Just Mets

It’s not entirely clear how the Mets might utilize Bartolo Colon should they make it the the playoffs in 2015, if they do at all.

He has put together a body of work this season which has led to more questions than answers as to whether or not he can be productive during that time of year, especially during his most recent stretch of seven starts during which he had a 6.16 ERA, elevating his ERA to 4.96 for the year entering Monday’s game. Granted, the Mets had provided Colon a total of seven runs in those seven starts, but with the way he had been pitching, the Mets had very little chance in most of those games.

But the club’s first order of business is getting to the playoffs. And in order to get there, they’re really going to need Colon to resemble the pitcher he showed he still can be at age 42 on Monday night against the Marlins in Miami.

In what seemed like a largely irrelevant performance in the club’s 12-1 drubbing of the Marlins, Colon quietly threw 78 of his 101 pitches for strikes over eight innings while allowing only one run and seven hits for his tenth win of the season and lowering his ERA to 4.72 for the season.

Part of Colon’s value is obviously determined by his performance on the field, which has hardly been stellar since April. But the other element which is could become even more important as the season grows shorter is his veteran presence for the younger pitchers especially on the roster during what’s undoubtedly going to be the first major trial for many in their careers.

Colon’s experience alone has made him a leader for those young pitchers, and he’s helping those players manage through the stress and pressures of their first meaningful summer at the big league level. It’s a big reason the club decided to sign him, and overpay by giving him a second year on his deal with the Mets back in December, 2013.

“We’ve been talking among all the players, not only the veteran guys,” Colon said after the win. “From now on, every game is important, every game counts. We’ve got to take every game like it’s the last.”

Welcome to a real pennant race. It’s been a long, long time in these parts.

Aside from his performance, Colon’s presence in the rotation will be beneficial when the Mets eventually go back to a six-man rotation, which will happen when Steven Matz is activated from the disabled list either in late August or early September.

Matz began throwing from 60 feet at the team’s minor league complex in Port St. Lucie on Monday.

But it will be even more critical next month for Colon to command his two-seamer on the edges and deliver wins as he did against Miami on Monday night, even with another horse in the stable. The Mets cannot afford for Colon to resemble what was in that 6.16 ERA during the heat of a pennant race, which means they might have to turn to somebody else such as Logan Verrett or Dillon Gee to give themselves a better chance to win.

But if he can be more consistent, he’ll have backed up his words inside the doors of the Mets clubhouse, and have been a huge part of the champagne celebration if they do in fact make it to the tournament, whether he’s in the mix for the tournament or not.

“That’s a big outing for Bartolo, because we need him,” manager Terry Collins said after the game. “If you’re going to stay in the race, you’ve got to get outings. You’ve got to get innings from all your pitchers and he’s struggled lately and tonight was a good outing for him.”

The beauty of this now is, the Mets no longer need Colon to pitch shutdown baseball with their retro-fitted offense. They simply need quality and consistency to make their newfound offense stand up.

He just has to hold up his end of the bargain.