Through no fault of his own, Mets starting pitcher Marcus Stroman made it through only nine pitches in today's home game against the Miami Marlins. Since morning, the weather in New York could be categorized as "wet and gross," but at 1:10 p.m., the game went on as planned ... for a total of seven minutes, before the umpires decided to call for the tarp and a rain delay. After over two hours of everyone waiting for it to get less wet and gross, the game was officially suspended and rescheduled for an Aug. 31 doubleheader.
So, whose fault was this? The umpires can only delay a game, but the home team decides whether to start it at all. Mets manager Luis Rojas said that the "forecast expert," which he later clarified wasn't just one person but "different sources" and "a lot of screens," had suggested there would be light rain that would eventually dissipate. Whoever was looking at all the various Dopplers must have received some bad intel.
Luis Rojas explains the input of a "forecast expert" in the decision of whether or not to play today's game: pic.twitter.com/GYhDNjOEH3
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 11, 2021
The guy most frustrated by this outcome was Stroman. He threw nine pitches in a hazardous situation, and now he'll likely have to wait for his next turn in the rotation. "This game should have never been started," Stroman tweeted, roughly 50 minutes after his first pitch.
This game should have never been started. Not smart at all. Those conditions put everyone at risk. Beyond happy no players on either side were injured. Hate that I have to wait another 5 days to pitch again. That’s a miserable feeling. However, #LFGM each and every day! @Mets
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) April 11, 2021
Although the decision ultimately belonged to the Mets, and Rojas told his pitcher before the game that it would start as scheduled, Stroman emphasized that he wasn't angry at his team, and his frustration was more general because he didn't want anyone on either team to get hurt.
Media is always misleading in order to gain clicks off controversy. That’s the devil working. My fault for being concerned about the safety of my teammates and I. Lindor was standing in a puddle. Aguilar couldn’t hold his bat. I want to see everyone healthy for a full season! https://t.co/uyUtyL33vf
— Marcus Stroman (@STR0) April 11, 2021
Imagine making a trip to the Mets' stadium, finding parking, waiting in line to get in, and sitting in some wet seats all to watch a Corey Dickerson single and Starling Marte flyout before the shit's called off. How would you feel about it?
Fans started booing once the players came off the field. pic.twitter.com/WWOgmitmRy
— Sarah Valenzuela (@Sarah_IsabelVee) April 11, 2021
Yeah, makes sense.