Steven Matz injury puts Mets fans in emotional mix of panic, resignation

Jason Foster

Steven Matz injury puts Mets fans in emotional mix of panic, resignation image

When Mets fans learned Thursday that rookie pitcher Steven Matz would miss three weeks with a lat injury deemed "not serious," the collective assumption/diagnosis from the jaded fan base was, naturally, "out for the season."

Fans of the Amazins aren't buying the team's initial claim that Matz's partial lat muscle tear isn't serious — not after similar claims about other players' injuries that, at best, lingered and, at worst, turned out more serious than first thought.

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Matz dealt with stiffness in the lat area by his left armpit after his impressive big-league debut last month. Despite this, he went ahead with a second start last Sunday against the Dodgers, tossing six scoreless innings. He was examined Thursday in New York and received an injection of platelet-rich plasma "and will not throw for three weeks, at which time he will be reexamined," according to a statement from the Mets. 

Mets fans seem most bothered that the team knew of the discomfort after Matz's first start but allowed him to make his next start anyway.

Given the recent past, perhaps Mets fans do have reason to worry. 

Cheer up, Mets fans. Perhaps Matz will be the outlier. Ya gotta believe, right?

Jason Foster

Jason Foster Photo

Jason Foster joined The Sporting News in 2015 after stops at various news outlets where he held a variety of reporting and editing roles and covered just about every topic imaginable. He is a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and a 1998 graduate of Appalachian State University.