The new-look Mets are supposed to win games like this. Playing against the 56-79 Miami Marlins, these are the “easy” games that many thought would carry the Mets to the playoff promised land. While one loss doesn’t completely negate an easy schedule, or the season, it doesn’t bode well.
The most worrisome aspect (no surprise) is the bullpen. Except this time it was Sean Gilmartin allowing two too many baserunners in the 7th inning, while new addition Addison Reed couldn’t salvage the inning cleanly. The Mets made a fantastic last stand in the 9th to tie the game at five a piece. But then returning bullpen stalwart Erik Goeddel allowed two baserunners as well, before Tyler Clippard allowed Christian Yelich to score on a Martin Prado double to end the game.
It was a team effort fail by the pen on Friday. The only reliever to pitch a clean inning was everyone’s favorite whipping boy Hansel Robles. The Mets have to do better than this against bad teams like the Marlins. As if a repeat of 2007’s collapse wasn’t on enough peoples’ minds already, tonight’s loss was a salient reminder that October baseball is no guarantee. Add a dash of Scott Boras’ obnoxious salt in the wound, and this was a miserable couple of days to be a Mets fan. Hopefully, it turns around tomorrow.
Well, my gut reaction is that the only concern I have tonight is deGrom. It seems that all the starting pitchers are starting to tire, collectively, and at the wrong time. The bullpen is the result of a moron still managing. Just last week you trade for a 7th inning guy and make big headlines about it, but in the first opportunity to put that plan in order, you have a brain fart. What else is new?
So now you are now in extras and you bring in your pathetic LOOGY to pitch to a lefty, well knowing that a righty that has killed you all night is on deck. Well, after the LOOGY gets the lefty out, you let him pitch to the righty because there’s a lefty on deck even though your pitcher has made every righty to face him a Hall-Of-Famer. But you assume he will get the righty out, huh? Well guess what, he didn’t. The lefty never got to hit. If you want to walk the righty, that’s one thing. But, with this manager it’s one brain fart after another.
But, they are so together and play so hard for him…
You saved me frim posting the same thin more or less. Collina lost that game with an assist from Wright.
After watching this game, I came to a sobering conclusion. I’m really worried that the team could run away with the division and then i won’t have anything to watch for the final weeks of the season. By this time next week, the team could be 10 games up and it’ll probably a struggle to win by the anything less than 8 games. It can happen that fast. The Nats keep throwing games away and are handing the division on a platter. I have hope and faith, but this looks to be easy…
By the end of next Sunday, the Mets will be either +1, 0, or -1 in the standings.
The starting pitching is tiring. Harvey hitting his limit and never pitched in September, syndergaard never pitched in September, and degrom has only last year. The core is tired and no longer going deep into games, which is exposing the soft underbelly of the middle relief. This didn’t matter much when you could bank on 7 out of the starters. They can’t do that anymore, and so we see the glaring hole in the pen, which is amplified by Daffy Duck making the decisions. We were outplayed by a miserable team and out coached by a guy with all of 100 games of experience, and who is about to be fired.
Welcome to meaningful games in September.
The Mets are still in first place by five games after a brutal day by Boras BS and a TC induced bullpen blow up. This is our division to win and the Nationals have to keep winning every day. The pressure is on them.
I thought Gilmartin would be a good audition in August as a 7th inning man before the GM specifically went out and got a 7th inning man. Sandy needs to talk to TC about this. Gilmartin is not a LOOGY, at this point he is your multiple inning secondary relief guy who could have been used later so that the “thin bullpen” (collin’s term) would not have been so thin. On September 4th TC still hasn’t defined his bullpen roles. Inexcusable.
The only solution in regard to Oh-No is to cut him. Having him on the roster is too tempting for TC to use as a LOOGY in a key situation.
This matchup LOOGY crap has got to stop. Cexpedes hits a clutch homerun and the formula should have been Reed, Clippard and Familia. At least that was how the GM set his roster up for. If they lose, (you can’t win them all) then they would have lost with their best.
Amen.
FWIW
Patrick – you wrote that Clippard gave up the game winning hit to Prado. It was O’Flaherty.
5 games up in early Sept. No one would have predicted this. But it’s going to be a race. Nothing comes easy for the Mets. The Harvey controversy, and the injuries to Duda, Murph and Cuddyer are worrisome. I know that there are a huge number of Wright loyalists and I respect that, but this loss is on him more than it’s on Collins BP bunglings. This is the Wright that I was worried that we’d see – the guy who cannot deliver in the clutch. With the aforementioned controversy and injuries, this is an oppty for the “Captain” to carry the team for a week. Minimally for the “Captain” to pull his weight. I think he had 7 LOB last night with 3 on scoring position. I know, people will say it’s just one game or that he’s coming back from injuries. OK, I get that. But let’s call him what he is – an aging vet who has been a fan favorite for years. He’s not a savior. I hope Im wrong.
In the chatter last night that came up a number of times: the idea of playing Wright like he is a star is a huge mistake. He has no business batting above 6th in the line up. His at bats last night were appalling. He is terrified of the inside pitch. For years we have watched him flinch when the ball is on the inside of the plate, let alone actually inside. Last night he did gymnastic moves to avoid pitches that were nowhere near him…even Keith point That out. So he’s vulnerable…he stands far away from the plate, cannot cover inside pitches, and then flails at the outside pitches. I’m a Wright guy, always have been, always will be, but he’s been out almost a whole season and now he’s placed in critical situations he really isn’t suited to. A base hit ends the game. We got 3 weak grounders.
But Collins cannot be absolved. Reed was acquired for the 7th. Brining him in with runners on is a bad move. Collins endless desire for matchy matchy is a disaster. I start Reed in the 7th (actually I would have given the ball to deGrom who has to pitch the 7th in the playoffs) and let him handle it from a fresh start. It is the reason he was hired. And then leave in Oh No to face Prado was a joke. The moment he stepped to the plate, the fate was sealed. He cannot pitch to righties under any circumstance whatsoever. Those moves were as bad as Wright’s inability to deliver as captain should have done.
Fair points CHris and I agree. Your post is more balanced. I just see red whenever Wright tries to hit an outside curve ball into the left field upper deck.
I totally agree. It is agony to watch Aging Bull…I mentioned that he looks like Lagares flailing at the outside pitch.
As a side note, the momentum change is there. After the Nats win, they all watched the Mets game and their clubhouse erupted when Prado walked it off. When den Dekker was asked after the game about how Mets fans would react to his game tieing hit he said: I hoped they didn’t like it.
Like it says stamped on your rear view mirror: objects are closer than they appear. That curly W is tailgating. I only hope Collins can read.
The best line of the night was Gary Cohen: “But hey, today is the day Blevins gets his cast taken off!” Hysterical! I keep getting bitched at for saying this but it’s still not out of my system: After getting Alex Torres, Alderson had no business giving MDD for a LOOGY rental. He got what he deserved, because karma lets you know you screwed up. Then he went out and got a worse LOOGY rental for a month! What about Rice, Gorski, Alvarez, Smoker – with O’Flannery’s stats at the time of trade was not any of these guys just as good?
So maybe this is time for young Matz to assert himself. I really like the kid, his attitude and his backstory. He’s a NY hero waiting to happen. If he throws a gem tonight, there will be joy in Metsville.