Sunday’s soul-crushing loss proves yet again that just because you want something to be true, doesn’t make it so. The Mets want so much to believe that their LH relievers can get out lefty batters on a regular basis that they’ll go for the platoon advantage over using their best-available reliever when a lefty is due up first.
Buck Showalter was working with one hand tied behind his back with his bullpen yesterday. Two of his best three relievers were likely unavailable and Drew Smith was still on the suspended list. He had to find a way to get thru the eighth inning with a three-run lead to be able to use David Robertson in the ninth. And because Bryce Harper was up first – and Bryson Stott third – Showalter went to lefty Josh Walker instead of Jeff Brigham.
In 44 PA versus LHB this season, Brigham has limited them to a .132/.250/.368 line. That .618 OPS versus lefties is just marginally worse than the .576 OPS that righties hit against him. In his career, Brigham has been slightly better versus LHB (.728 OPS) than RHB (.740 OPS) so there’s no reason to treat him like he’s incapable of retiring an LHB.
Harper is traditionally one of the most dangerous lefty batters in the NL. But this year, while making an extremely quick return after TJ surgery, he has just a .113 ISO. Regardless, leading off the inning, it was impossible for him to hit a 3-run homer to tie the game.
It would be one thing if Showalter used a LHP with a long track record of success retiring MLB lefties. But Walker couldn’t make the team out of Spring Training and he wasn’t the first lefty called up from the minors, either. Instead, he was a 28-year-old rookie with all of 11 PA versus MLB lefties under his belt prior to yesterday. And four of those had reached base.
On a macro basis, lefty hitters do worse against lefty pitchers than they do righty ones. No one is arguing this point. But relievers do better coming on at the beginning of an inning than they do with the bases loaded, regardless of which hand they use to throw. It would have been a much-better situation to bring on Brigham to face Harper with the bases empty than it was to bring him on to face Alec Bohm with the bases loaded.
Brigham was brought into the worst situation possible. And then his defense let him down. Brett Baty stands in front of reporters after the game and says the loss was his fault. Not that he’s necessarily wrong but it was still the standup thing for a 23 year old to say.
Contrast that to Showalter, who instead of taking blame for not using his best-available reliever (Brigham) so that he could play matchups with a 28-year-old rookie with virtually no MLB experience, told the press that he can’t keep using the same guys every day.
Note to Showalter – we understand you couldn’t use Brooks Raley or Adam Ottavino at all yesterday or Robertson until the ninth inning. We just didn’t expect you to default to Terry Collins-level decision making where any scrub who throws with his left hand is a good choice in a big situation.
And just for giggles, here’s how the Mets’ lefty relievers have done with the platoon advantage this year:
Walker — .462 OBP/.684 OPS
Raley – .294/.351/.471
Zach Muckenhirn – .539/.500/.692
Raley has a history of being good against LHB but is not enjoying that success this season. Walker and Muckenhirn have no history of success.
Billy Eppler didn’t do Showalter any favors with how he constructed this year’s bullpen. And yesterday Showalter compounded the problem by pretending a lefty scrub was the best man for the job. A day later and it’s all still sickening.
Let’s close with a word on the bottom of the barrel relievers currently on the team.
Brigham – The best of a bad lot. But 5 HR and 5 HBP in 27.1 IP is not good.
Grant Hartwig – While he hasn’t given up a run in three appearances, he has a 5.58 FIP, which isn’t easy to do.
Dominic Leone – He has a 5.66 ERA and a 5.83 FIP, so he’s been terrible.
Vinny Nittoli – Two scoreless appearances!
Walker – There’s no point crucifying him over one terrible outing but when the Mets bring back a fifth starter – and are they seriously going to use David Peterson instead of Joey Lucchesi?!? – he should be the one to go to Syracuse. But it’s not like Hartwig or Leone deserve a spot, either.
If Robertson was available wouldn’t it have made sense to bring him in with the bases loaded in the 8th rather than holding him for the 9th? If you don’t hold the lead he doesn’t pitch anyway and he’s your best reliever by far, so why not put him in the high leverage spot? I liked that Buck did that at times with Diaz last year and it should have been his strategy with his best reliever yesterday.
There’s definitely logic to using Robertson in the 8th.
My guess is that Buck was hoping not to use Robertson at all. The lefty gets the job done in the 8th, the Mets add to the lead in the 9th and Robertson gets the night off.
This was a crucial game against a division opponent. The bullpen was taxed. Showalter pulled Carrasco at 78 P and 4 innings with a 3-2 lead. It would have been better to have Carrasco continue, at least until he gave up a run. In the 4th inning Carrasco didn’t gave up any runs. The quick hook exposed further the middle relief problem.