Noah Syndergaard Becomes Most Recent Pitcher Hurt in Flawed System

For the New York Mets it is nothing but a coincidence. The Mets say they have had terrible luck, with a number of pitching injuries already this season, as well as in years past.

Baseball pundits and fans alike are told to feel sorry for the team, as it is not fair one organization has to endure such heartache. However, at some point the Mets need to accept responsibility.

New York was hit was news that ace Noah Syndergaard suffered a major injury and was placed on the team’s disabled list after tearing his lat muscle on his right side.

The Mets ace will be out of action weeks and likely months. It is not known just how long the pitcher will be sidelined. What is known however is the Mets have taken another big blow to their pitching rotation with their third starter becoming injured in just the season’s first month of play.

Most people who follow baseball will tell you the Mets pitching rotation has some of baseball’s dynamic arms. However, fans will not see the players as much as they want and many believe that it is not the fault of the players but that of a flawed system.

Instead of developing the pitchers, they are brought up young and know just one speed and that is, “go all out.”

This should not be considered something against just the Mets organization, but across all of baseball, said John Smoltz a former pitcher who is now in the Hall of Fame.

The Mets have a harsh reality to face at this point. They must find a way to fill their rotation out. They might have what many call the most dynamic pitching rotation in baseball with Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler and Syndergaard, but will be forced to use Rafael Montero who has an ERA of 9.45 at Las Vegas in Triple-A.

Pitchers need to be told it is not good to bulk up with 17 pounds of added muscle, come to spring training, and tell the world you will be throwing 100 mph on every pitch, which Syndergaard did.

Syndergaard as recently as last week complained of biceps soreness and missed a start. Then he comes back three days later, throws 100 mph early and just 1 1/3 innings later has to leave the game with his lat tear.

On Monday, San Alderson the Mets general manager said he had been told by team doctors that Syndergaard’s injury did not have any relation to the soreness of his biceps.

Teams must start to look at their own training methods and determine how a pitcher like Smoltz could pitch close to 3,700 innings for his career and did not have surgery until after 2,220 innings pitched.