Clay Holmes’ last 300 big league appearances have been out of the bullpen. On Thursday afternoon in Houston on Opening Day, the right-hander will climb the hill for the Mets as a starter for the first time in 2,370 days.
“Definitely try and enjoy the moment, just soak it in for a second,” Holmes said on Wednesday. “Then it’s time to get to work.”
On the eve of making a big shift from closer to starter, the 32-year-old was asked what the biggest question he has about his season. “It’s a good question,” Holmes said, pausing and looking toward the sky from the Mets’ dugout in Houston.
“Personally, I’m keeping this thing kinda short-sighted,” Holmes said. “For me, it’s like, ‘Hey, let’s get through five starts and evaluate where we’re at.’ And you get through that one start at a time.
“It sure is fun to set big season goals, long goals. But, especially this being so new, and it’s been a while since I’ve done this, it’s a little bit uncharted [territory] for me. There’s been a few guys who’ve done this the past few years, but for me, it’s like, get through the starts, see where we’re at, see how we’re feeling, see how things are testing, and put a plan for the next week and tackle the next start.”
Holmes said early on this is something that will require a lot of monitoring.
“Monitor where we’re at, see where the trends are going and correct course when we need to,” he continued. “And hopefully be out there for every start.”
Holmes said he has been in contact with two pitchers who have made the switch – Michael King and Garrett Crochet, both of whom are, coincidentally enough, also Opening Day starters Thursday – to pick their brains on that, but every pitcher is “a bit different.”
“Everybody has their own set of challenges and things they need to accomplish, but just to hear their perspective and how the overall experience went for them,” he said. “It’s just good to have that perspective when you do run into things, have questions, it’s nice to have that.”
But, Holmes isn’t shying away from the expectations of the ballclub, which come from an NLCS trip last year, and the other former Yankee who made the jump from The Bronx to Queens this offseason.
“You can feel the excitement, there’s definitely expectations,” he said. “Everybody knows the payroll and the players we have here and the talent we have here and there are things that come with that.
“… there’s expectations, sure, but there’s a lot of accountability in the locker room, too. And I think that’s what makes this group great.”
Entering his eighth big league season, the righty said there’s a standard that’s being set here, and the “responsibility” of World Series expectations is one the players are “all excited to have.”
Now, all that’s left is the next 162 games.
“I think we had a great spring training, I think we’re in a great position to do what we set out to do,” Holmes said. “Time to just go compete now.”
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