Under The Knife 9/7/22
62 Again
There’s been a lot of debate over the “real” home run title. You can hang your hat on a number, but whether you knock anyone for steroids or a potentially rigged ball, you’re going to have arguments for everyone. What all of them did - or in Aaron Judge’s case, is doing - is great. Unless your name is Steve Kettman, you didn’t not celebrate along with the Maris Family when Mark McGwire hit #62.
You probably cheered when Sammy Sosa did his best to keep up … and then hit another 60-something the next year. You were probably dumbfounded as Barry Bonds went on a hitting run like no one has ever seen, stared down by criticism and asterisks. Pick your poison, I say, and at least enjoy the moment. Judge right now is hitting the ball far and away better than anyone in the game, a bigger gap than we’ve seen since Babe Ruth was hitting. If we could get back to the joy of watching long home runs, a two-way talent, speed and velocity like we’ve never seen, and promote the game, rather than inventing hot takes, we’d all be better for it.
So let’s get to the injuries:
MAX SCHERZER, SP NYM (fatigued oblique)
Max Scherzer hits the IL for the second time due to an oblique issue. His first was a major strain, but this time it’s more minor, with the team calling it fatigue rather than even a mild strain. In this case, they caught it early, but it’s really more about the standings and playoffs. Scherzer can miss a start or two and not worry about his chronic workload, while the team isn’t in any danger of giving away games and has starting options behind him, including the rehabbing Tylor Megill.
That’s not to say this oblique isn’t a concern for the Mets. They’ll be focusing on it without having to have the stress of a couple starts and that alone should help. The worry is less that this will be a problem now, but that it could act up again in the middle of a tight game. Call it a Kershaw situation, as in where the Dodgers’ ace has a back condition that has regularly cropped up without warning, often at the worst times. The Mets would rather not have anything like that right now and that’s what this IL stint is designed to avoid.