SAN DIEGO — The Mets signed Jason Vargas knowing he isn’t going to dominate opponents with his stuff, but aware that he can fully compensate with his head and heart.
“He’s going to go out and pitch, and one thing about Vargas: He is going to compete, no matter what is going on around him,” said pitching coach Dave Eiland, who previously worked with Vargas in Kansas City.
It’s an approach Eiland said he would like to see his younger pitchers take: Forget the error a teammate might have just committed to put you in a jam or the bloop hit that scored a run or an umpire’s strike zone.