There is one man at the epicenter of Terry Collins‘s “Circle of Trust” when it comes to the bullpen. That man is Jerry Blevins, and Collins is not shy about the usage of Blevins. In fact, Blevins has appeared in 30 games this season, which is tied for tops in the majors. During his tenure as a Met, Blevins has been primarily used as a setup man and lefty specialist in late game situations. In this role, he has excelled, especially this season. Blevins has so far posted a 1.42 ERA in his 30 appearances, which is good for twelfth in the National League. Opponents are currently batting .176 on him, to further show how effective he has been. So, why not send Blevins out there to save games?
Prior to the start of the season, it was thought that the Mets had their bullpen situation figured out. It appeared that they had an effective 7-8-9 combination in Blevins, Addison Reed, and Jeruys Familia. Familia subsequently was handed a suspension for Domestic Violence, which forced Reed to be the temporary closer. Even when Familia returned from suspension, as a blood clot forced him onto the sideline for what will most likely be the rest of the season. It has been established that Reed has been chosen to hold the role of closer for the Mets. He has saved for teams in the past, even notching 40 saves in 2013 for the Chicago White Sox, which was good enough for seventh best in the league.
Thus far, Reed has not been the dominant reliever he once was. While he has shown flashes of his dominance from past years, he has already blown two saves for the Mets this season. Another troubling statistic is that Reed has also given up more home runs this year than he did all of last year. In Reed’s defense, he has also been worked hard this season. An recent example of his workload was exhibited in the June third game against the Pirates, where he was asked to produce a six out save. I think anyone who has watched this team would agree that Reed looks and feels more comfortable in an eighth inning role, though. Why not experiment and test Blevins and his big curveball in the ninth? Especially if it puts Addison Reed in a more comfortable spot in the eighth inning.
Many would argue and say that Blevins does not possess the “stuff” to be able to be a closer. Closers now often have blazing breaking pitches, and and faster fastballs to strike the hitters out. It is a common misconception that closers need speed to be successful. That is wrong, and Trevor Hoffman is a great example of that. Throughout his career, he averaged about 88-91 miles per hour on his fastball, and he still managed to record the second most saves of all time. While Blevins is no Hoffman, he does have a fastball that sits comfortably at 90. If he has been the best pitcher out of the bullpen this season, and he has a curve that strikes hitters out at a consistent rate, there is no reason to not let him attempt to save games. At this point in the season, the Mets should be willing to try anything to find consistency in a bullpen that has been anything but consistent.
You do realize that Terry Collins thinks it is illegal for a left handed pitcher to face right handed batters…yet he has no problem letting righties face lefties. It’s part of his unique, ahem, charm.
It is also part of the current mindset that left handers should only be situational pitchers. I follow the mindset that if a pitcher is elite, he is elite no matter his throwing arm.
I know that everybody is super-eager to prove that Terry Collins is an idiot. When a team built on pitching has the 29th best ERA in baseball, the response is cries to fire the manager. Because: obviously.
In the case of Blevins, two things:
1) It might be that he’s more valuable in a flexible roll, pitching in high-leverage situations. I’m saying, it could be;
2) When looking at Jerry Blevins’ success this season — by far the best in his career — part of that might be, in fact, a direct result of how he’s been used by the manager. You want to look at Blevins’ success as completely divorced from the usage pattern employed by Collins, but I submit that you have to at least consider that Collins in this instance deserves credit, not blame.
As for the idea that Collins would refuse to use a lefty as a closer, it’s more empty-headed whining by the King of Complaint. What lefty closer are we talking about? Who did he keep out of that role? I’m drawing a blank.
This season, the Mets lost Familia, and then Robles imploded. Neither have been effectively replaced. I understand that it’s not easy to do at this time of year. Maybe not even possible. And the farm system is weak, so there’s no answer there. Just stating the fact that two formerly-effective late-inning guys are no longer around.
I agree that TC has not worked magic with this bullpen, and there have been games when he’s tied himself into knots trying to figure out a way to win. But there have been 2-3 arsonists in the pen all season long, and starters not giving any length whatsoever. I don’t see how any manager could have made a meaningful difference given this scenario.
Losing is hard on the heart. We instinctively want to assign blame, point fingers, lop off heads. Does Collins deserve some? Sure. Some. But there’s a lot of blame to go around and, honestly, that gets old after a while. Losing is hard enough without everyone acting like Mom just dropped the birthday cupcakes.
That said: Try Blevins as closer, shift Reed to the 7th/8th? I see no reason why not, especially if you think that’s the problem here. I mean, I get why that wasn’t the first option. Personally I think the team has been short-handed in that pen all season long. I believe Gsellman could help. Would love to see Robles get straightened out. If that can’t happen, they need to add another late-inning arm. Would be happy to see Edgin get more work. Smoker and Ramirez need to go asap. I even think Wheeler might be interesting come late July. Let him close.
I think TC has tried to use a modern-classic two-inning relief pattern across four innings on a daily basis. Salas has failed as a 7th-inning guy and Reed is no longer available in the 8th. He’s scrambled to find answers and some of those “solutions” have failed spectacularly. We’ve also seen that he’s made adjustments lately, minor changes, and I’m hoping that continues. But if our starters can’t pitch well, effectively and deep, we’re fuct. No pen can succeed under the present demands.
That pretty much covers it top to bottom.
First off I would like to thank you for taking the time to write such dedicated comments for the site. Secondly, I agree that the pen has been so ineffective due to the failed expectations of the starting rotation. It just seems that Reed seems shaken in the ninth, and that Blevins would fit better there. It is worth a shot to shake things up at this point in the season.
Jerry Blevins is having an excellent year but if he were designated as a closer then the team would have to live and die with him in the ninth inning. In his career he has a 720 OPS and 247 BA against RHB’s. In 2017, it is a 1.072 OPS and a 364 BA. He is not the man to be pitching in the ninth inning without a safety net.TC has gotten the most out of Blevins and he and Reed are the most consistent relievers.
Based on this quote from Alderson there may be some changes in bullpen usage. Closer Addison Reed had a six-out save against the Pirates on Saturday night, and the next day, general manager Sandy Alderson told an audience of season-ticket holders: “I don’t think that’s the last time you’re going to see that. Our starters don’t go long enough in games for us to use a guy for a third of an inning, two-thirds of an inning, even an inning in some cases.”
Yes, evidence suggests they are finally catching on. TC had an archetype in his mind and its taken some time for them to adjust to the new reality (I include Sandy and Warthen in this assessment).
Sandy needs to remove the arsonists, as far too much of a burden has fallen on the 4-5 guys who can actually pitch. Need quality depth more than we need a closer at this point.
Yeah, the pen would probably benefit most from another arm or two who can be trusted to pitch in set up roles. They’re cheaper than closers but can get big outs and can soak up some innings.
Although he hasn’t been at his best, you have to love Reed’s temperament. I love how he comes right at hitters as if his 92 MPH fastball is 100+ and tips his hat back after a save like a gunslinger who just exited through the saloon doors.
This bullpen has really gotten clobbered – between Familia’s suspension, then injury, the 5 inning starts, Robles and Salas struggles. At least one of those two needs to get straightened out because it’s going to be at least a month before we can trade for help.
And we have little to trade, unless you think Dominick Smith is some kind of big prize out there. Dunn, Szapucki? Is the near-barren farm really in a position to give up talent? We have so little of it.
I suppose there are possible spare parts with the arrival of Cespedes. I guess you can roll Conforto to RF and trade Bruce. Grandy has little value. But the cupboards are pretty dusty to be sure.
While his temperament may seem on point, the results of it don’t always show.