The Curious Curse of Pat Misch
Photo courtesy of Yahoo! Sports via Getty Images
New York Met Pat Misch made his MLB debut in 2006, but hasn’t been able to prove effective enough to throw 125 innings yet in his career. Having compiled an ERA over 5.00 in his 2+ seasons with the Giants, Misch was sent to New York, where between the Knicks and Mets, there simply isn’t any athlete the Big Apple won’t sign. The Statue of Liberty certainly is in the right place, as here is where the tired, hungry and poor huddled masses yearn to break free … of the Mets. Over half of New York’s starting lineup and pitching rotation are on the DL, the salaries of whom equate to more than 17 major league teams will pay to their entire roster this year.
But for Misch, the eerie injuries that plagued his higher profile teammates avoided him. In 19 middle relief starts, he had proven serviceable, if not sturdy. He even threw four innings of one-hit ball in a long relief effort against Philly. Then on Friday, Misch was given a chance to start, something he hadn’t yet done with the Mets, but had done unsuccessfully for the Giants 11 times before.
It looked promising. If there’s an NL team more disappointing than the Mets this season, it’s the Cubs, the punchless team he was set to face. Misch did everything he was asked. He hung in there for seven innings retiring the first batter in each, gave up only one run, lowered his season ERA from 4.09 to 3.41 and left the game with a 2-1 lead.
This is the Mets, so clearly the lead didn’t stick. New York lost 5-2 and Misch was left with an unfortunate Major League record.
In each of Misch’s 12 career starts, his team ended up losing the game. Every single time, no matter what the game looked like when poor Misch left it, this cursed hurler’s team was doomed to failure.
No one can accuse Misch of being an all-star, but he certainly flashed some mustard on last Friday, he even managed to retire each of the first four inning’s leadoff batters with just one pitch, and yet to no avail.
Perhaps on Thursday against the Rockies, he’ll break a curse that has literally followed him (and his teams) his entire career.
If not, maybe there’s solace in being noted for something, even if it’s for something dubious.
UPDATE: Misch paced around the Mets’ dugout during the ninth inning on Thursday, waiting for his team’s inevitable flop after pitching seven solid innings against Colorado. The flop would never come however and New York won 8-3. The curse is broken, proving once and for all that David Wright’s helmet can do magic.
Leave a Reply
