Will New York Mets replace Rick Porcello after his nightmare debut? Fans tell him 'don’t take the mound again'
The New York Mets had an abysmal game on Sunday, July 26, against the Atlanta Braves. And one man is getting all the blame.
After getting pummelled at 1 - 14, it was an absolute nightmare for the Mets and freshly-signed pitcher Rick Porcello is the one whom the fans are holding to blame. In his debut game, Porcello was tagged for seven runs (six earned) on seven hits, three walks and one strikeout over two-plus innings.
Understandably, Mets fans are losing their minds and demanding that Porcello be replaced. Here's what they've been saying on Twitter:
"The Rick Porcello experience is exactly as bad as I anticipated," one fan tweeted. "Rick Porcello looked dreadful tonight, remember when this guy beat out Britton for Cy young? Oh how times have changed. #SundayNightBaseball," another fan wrote.
"Please don’t take the mound again. Without Noah and Stroman this rotation is worse than average. Who’s left? Please forfeit the season and save your fans further embarrassment," yet another angry fan wrote.
In his defense, Porcello owned up to his mistakes later and said he intends to "make some better memories" going forward. But that hasn't stopped a number of fans from actually calling for Porcello to retire after that terrible showing. "Quit playing. You knew damn well you’d be pitching for the @mets wayyyy past your prime. Just collect your paycheck and move on, my guy! @RickPorcello," one irate fan tweeted.
"I’m not sure why anyone is surprised that Rick Porcello, a bad pitcher, had a bad debut for the Mets," another fan wrote. On a slightly more sympathetic note, a fan wrote, "Mets got whooped... Poor Rick Porcello, I started him in Fantasy, -20pts. He got killed in 1st and 2nd inning."
Now, let's talk about practical problems. Even if the Mets were to replace Porcello, it's not immediately clear who they would send out in his place. And the worst part is that the Mets' next series is against the Boston Red Sox, with whom Porcello had posted a career-high 5.52 ERA last season.
Fans are even pulling up Porcello for not updating his Twitter bio, which still says "pitcher for the Red Sox." If he were to put on a similar performance in Boston, there's no telling what the fans might do.