It would be too easy to chalk this one up as another one blown by a six-inning start and weak bullpen outing, but this one belongs squarely on Terry Collins‘ shoulders. His in-game decision making was some of the worst of his Mets career and it cost the Mets a game they were leading 5-1 and should have won.
Robert Gsellman delivered a solid comeback outing, allowing three earned runs in six innings. Despite only throwing 84 pitches, Collins inexplicably pulled Gsellman and let a parade of ineffective middle relievers let the Padres back into the game. In the 7th inning, Fernando Salas got two quick outs but then loaded the bases on a hit and two walks. Collins wisely pulled Salas with the Padres one big bat, Wil Myers coming to the plate. With two outs, bases loaded and the Mets clinging to a two-run lead who does Collins bring in? The very effective Jerry Blevins who threw just 12 pitches the night before and had the previous day off? One of the Joshes – Edgin or Smoker? No, he stubbornly went for the righty-righty matchup, but instead of bringing in Paul Sewald, he called on the struggling, twice released Neil Ramirez who promptly gave up a long ball that missed a grand slam by an inch. Collins then yanked Ramirez in favor of Edgin who got the Mets out of the inning with the score tied at 5-5.
In the 8th inning, Collins could have again turned to Blevins to hold the tie, but instead he turned to Smoker who gave up another home run – a moon shot to Hunter Renfroe – that gave the Padres a 6-5 lead that would somehow stick. After the Mets knocked starter Jarred Cosart out in the third inning, they only managed one more run against five Padre relievers. In the bottom of the ninth, the Mets loaded the bases with no outs but couldn’t push the tying run across as Curtis Granderson and Rene Rivera both struck out and Juan Lagares flew out. The Mets left everyone but the ball boys on the bases in this game. Despite drawing nine walks, eight hits and another base runner on an error, the Mets only managed to push across five runs. Wilmer Flores, Michael Conforto and Neil Walker contributed two hits apiece and Lucas Duda drew three walks, but it wasn’t enough.
Again, easy to blame the offense, but this one’s on Collins.
Additional commentary:
This was a very winnable game lost because of terrible in-game coaching decisions. In the post game press conference, Collins had an answer for everything and indicated that he had given Blevins and Sewald the day off. Monday was an off day and Blevins has only pitched once since Friday. A clean inning from Blevins would have been the difference in this game. So could have letting Gsellman pitch another inning. In Collins defense, the Mets’ bullpen ERA stands at 5.08, third worst in MLB and he really only has two reliable arms. Also, if Hansel Robles hadn’t been demoted, Collins would have no doubt allowed him to give up a grand slam to Myers. Obviously, Collins is not to blame for injuries or the ineffectiveness of many of his pitchers, but sometimes coaching is the difference in a game and this was one example.
pinch running reynolds for duda, instead of pinch hitting reynolds for granderson was crucial
In addition to everything you said, another curious decision brought up by Ron was not leaving Edgin in for he 8th after 1 batter in the 7th.
He threw just 3 pitches.
He wasn’t needed to be PH for.
He last pitched on Sunday.
TC brought in Smoker, another lefty, so TC can’t claim matchups.
There was really no reason he couldn’t have gone longer
It wasn’t just Ron. I was following in ESPN’s app and one Mets beat writer tweeted the same thing: no need to pull Edgin after three pitches.
This is a Terry loss all the way.
We know Collins is a moron but the people that run the team don’t care, so let’s look ahead: Cabrera is playing rehab games. With Flores hitting and Walker hitting .360 his last 50 at bats, would they finally bench Reyes (.255/.313/.328 with last 66 PA)? And further, who hits second? I’m for Walker being second.
Too, a little motivation can go a long way. Why hasn’t TJ Rivera gotten off the bench? Why can Granderson, Reyes, and Cabrera suck it up but Rivera doesn’t get a chance to get off the pine after being a catalyst for the last good streak they had, BTW. Notice that while some players individually may look better, it’s coming up big when it’s needed that makes all the difference, not the stats. Let him lose his timing on the bench, th n send him down because he isn’t doing well. The Mets modus operandi.
I didn’t agree with the decision to pull Gsellman, but I understood it. The decisions with Edgin and Neil Ramirez were maddening. I’ve never understood the insistence on making Edgin a LOOGY when he’s done well against righties whenever given the chance. Edgin’s biggest problem is staying healthy not his performance against RHB.
You are correct. And in last night’s case, that one decision led to a series of poor choices. Context is everything. You can’t limit Edgin when your options are Montero, Ramirez, and Smoker.
Montero, Ramirez & Smoker. Sounds like the worst law firm ever.
The Mets have not been getting distance from their starters. Two games this year, deGrom (87 pitches) and Gsellman (84 pitches) were removed. Both were bad decisions.
The Mets two best relievers are Blevins and Reed. In an under achieving and overworked bullpen, those two should not in used unless it is a hold/save or tie situation. Blevins was used in a 9-3 win the night before and was deemed unavailable by TC. Yet Blevins has been always available for TC’s abuse.
The next two relief pitchers in terms of competence are Edgin and Sewald. Sewald was inexplicably used in the 9-3 game the night before and Edgin pitches to one batter last night. These two also need to be used under better circumstances because presently they are the best pitchers to pitch the 6th or 7th innings.
If the bullpen was not over managed then last night the game would have ideally followed Gsellman, Blevins, to Reed with a possibility of Blevins not even being used. If not ideally, then Edgin and Sewald would have been used. Last night’s game was lost because of poor bullpen management in the 9-3 game. TC admitted that Sewald and Blevins were unavailable last night, so the loss it strictly on his shoulders.
I’ve always been more inclined to criticize the work of the Mets GM, but Terry Collins had a horrendous game last night.
Just brutal.
A series of very poor, highly-questionable decisions.
In a different context, removing Gsellman so he could end on a positive note might have been somewhat defensible, but not in the context of the Mets bullpen woes.
His complete and utter failure to comprehend Josh Edgin is mind-boggling. Terry diminishes both the player and the team’s ability to compete; and his willful decision — right? — to ignore the splits is an old pattern with lefty relievers. He’s looking at the role and not the player. It’s always been a blind spot for TC, one I’ve learned to live with and grudgingly accept. But again, in the context of the pitchers in the pen, the workload required of them, it’s just a poor decision with devastating consequences rippling throughout.
Sure seems like Salas can’t go back-to-back right now.
It is insane to pull Smoker after one inning yesterday in a 9-3 game — okay, maybe at the time thinking he might start on Saturday? — only to insert him in a high-leverage 5-5 game last night. Just doesn’t add up, shows no grasp of the (difficult, admittedly) situation. And also: Smoker kind of sucks, right? That’s not “breaking news.”
Ramirez with the bases loaded, two outs, against Will Myers? How many thousands of fans watching the game instantly thought: Grand Slam? I know I did.
Was Sewald unavailable?
Just awfulness upon awfulness. He screwed the pooch. Every decision not only went wrong — that’s going to happen — but was based on a poor grasp of the players, the statistics, the situation. The result was awful; the thinking process, in this case, was worse.
That said, and separately, we need to look at the work of our semi-retired GM. A bullpen with Smoker, Montero, and Ramirez cannot function in today’s MLB and it surely doesn’t work with a manager like Terry Collins. You can’t aspire to be world champions with three arsonists in the pen. That dog don’t hunt.
I like Gsellman in that bullpen. I’ve always been intrigued with Wheeler in the pen. I wonder if it’s easier to trade for a #5 pitcher than finding a quality arm for the bullpen. Time to shake something up, make a bold decision.
If we’re waiting for Seth Effing Lugo to save our season, then heaven help us. That train may never come, and we might not like it so much when it arrives. We’re asking him to pitch with a torn labrum, right?
I also have a nagging sense that Jose Reyes is not invested in these games. He just doesn’t seem fully present, inning by inning. The baserunning blunders, the indifferent defense. Old and in the way.
I think the roster needs a 25% makeover as soon as possible, considering Super 2 and guys coming off DL, and so on. The GM’s unwillingness to turn over the soil has resulted in a stale, calcified roster. Even Eric Goeddel is still down in AAA with an ERA over 8.00. Where’s the infusion of talent?
You know I hate dumping on the manager, the daily complaints, but last night was particularly egregious.
Wilmer Flores almost tied it up, twice. And Curtis Granderson had an abysmal AB at the worst time ever. Particularly painful because we’ve seen that exact same AB so many times before. The worst thing you can do is K in that spot. The worst thing you can do is take two strikes with the bat on your shoulder against a LHP with a wipeout slider. The approach was terrible, the opposite of situational hitting.
Nice catch Juan Lagares — and I know we’re locked in with that contract — but he hasn’t looked particularly “present” either this season. It won’t be fun paying him $9.5 million next season.
Sorry to be so toxic. It was a tough loss.
And of course, it was crucial to burn through 5 relief pitchers the night before with a 6-run lead, leaving Salas panting and Blevins & Sewald “unavailable.”
Collins is 0-for-2
He’s a color-by-numbers manager put into a position where he’s desperately trying to think himself into a win.
And he’s not that kind of thinker. He can’t make the adjustments.
Even the plan, Salas in the 7th, “mix and match” in the 8th, was flawed. Too much managing. My own personal motto for managing — travels teams, men’s leagues — is this: “Don’t just do something, stand there.”
Doing something feels active, but often it’s just a case of needlessly injecting yourself into the game. Give Edgin the ball and let him throw it.
Losing Familia was a huge blow, and he has not been remotely replaced.
We had to listen to them scream “patience” to us for four years. I thought we were past that routine.