In his last outing on Saturday for Double-A Binghamton, Vic Black pitched a scoreless eighth inning, allowing only one hit in the seventh inning of the B-Mets game against Harrisburg.
But, according to Chris Soto on Twitter, Black was mostly throwing in the upper 80s and low 90s during his inning of work.
The lack of velocity has concerned the Mets, so much so Sandy Alderson said on Sunday Black will head to New York to undergo an MRI on both his shoulder and neck.
Despite the lack of velocity and increased concern, Black told Lynn Worthy of the Binghamton Press and Sun Bulletin he is not in any pain, although he realizes something is amiss.
“I certainly notice it,” Black explained to Worthy. “I can tell when my arm feels good and when it doesn’t. Not that it hurts, but when the ball is coming out. I don’t remember throwing 88, 89 since I was a sophomore in high school and that was on a back field because I didn’t even pitch at the time. That kind of stuff is a little frustrating, but at the same time it all comes back as you get back into the rhythm and the groove. Two outings at Port St. Lucie, I think it was anywhere from 94 to 97 so who knows.”
Whether he’s in pain or not, the lack of or inconsistency with his velocity is definitely a concern, especially since he’s trying to rebound from a shoulder problem. The hope is the MRI comes back clean and this is just a minor bump in the road. But, with another reliever going down yesterday and the Mets having to reshuffle the deck again, it would be helpful for them if they could gain some certainty with Black and/or Bobby Parnell in the near-term.
If he’s still healthy, the lack of velocity could simply be attributed to a lack of innings and pitches thrown to this point in the year. He is essentially going through spring training again, and pitches – especially power pitchers – struggle with inconsistencies in their velocity during the building process.
But in listening to Alderson yesterday, there was a legitimate level of concern in his voice when describing Black’s problem.
All Black, Alderson and everyone involved can do is hope for the best in this case.
Just Mets 