Do We Need to Talk About Max Scherzer?
I'm out of answers, so I asked ChatGPT
It was a week ago in my season preview of the New York Mets that I offered some caution around the performance of the team’s formidable pitching staff: “If (Max) Scherzer and (Justin) Verlander can stay healthy and (Kodai) Senga lives up to the hype, the rotation will be as good, if not better than last season. Then again, Verlander is 40 and Scherzer is 38, which should give everyone pause.”
Senga had a solid major league debut. Verlander was placed on the injured list before Opening Day and there is no timetable for his return (#LOLMets is always lurking). As for Scherzer, It might be time to take a deeper dive.
Over his last three starts, Scherzer has pitched 16 innings and yielded 15 earned runs, for an ERA of 9.00. Over that stretch he’s given up eight home runs. That includes Game One of the NL Wild Card series vs. San Diego last October, as well as Scherzer’s two starts on the road to start this season in Miami and Milwaukee.
Things came to a crescendo on Monday when Scherzer took the loss in a 9-0 defeat at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers. In the bottom of the sixth, Scherzer gave up three straight home runs before heading for the showers.
I went back and watched all eight of the home runs Scherzer has given up over his last three starts. While I did see some things — he made a few mistakes about belt high in the strike zone against some lefties — I was hard pressed to come to any solid conclusions. So I decided to do the latest thing.
I asked ChatGPT.
As an AI language model, I don't have access to the personal thoughts or insights of Max Scherzer or the opposing batters, but I can offer some possible reasons why Scherzer may be struggling in his recent outings.
Firstly, it's important to note that baseball can be a very unpredictable game, and even the best pitchers can have rough stretches where they struggle to get outs. Scherzer is widely regarded as one of the best pitchers in the game, but he is still human and susceptible to making mistakes.
One possibility is that Scherzer may be experiencing a dip in his physical form. Fatigue, minor injuries or illnesses could all impact his pitching mechanics and velocity, leading to him making more mistakes on the mound.
Another possibility is that Scherzer's opponents may have made adjustments to their approach at the plate. Baseball is a game of adjustments, and hitters may have identified certain tendencies or weaknesses in Scherzer's pitching repertoire, allowing them to better anticipate and capitalize on pitches that they may have previously struggled with.
Lastly, it could be simply bad luck, as sometimes even the best pitchers can get hit hard despite making good pitches. Batters can sometimes get lucky with hitting pitches that they were not expecting to hit, leading to more home runs and hits.
In any case, it is important to remember that baseball is a complex sport and there are many variables that can impact a player's performance. It is likely that Scherzer and his coaching staff are analyzing his recent performances and making the necessary adjustments to get him back on track.
While I had tried some AI graphics programs, this was the first time I dived into ChatGPT and I came away impressed. While I could have very well written a summary like that one, there’s no way I could have spit it out as quickly as ChatGPT. I have to admit that the answer was delivered with such speed that it felt frightening.
ChatGPT provided a good answer and did it more quickly than most humans could manage, but the response was superficial. While this response would have been perfectly acceptable to deliver to a student in middle school, it won’t come anywhere near satisfying the rabid sports fan. So, at least for now, bloggers like me still have some room to maneuver. Though I have to admit, I’m not exactly sure for how much longer.
As to what Scherzer thinks his problem is, click here. Brewers manager Craig Counsell had thoughts too.
UPDATE: My old friend William F. Yurasko chimed in on Facebook:
When he was still with the Nats, more than a few of us surmised that he'll be the last to know when he doesn't have it. He could be really difficult to manage when that happens because he's so competitive.
It seemed like he often gave up early homers in big games - probably too amped up. His fastball would be faster, but flatter and get hit very hard.
He's never been the same since June 2019 when he absolutely dominated and practically willed the Nats back into contention. Then they wore those damn Montreal uniforms and broke him. He recovered, eventually of course and we had a glorious October in DC. Strasburg, speaking of broken, carried the Nats to the championship though.
Eric McErlain lives and works in the Washington, D.C. area. He blogged at Off Wing Opinion regularly from 2002-2009. In addition to writing at Off Wing, his work has appeared at The Sporting News, AOL FanHouse, NBC Sports.com, Deadspin, The Hockey Writers and Pro Football Weekly.