A medical diagnosis can be an inexact science. Symptoms might be elusive, or misread altogether. Mistakes often are made.
The Mets, however, never seem to get anything right. And with Steven Matz now headed for season-ending surgery to reposition the ulnar nerve in his left elbow _ a problem that finally was discovered Monday after months of pitching in pain _ we're counting this as more evidence of malpractice.
Based on the sheer number of injuries the Mets have to deal with every season, the odds suggest they'd get one correct, just by accident. Even a roulette wheel carries a 1-in-37 chance of cashing in, with zero skill involved.
But the Mets somehow manage to turn every injury into the worst-case scenario, for whatever reason, be it the player's reluctance to come clean or the team's persistent knack for mishandling a health issue from the jump. In the Matz situation, sources indicated that he's been struggling with severe elbow discomfort since returning from the disabled list (on June 10) and even skipped bullpen sessions between starts because of it.
The Mets' solution? Limit his usage of the slider to ease the strain on his elbow, and prescribe strong anti-inflammatory drugs. What, no Flintstones chewable vitamins?
Anyone who follows the Mets knows this is not a new problem. It's been going on for more than a decade, and appears to be getting worse. Unfortunately for the homegrown Matz, a 2009 second-round draft pick out of Ward Melville High School, pitching under the Mets' supervision has earned him a reputation for being injury-prone, a label that doesn't appear to be entirely his fault.
After what Matz has endured this season, simultaneously battling elbow pain and his own team's skepticism throughout, this seems like more evidence of the medical disconnect that continues to plague the Mets. Only with the Mets does routinely losing pitchers because of injury year after year get treated by the front office as if it was the cost of doing business.
Unlucky, sure. But hey, accidents happen, right? Forget that Noah Syndergaard's catastrophic lat strain may have been prevented if Sandy Alderson brushed aside Thor's MRI protest and sent him for more tests, as a matter of basic medical protocol. That fateful decision cost Syndergaard most of this season and helped torpedo the Mets' dreams of contention.
You'd think the Mets would have learned their lesson with Syndergaard, but here's what they took instead from that boo-boo. Clam up with the medical information and encourage their players do to the same. The less everyone knows, the easier it is to go with plausible deniability when a health disaster strikes. Spin Doctoring 101.
The problem with that plan, however, is people are used to the Mets' act by now. The team is consistently terrible at staying on the same page, regardless of the topic. Ever since Matz returned from the disabled list _ where he began the season because of a disputed flexor tendon strain _ he appeared to be a shell of his ace-caliber self over 13 starts (6.08 ERA) and Monday we finally discovered the reasons why.
Not all at once, of course. Initially, it was Terry Collins who broke the news by blurting out during his media briefing that Matz was likely headed to the DL, but "this wasn't an injury" and "if he had to, he could pitch tomorrow."
Had to? Like if his dog was kidnapped, and only by pitching would he get Spot back? Gradually, Collins sheepishly admitted that Matz's elbow was bothering him, but was vague to the point of the exchange being comical. Apparently, Alderson told his manager that Matz probably was headed to the DL, but not much more.
"I'm sure some of the issues have kept him from being the pitcher he can be," Collins said.
Well, glad that's settled. Alderson never surfaced before Monday's game to fill in the blanks, and Matz told the team's PR guru, Jay Horwitz, he wasn't talking until he spoke to the GM first. Probably a good idea to get the story straight.
Not that the ending was going to change. Another pitcher in pain and going for surgery. Another pungent odor of medical malfeasance.
When it comes to the Mets, you don't need an M.D. to know something doesn't feel right.
