a history of treating injuries as if they are minor or day-to-day, then finding out that hey, our player is actually, legitimately hurt and is going to miss significant time. These are just the examples from this season, but it’s not a new problem, either. A manager desperate to win every game accused of overworking his pitchers in unnecessary situations, combined with a front office slow on the trigger for everything is how you Mets, and they are certainly the reigning champions of that.
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