Surprise! Philip Humber will start Wednesday against the Nationals. Talk about your unexpected moves. Humber was so far off the radar screen, the Mets didn't seem to realize he was even traveling with them until they called him into Willie Randolph's office yesterday, told him of his new assignment and then drove him up Route 95 to Port St. Lucie to throw a simulated game at 7 p.m. under the lights at Tradition Field.
Good for Humber, but this only begs the question of what the heck were the Mets waiting for? Why didn't they start Humber last Monday against the Nationals rather than let Brian Lawrence get raked? That also would have given Humber a start to build on before taking the ball for a huge game in the final week of a division race. Just an odd sequence of events to get to this point if you ask me.
Comments (6)
What is the status of El Duque??
An odd sequence of events, indeed -- which is encouraging. Last year, everything went according to plan (if you don't count an ill-fated late night quest for Latin food by a certain reliever), only to go up in flames one game from the World Series. Perhaps this extended odd chain of events which has befallen the team the past month is a good sign. This year, they'll be no question as to if the Mets are battle-tested heading into the postseason.
Yeah and if Humber got "raked" last Monday instead of Lawrence, you'd be whining then too. How much credibility would I have if I told you how to write your articles? None, right? Then get back to your typewriter and quit telling Willie how to manage a baseball team.
Hopefully this month has given the Mets some resolve for the post season, getting spanked by the Phillies and others, provided a much needed kick in the pants for our Mets, who have now one 3 in a row. I only hope the injuries can be controlled. So far Alou, Beltran, LoDuca, and ElDuque are all hurting. We need them to heal up by October!
Sean in CA,
Someone has to tell Witless Willie what to do. He shows an utter lack of baseball wisdom at times. Brian Low-Rents is nothing more than a AA pitcher. It's Witless Willie's refusal to even play young players that will be his undoing. The reason he's starting Humber is 1- he needs a starter, 2- upper management [Omar and the Wilpons] doesn't trust his judgement. And neither do the fans of the Mets. The Mets win inspite of Witless Willie, not because of him.
Witless Willie...geez.
Do you guys even understand how silly Mets fans seem to the rest of the world?
Last year we were lauding him for his even-keeled manner, and now he sucks for not being emotional enough.
As far as pitching Lawrence goes, maybe he didn't want to have Humber pitching in such a high pressure situation for his first start? It's just my guess.
Not that this Wednesday is going to be a piece of cake; but, as this month is going, it's definitely too far ahead to anticipate where exactly the Mets are going to be at that point.
I support Randolph completely. These complainers are ridiculous.