The New York Mets have been getting bad starts from Kodai Senga, and last night Carlos Mendoza didn't back him up.
Starter Kodai Senga has been a big problem for the New York Mets this season, and manager Carlos Mendoza finally decided he’d had enough. He’s been protected and covering for underperforming veterants like Senga all season long, but last night he unloaded on his pitcher after Senga gave up seven runs in less than four innings to the Chicago Cubs, virtually guaranteeing another loss.
“Performance matters here, and having outings like this are not going to cut it,” Mendoza said in a followup piece written by Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. “I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a decision, but that ain’t going to do it. We need better.”
What was truly mysterious about this particular Senga start was that he gave them better in the first inning. Senga came out throwing 98 mph as he mowed down three Cubs hitters, and for a few minuets it was possible to believe that the positive version of the pitcher was back.
Most pitchers would have stuck to a fastball that was playing like that, but not Senga. There are times when he seems to see every start as a work of art, and for some reason he starte dusing his sinker, cutter and slider more frequently. Suddenly Cubs hitters had a lifeline as wildness crept into the equation, and they quickly took advantage, putting up five runs in the second inning and two more in the fourth.
But no explanation for this was forthcoming after the game. Apparently Mendoza had no more knowledge of this than anyone in the stands or the press box, which speaks to the ongoing level of control he has over this team.
“That’s the frustrating part -- he goes out there the first inning, and that’s the guy [that's] … capable of doing that. He’s throwing 98, 99, using the four-seam fastball and is just blowing it by people,” Mendoza said. “And then that second inning, he gets away from it. We’re in the dugout asking ourselves, ‘What’s going on here?’ It’s hard to explain it. It happened so quick. It’s just frustrating.”
Senga had no answer for this, either. He’s a perfectionist who likes to be able to use all his pitches effectively, and his only comment when he was asked about this delivered through an interpreter as he said, “it’s hard to throw only fastballs throughout the whole outing.”
“I need my other pitches,” he added. “In that first inning, what I’ve been working on showed in a positive way. In the latter innings, I … showed the worst parts.”
