New York Mets Rock Peavy and Cain in a look at what Star Pitchers Eventually Become

from: ebaying.com
Mets fans want these guys locked up long term, what they should be wanting is a ring now.

Jake Peavy and Matt Cain were once looked upon as people look at deGrom, Syndergaard, Matz, and Harvey now.

The New York Mets, en-route to taking the first two games from the San Francisco Giants, beat up on Jake Peavy and Matt Cain.

Both Cain and Peavy were once among the top pitchers in all of Major League Baseball.

In 8 Seasons with the San Diego Padres between his rookie season on 2002 and part of 2009, Peavy posted an ERA of 3.29 and in 2007 led the National League with 19 wins and a 2.54 ERA.  He backed that up with a 2.85 ERA in 2008, but then, his production began to tail off.

Since 2010, Peavy has had seasons where he has had some success like 2012 where he made an all-star team representing the White Sox, but has been inconsistent.

This season, he has opened with an ERA of 8.61 no thanks to a 12 run inning the Mets put on him on the first game of this weekend series.

Matt Cain, a career Giant, is perhaps a better example.

in 2010, Cain helped guide the Giants to the World Series and has a career ERA of 3.50 thanks largely to sub 3 ERA seasons in his rookie year in 2005, 2009, 2011, and 2012. But since 2012, Cain has won a total of 12 games, and has spent a large amount of time on the DL.

What’s the point?

The point is quality pitching is not a long term guarantee.

Mets fans are clamoring for the re-signing of the new “Big Four”, but what they should be clamoring for is winning now.

History dictates that long-term contracts for pitchers approaching and passing 30 don’t work – Johan Santana, CC Sabathia, the aforementioned Peavy, Cain and a host of others have proven that.

So if you are a Mets fan, forget about the long term, worry about the next two to three years because with pitching, the future is now.