The Battle of Aces in the Big Apple

Author: Steven Chase

Editor: Fran Attie

One of the hardest questions to answer in all of baseball is, who is the best pitcher? Due to Chris Sale coming off a major injury, you can narrow this down to two people: Jacob deGrom and Gerrit Cole. Even though pitchers such as Shane Bieber, Max Scherzer, Walker Buehler, Stephen Strasburg, etc. have been elite, deGrom and Cole have created a large gap from the rest. Many presume that it is deGrom because he has a lower ERA, but the topic is much deeper than that. Let’s get into it.

In order to obtain a large sample size, we will look at their stats from 2018-2020. During this span, deGrom has put up a 2.10 ERA, 2.98 SIERA, 2.80 xFIP, 2.31 FIP, 26.50 K-BB%, 32.00 K%, 5.50 BB%, and a 16.0 fWAR. Moving to the Bronx, Cole has put up a 2.71 ERA, 2.82 SIERA, 2.85 FIP, 2.84 xFIP, 29.80 K-BB%, 36.60 K%, 6.80 BB%, and a 13.4 fWAR. After examining these stats, the major takeaways are that deGrom is better at both limiting baserunners and limiting runs, while Cole is the more prolific strikeout pitcher. Personally, I value limiting runs as a pitcher more than anything else, which is why I lean towards deGrom. But, the reason why it is so close in my eyes is how Cole leads in SIERA by .16. According to Fangraphs, “Skill-Interactive ERA (SIERA) is the newest in a long line of ERA estimators. Like it’s predecessors FIP and xFIP, SIERA attempts to answer the question: what is the underlying skill level of this pitcher? How well did they actually pitch over the past year? Should their ERA have been higher, lower, or was it about right? But while FIP and xFIP largely ignore balls in play — they focus on strikeouts, walks, and homeruns instead — SIERA adds complexity in an attempt to more accurately model what makes a pitcher successful. SIERA doesn’t ignore balls in play, but attempts to explain why certain pitchers are more successful at limiting hits and preventing runs. This is the strength of SIERA; while it is only slightly more predictive than xFIP, SIERA tells us more about the how and why of pitching.” Many statisticians regard SIERA as the most accurate representation of a pitcher’s performance. Even with this taken into account, I still take deGrom over Cole due to his lead in both FIP and xFIP, along with his better walk numbers. I see the argument for Cole, and it can go either way.

Now that we have seen how close these two are in a larger sample size, let’s explore how they have both performed in 2021. In 2021, Cole has put up 1.81 ERA, 1.71 FIP, 2.23 xFIP, 2.12 SIERA, 35.1 K-BB%, 38.5 K%, and 3.3 BB%. These numbers are absolutely phenomenal, but are not quite as good as his competitor. deGrom has a 0.80 ERA, 1.18 FIP, 1.58 xFIP, 1.59 SIERA, 42.1 K-BB%, 46.5 K%, and 4.4 BB%. Evidently, deGrom has put up a stronger campaign to start 2021, as he leads in almost every major category. On the contrary, a notable takeaway is that Cole is walking hitters at a slightly lower rate than deGrom so far. But, even with that included, deGrom is the better pitcher right now. Both players are incredible, and if Cole has a better end to the season than deGrom he might take the cake. But unless that happens, I am taking Jacob deGrom over Gerrit Cole right now.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

The Mets are...Injured

Author: Billy Taylor

Editor: Brian Symons

Injuries have been rampant in Major League Baseball this year, and many big-name players are going to be watching from the sidelines for an extended period. But no team has had quite the luck the Mets have had in terms of the sheer number of injuries they have endured. At the time of writing, the Mets have sixteen major league players on the injured list (yes, 16!). With seven out of the nine Opening Day starters sidelined. Yet, they continue to stay afloat at the top of the weak, yet talented NL East.

The slew of injuries for the Mets started when J.D. Davis and Brandon Nimmo landed on the I.L. with finger and hand injuries, respectively. It was unfortunate to lose the two hottest hitters in the Met lineup, but that was just the beginning for the New York Mets. Albert Almora Jr. then ran face first into the outfield wall, attempting a valiant effort to make a play. Luis Guillorme was sidelined with an oblique injury, Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil are on the I.L. with hamstring and quad injuries. Taijuan Walker suffered a “side” injury, which he reportedly had been dealing with for a couple of weeks. This came off the heels of Jacob DeGrom going on the IL with lat tightness and back issues. As if that wasn’t ridiculous enough, Pete Alonso and Tommy Hunter landed on the I.L. May 21st with hand and back injuries.

And of course, the scariest injury the Mets endured was to Kevin Pillar who took a pitch to the face from Jacob Webb on May 17th against the Braves. It was a scary situation for everyone involved and certainly put a damper on the rest of the game. Pillar is fine, thankfully. It also helps that he is tough as nails, it took Pillar less than one minute to get back up after taking 94 MPH to the face. According to Marcus Stroman’s Twitter, Pillar came into the locker room the next day and said, “Am I in the lineup today or what?”. If Pillar could see out of both his eyes, I truly believe he would’ve convinced Luis Rojas to play. According to Tim Healey of Newsday, Pillar underwent surgery on May 21st to repair his broken nose and will be able to resume baseball activities in 10-14 days.

This could certainly be interpreted as the lowest point of the season, especially coming off two ugly losses to the Miami Marlins. But it doesn’t really feel that way, at least for me personally. Considering how the Mets are currently constructed, they could be performing a lot worse as a team. The Mets are made up of a plethora of veterans on one-year deals, AAAA players, and prospects with potential talent ranging from low to somewhat highly regarded. Johneshwy Fargas, Brandon Drury, Jake Hagar, Jonathon Villar, Kevin Pillar, Khalil Lee, Cameron Maybin, Wilfredo Tovar, Patrick Mazeika. You get the idea. Some names you recognize, others you’ve never heard before, and some you will never hear from again. Despite this, these Mets have a real competitive drive and will to win. With veterans like Marcus Stroman, Francisco Lindor and Dominic Smith leading the enthusiastic vagabond crew, players coming through in big spots, and rallying behind the warrior mentality of Kevin Pillar, this team has undeniable chemistry.

Many Met fans are frustrated, and I get it. But this can be a completely new team when they get healthier; God willing. Not only are the aforementioned players injured, but they also have very important pieces like Noah Syndergaard, Seth Lugo, and Carlos Carrasco still on the shelf. There should be a ton of reinforcements on the way for the Mets. If they can find a way to carry the vibe they have right now as a team and get healthy, they could end up being one of the best teams in the franchise’s history.

METS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

The Yankees Injury Bug

Author: Zachary Patlin

Editor: Brian Symons

The Yankees have been on a roll lately, winning 7 of their last 10 games and coming off of a sweep of the team with the best record in the AL prior to the series, the Chicago White Sox. The Yankees rotation the last time through has not given up a run. Yes, you read that right. Their last five starts have seen 35 scoreless innings pitched from their starters, including the no hitter by Kluber and three 7 inning shutout outings by Montgomery, German, and Cole.

The bats are still missing a key couple of pieces, however they seem to be doing just fine as of late. Giancarlo Stanton is due back on Tuesday May 25 after going on the IL due to tightness in his left quad. Aaron Hicks on the other hand has elected to take surgery on his right wrist, which could potentially keep him out for the entirety of the season. Voit will join the IL with a grade two oblique strain, a lingering injury that can keep him sidelined for an extended period of time.

On the pitching side of the ball, Darren O’Day has begun a throwing program and can be brought back to the team in the next couple of weeks. He adds a lethal righty arm out of the pen to pair with all the flamethrowers the Yankees throw into the game in big innings. Also, Zack Britton has begun a rehab assignment and the Yankees look forward to slotting him right back into the setup man role in the 8th inning. An injury to Corey Kluber on Tuesday will also shut him down for 4 weeks. It is determined that the injury is a subscap strain.

The biggest injury the Yankees have faced thus far has been losing Luis Severino to Tommy John surgery. Severino had in fact started a throwing program and had begun to face live hitters at the Yankees facility. They would love to have him fully built up and back by mid summer to a lot into the number two spot of their very good rotation following Gerrit Cole.

The Yankees did not start this season off the way they would have liked by any stretch of the imagination. After falling to 5-10, they have won 22 of their last 30 games and they look to be the team everyone thought they would be. And I think they can be better. They have yet to hit their power stride on offense, which may be scary to the opposing teams. Let’s see if they can get some key players back, keep the pitching going the way it has been, and get the bat production up to what everyone knows this team can do. That would be one scary combination for other teams!

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE