MLB Rumors: Astros trade target, Mets fans fed up, Yankees block Oswald Peraza
By Mark Powell
MLB Rumors: Mets fans are fed up with Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer
New York sports radio has officially turned on Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, the two veteran aces brought in to replace the production of Jacob deGrom, who signed with the Texas Rangers on a lucrative deal this offseason. deGrom hasn’t worked out for Texas so far, and he’ll undergo Tommy John surgery in the near future. But that doesn’t make the Mets smart for letting him walk, as New York has pitching struggles of their own.
Verlander and Scherzer have been up and down so far this season in Queens. The Mets as a whole are four games under .500, and on the verge of selling at the trade deadline should they not turn things around come late July.
WFAN host Evan Roberts went off on Verlander and Scherzer, specifically, feeling as though they haven’t delivered for the fanbase.
"“It was a collective fail by the bullpen and Justin Verlander. The Mets spend $90 million on these two mercenary pieces of crap who’ve done nothing,” Roberts said. “Max Scherzer’s pretended to do something because his overall numbers are good and he’s had some really good starts. But think about what he did last year … Max Scherzer pitched well, missed a big chunk of time, and then when they needed him the most against the Atlanta Braves and then in the playoffs against the Padres, he wasn’t bad, he was awful.”"
New York sports radio airwaves have been dominated by discontent Mets fans in recent weeks, and it’s easy to see why. While sports fans in the big apple frequently rush to judgement, Steve Cohen has the highest payroll in all of baseball, yet they’ve been outperformed by the likes of the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins. Series defeats to the Braves and Pirates over the last week were the last straw for some fans, though Cohen himself is preaching patience.
"“The reality is it’s not going to solve our problems,” Cohen said, per The New York Post. “And I think in some ways it can be demotivating….I think that’s the worst thing you can do is to be overly reactionary. General fan reaction, it’s usually, ’I can’t believe Steve’s not going nuts, fire somebody.’ My answer to that is, ’OK, let’s say I went nuts. Let’s say I fired somebody. Then what?’ What does that accomplish? Who are you gonna replace them with? This is the middle of the season. And then if you actually ask people [who are the replacements], they have no answers, other than they’re just angry, and I get that. I’m frustrated too.”"
If Roberts can be used as evidence, Mets fans don’t have much patience left.