Terry Collins
In a nine inning game, the Mets had as many errors as they had base hits (three). In consecutive innings, T.J. Rivera made errors leading to two unearned runs.
That doesn’t even begin to mention the slow motion attempt by Asdrubal Cabrera and Jose Reyes in the second which could have limited the damage to 2-0. Instead, the Mets got one out and allowed the Cardinals to score three runs in the inning effectively ending the game.
Between the lack of offense and the terrible defense, Rafael Montero took the loss. Unlike most of the losses in his career, Montero didn’t really deserve this loss. His final line was six innings, seven hits, four runs, two earned, one walk, and five strikeouts.
Certainly, Montero showed enough to more than justify the Mets giving him another start.
Aside from Montero, the only positive from tonight’s game was Michael Conforto going 2-4 with a double. If you want to really stretch things and look for positives, Hansel Robles pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts.
In reality, a bad Mets team was shut out by Michael Wacha (CG SHO). They’re a bad team playing disinterested baseball. Games like this usually get managers fired. Considering this is far from the first time this has happened this year, it’s safe to assume Terry Collins finishes the year as the manager.
If that’s the case, the Mets dropped the ball worse than Lucas Duda did in the seventh.
Game Notes: The Mets left side of the infield has a -27 DRS which is by far the worst in the minors.
Despite all of the Mets problems coming to surface in this game, they still had a chance to win this game.
Like most of his career, Zack Wheeler was cruising until he suddenly lost the strike zone. He kept dodging trouble when the game was scoreless, but once he got a 1-0 lead courtesy of a Michael Conforto homer, he and the Mets pitching fell apart in the sixth inning.
New Mets killer Paul DeJong hit a two run homer giving the Cardinals a 2-1 lead. The rally continued with Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright hit an RBI double giving the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.
Terry Collins brought on Josh Edgin to get Matt Carpenter. Instead, Edgin walked him leading to Collins bringing in newly recalled Hansel Robles. Robles promptly gave up a three run homer to Tommy Pham. Yes, Robles briefly pointed:
Yeah Robles pointed at a homer again pic.twitter.com/p7oossRo7H
— Meditations in Panic City (@MedInPanicCity) July 18, 2017
Believe it or not, there was still hope for the Mets. That hope started with Lucas Duda crushing a homer:
https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/887122156676624386
Jose Reyes followed with a Little League homer as Magnerius Sierra first booted the Reyes double and then threw it away. The rally ended with Cardinals pitcher Tyler Lyons somehow grabbing a Conforto liner up the middle.
Even with the frustrating play, the Mets had a chance to tie things in the ninth.
Curtis Granderson worked out a leadoff pinch hit walk against Cardinals lefty Kevin Siegrist. Mike Matheny responded by going to Brett Cecil. This is the same Cecil who just blew a save yesterday.
He started out shaky giving up a one out single to Asdrubal Cabrera. This brought up Cespedes as the tying run. Cecil would go to 3-0 to Cespedes, and the unthinkable happened. Whereas Cespedes swung and grounded into the game ending 6-4-3 double. Game over.
There was much criticism of Cespedes swinging there. It was largely unfounded and based on the result. Cespedes could’ve tied the game on one swing. Based upon what we saw in 2015, we all saw how he can be a game changer.
But this isn’t Cespedes of 2015. This is a 31 year old outfielder is a shell of himself with all the leg injuries. With all that said, of course he grounded into the game ending double play. A day after failing to sweep the Cubs, the Mets blew a chance to beat the Cardinals.
Game Recap: With his homer, Duda tied Todd Hundley on the all-time M home run
In a 4-1 loss to the Cardinals where the Mets bullpen was once again poor, Terry Collins said it is time for Neil Ramirez to get more opportunities.
This is the same Ramirez who has the worst ERA+ and FIP on the Mets roster. The same pitcher who has an 11.56 ERA and a 1.713 WHIP over his last five appearances. As a Mets, he has a 6.50 ERA and a 1.722 WHIP with a 7.5 BB/9.
This is where the Mets are. Their manager is contemplating using his worst reliever more often. If that’s not a sign the Mets need sweeping changes, I don’t know what is.
Normally, when your team walks away from a from bases loaded no outs in the first inning, and the Mets only walk away with one run, you begin to brace yourself for a long night.
Except tonight, the Mets had Jacob deGrom on the mound, and deGrom has been in one of the best stretches of his career. Given the fact that he’s pitched into the seventh inning in each of his last four starts allowing one run or less in each of those starts, there was every chance deGrom could make that run stand.
So while a Jay Bruce strikeout and a Lucas Duda GIDP bracketed a T.J. Rivera RBI HBP, the Mets got a lead for their ace. In the second, the Mets went up 2-0 on a Jose Reyes lead-off homer off Carlos Martinez, it looked like deGrom had all the room he needed.
Then, the Cardinals bats came alive.
Over a span of seven batters between the third and fourth innings, the Cardinals would hit four homers against deGrom. There were back-to-back homers by Randal Grichuk and Paul DeJong in the third, and back-to-back homers again in the fourth. This time it was by Dexter Fowler and Jedd Gyorko.
Fortunately for deGrom, they were all solo shots. Fortunately for the Mets, Martinez struggled even worse.
In the top of the fourth, Reyes led off with a double, and Travis d’Arnaud singled him home. Somewhat surprisingly, deGrom would swing away, and he’d hit into a fielder’s choice. The poor Cardinals defense would rue not turning the double play when Curtis Granderson doubled him home.
After the Cardinals tied the game with the aforementioned fourth inning homers, Bruce would untie the game:
https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/883506208082100226
In the seventh, Rivera plated another run with a double scoring Yoenis Cespedes, who began the inning reaching on a Matt Carpenter error. Basically, Cespedes drilled a grounder that sometimes second baseman just could not field.
The hit must’ve been some relief for Rivera. He had been stinging the ball all night, but this double was the only hit he had to show for it.
The Mets came out of that seventh inning with another run giving them a 6-4 lead, but it should have been more.
After Cespedes reached on an error, Bruce had a terrible slide into second base. Instead of runners on second and third with no outs, there was a runner at third with one out.
After the Rivera double, Reyes was hit by a pitch, but d’Arnaud couldn’t deliver the two out RBI. This didn’t give the Mets pitching much margin for error.
For his part, deGrom was good with this two run lead. He’d pitch seven innings allowing just eight hits (four homers). He stuck out five while walking none. All in all, it was a good outing that gave the Mets a chance to win.
Jerry Blevins was first out of the pen with the assignment to get Carpenter. As noted by Gary Cohen, the oft used Blevins had a noticeable dip in velocity, and Carpenter took advantage ripping a single through the shift. With a group of right-handed batters following, Terry Collins brought in Paul Sewald.
Sewald allowed a single to the first batter he faced, Stephen Piscotty. After that, Sewald induced a double play ball off the bat of Fowler. However, the ball got stuck in Asdrubal Cabrera‘s glove. That hesitation prevented any chance of turning two with the speedy Fowler. In fact, Reyes didn’t even bother to throw to first.
Gyorko would hit a long sacrifice fly to pull the Cardinals within 6-5. Yadier Molina then got a hold of one that seemed destined to give the Cardinals the lead. Instead, the ball fell harmlessly into Cespedes’ glove.
This meant Addison Reed had no cushion as he sought to concert his 15th save. While the first two batters hit deep liners to center, Granderson was there to make the play. Reed then battled with DeJung, who was having a terrific night at the plate. Reed won the battle striking him out, and deGrom won his fifth consecutive start.
With the win, the Mets are now tied with the Cardinals in the loss column as the two sub-.500 teams run out of time to get into the thick of the Wild Card race.
Game Notes: Michael Conforto took BP before the game, and he’s likely going to be activated tomorrow.
If the Mets are really looking to sell, it is time to get rid of everyone that doesn’t have a contract beyond this season. This means the Mets should part ways with Jay Bruce, Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson, Addison Reed, and Rene Rivera. Once Neil Walker is healthy enough to play, the Mets should trade him as well. With the Mets having team options on both Jerry Blevins and Asdrubal Cabrera, they should also get moved in the right trade.
But it’s not just the players. The Mets should also part ways with Terry Collins.
When Collins signed his two year contract in the wake of the 2015 World Series, Collins had indicated it could very well be his last. Even if Collins relented from that position, with each game, it becomes clearer and clearer that Collins will no longer be in the dugout for the Mets in 2018. If that is the case, the Mets should part ways with Collins sooner rather than later.
The perfect time would be as the Mets head into the All Star Break. This could allow the Mets to re-calibrate the coaching staff. Internally, the Mets have some managerial candidates.
First base coach Tom Goodwin was given the opportunity to manage in the Arizona Fall Leauge this past offseason. While he was removed from the Mets coaching staff in the offseason, Tim Teufel has remained with the organization. Both are certainly candidates for the managerial job should it ever open, and both should provide the Mets with as smooth a transition as possible.
There are also minor league managers Luis Rojas and Pedro Lopez. With the Mets likely turning to young players like Gavin Cecchini, Brandon Nimmo, Amed Rosario, and Dominic Smith, it would be helpful to have a manager with whom they are familiar to ease their transition as everyday players in the majors.
It would also serve as an opportunity to see how any of the aforementioned would serve as a manager at the major league level. If you like what you see with the replacement, you have your answer as to who should be the Mets manager in the future. If that person doesn’t perform well, you at least know you need to move on from that manager and look in a different direction.
Point is if the Mets aren’t going anywhere, they should best utilize that time. That means giving young players an opportunity to establish themselves as everyday players at the major league level. That should also mean finding out who the manager should be in 2018.
It’s time for the Mets to thank Collins for his service as the Mets manager, and possibly find a role for him in the organization. It’s time to close the chapter on his Mets managerial career, and it is time to usher in a new era of Mets baseball.
The problem with pitchers’ duels in the modern game is that eventually end due to pitch count and managerial decision. We’ll never again see Juan Marichal and Warren Spahn dueling for 16 innings. Instead, we eventually get a battle of the bullpens.
That battle makes both Mets fans and Nationals fans uneasy because both teams have terrible bullpens.
Steven Matz and Stephen Strasburg were both terrific matching zeros through seven innings. Matz allowed for hits while walking two while striking out four. Strasburg gave up two hits while walking three and striking out six.
The relievers that followed were nowhere near as good. Accordingly, Dusty Baker and Terry Collins were mixing and matching and failing.
The Mets got the first crack at the bullpen in the eighth, and they are going to want this inning back.
After a lead-off single off Nationals reliever Matt Grace, Matz stayed in the game for the sole purpose of bunting Brandon Nimmo to second. Jose Reyes, who was batting lead-off for some inexplicable reason, singled to left. Despite Nimmo initially stumbling and Brian Goodwin charging in hard on the ball, Glenn Shetlock sent Nimmo anyway:
https://twitter.com/mlbreplays/status/882037467959963649
Nimmo was out by a pretty good margin. Maybe a better slide, and Nimmo is safe. Possibly, Asdrubal Cabrera being in position to direct Nimmo could’ve made a difference. A different replay official, and the call reasonably could’ve been overturned. Instead, the call stood.
The send was bad on so many levels. Most importantly, there was only one out, and the middle of the lineup was coming up against a terrible Nationals bullpen.
Cabrera would walk, and the Mets would send Yoenis Cespedes to the plate. He would come up short in a big spot. It wouldn’t be the last time.
The Nationals wouldn’t waste their chance.
With the pitcher’s spot due up and the top of the Nationals line-up due up, Collins went to Jerry Blevins, and he kept him in with all the right-handed hitters the Nationals brought to the plate. It was a bad strategy:
Not sure, but maybe Terry shouldn't have used Blevins against all those RHB pic.twitter.com/KOKziiQr1j
— Mets Daddy (@MetsDaddy2013) July 4, 2017
Ryan Raburn hit a pinch hit single, and Michael Taylor followed with a two run homer giving the Nationals a 2-0 lead.
But the game wasn’t over because the Nationals bullpen is terrible too.
Sammy Solis allowed a one out single to T.J. Rivera, and he got a gift strike call on Lucas Duda:
Baker brought in Matt Albers, and Collins countered by pinch hitting Curtis Granderson for Travis d’Arnaud. The Nationals were one strike away from winning, and Granderson tied the game:
https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/882044191727124480
This is when critical decisions are made. Addison Reed was warming up, but with the game tied, Collins wasn’t going to bring in his closer on the road unless it was a save situation. This was the Buck Showalter–Zach Britton decision all over again, and Collins showed he learned nothing.
He initially stuck with Paul Sewald, who bailed the Mets out if the eighth.
Sewald walked Matt Wieters to start the inning, but he struck Wilmer Difo out, who was trying to get the bunt down. At that point, the Mets had a sinker baller on the mound and needed a double play to get out of the inning.
Collins would’ve stick with Sewald, nor would he go to Reed in the spot. Instead, he went to Josh Edgin when Stephen Drew was announced as a pinch hitter. Edgin walked Drew pushing the winning run into scoring position. Adam Lind flied out setting up first and second with two outs, and Ryan Raburn coming to the plate.
Still, Collins would not go to Reed. No, he went to Fernando Salas and his 6.31 ERA. Raburn hit a ball to left field that dropped in front of a sliding Yoenis Cespedes. To add insult to injury, Cespedes pulled up lame on the play, and he won’t be playing tomorrow.
Bad managing and a bad bullpen led to a loss. It’s been all too redundant this year.
Game Notes: Daniel Murphy grounded out in a pinch hitting appearance in the eighth marking the first time in 30 games against the Mets he did not reach base.
This is a game the Mets don’t win this year. They blew the lead twice. They fell behind after a bullpen meltdown. The rain coming was almost an allegory for their season being washed out. Lost in all of that, this team still has some fight it them.
The Mets 1-0 lead on a Jose Reyes double went away with the help of a pair of fourth inning errors.
The Phillies loaded the bases on a T.J. Rivera and a pair of walks issued by Zack Wheeler. Ty Kelly grounded to Lucas Duda on easy should’ve been an inning ending double play. Instead, Wheeler missed the return throw from Reyes allowing two runs to score.
After a Cameron Rupp single, Wheeler was done for the day. In his first start since his brief stint on the Disabled List, Wheeler reminded you of how frustrating he can be. He was unable to put batters away. He walked batters at inopportune times. He didn’t last long in the game.
Erik Goeddel came on and bailed him out. He also gave the Mets the chance to win.
The Mets picked themselves off the mat in the bottom of the inning starting with an Asdrubal Cabrera leadoff double off Phillies starter Jeremy Hellickson. He’d then score on a Jay Bruce RBI ground out. Duda then untied it:
https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/881269647936548864
Goeddel couldn’t hold that lead. He’d issue a two out walk to Aaron Altherr, and before you could blink Altherr was on third base as Travis d’Arnaud threw it away on Altherr’s stolen base attempt. The whole course of events might have been rendered moot as Tommy Joseph doubled him home.
This put the game in Fernando Salas‘ hands. Outside the first couple of weeks when Terry Collins went to him again and again, Salas has been terrible. For proof of that, look no further than his 5.88 ERA or his 1.693 WHIP.
Two singles and a Joseph homer later, and the Mets were down 6-3. With the rains coming, it was possible that could’ve been enough to win the game. In fact, a lengthy enough delay after the seventh, and that game is over. With that, the Mets season might’ve been washed away as well.
Then T.J. would jolt everyone alive with a home run to lead off the inning. The home run sparked the Mets offense. d’Arnaud would hit a one out double off Pat Neshek, and he would score on a Wilmer Flores RBI single.
Then, with two outs, against the team that led to the home run which inspired the day’s bobble head, Cabrera struck again:
https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/881289763411689474
7-6
That doesn’t mean it was smooth sailing. There would be a rain delay and a couple of false starts by the Phillies.
With a 57 minute rain delay with two outs in the eighth, Paul Sewald had to come out of the game putting Addison Reed in a position where he had to get a four out save.
To lead off the ninth, Altherr hit one to deep center just missing a home run. Reed buckled down, and he made sure to strand Altherr at second to pick up his seventh straight save attempt and his third in as many days.
With the win, the rejuvenated Mets are now just 8.5 games behind the suddenly reeling Nationals. The Mets have a chance to make things interesting.
Game Notes: Michael Conforto went to the Disabled List with a bone bruise in his left hand. Wheeler was activated off the Disabled List to make the start.
Heading into the season, it was an either/or decision between Jay Bruce and Curtis Granderson. Not getting what they wanted on the trade market, the Mets instead opted to keep both. With a Yoenis Cespedes DL stint and Michael Conforto getting nicked up, the Mets are sure glad it turned out that way. Today was another example why.
Granderson would once again lead off the game by getting on base. This time it was a lead-off double against Marlins starter Jose Urena. He then came home to score on a two out Bruce RBI double. Bruce then scored on a T.J. Rivera RBI double giving the Mets a 2-0 first inning lead.
Bruce wasn’t done doubling Granderson in. In the third, Granderson started another rally. This time he reached in what should have been ruled an infield single. It was a really tough error on JT Riddle.
Cespedes followed with a one out infield single of his own before Bruce doubled in Granderson. Again, TJ followed a Bruce RBI with one of his own. This time it was an RBI single bringing home Cespedes. Bruce scored on a Jose Reyes sacrifice fly giving Seth Lugo a 5-0 lead.
Lugo was cruising through the first three until Giancarlo Stanton led off the fourth with one of his monster home runs:
https://twitter.com/therendermlb/status/880583304466059264
Lugo shook that off and got the Mets into the sixth inning with a 5-1 lead. The Marlins would then rally and make a game of it.
He had none on and two outs after Dee Gordon was gunned down by Rene Rivera. That’s when Stanton got a rally started for the Marlins.
He and Christian Yelich hit back-to-back singles bringing Martin Prado to the plate. He singled to left, and for a moment it appeared Cespedes gunned down Rivera. However, the non-sliding Stanton knocked the ball loose scoring the run and allowing Yelich to get to third.
With Justin Bour at the plate, a perhaps shaken up Rivera tried to backhand a pitch in the dirt. As the ball scooted away, Yelich scored to bring the Marlins within 5-3.
After getting Bour out, the book was closed on Lugo. His final line was six innings, six hits, three runs, two earned, one walk, and four strikeouts.
Unlike most games, the Mets would get an insurance run.
Matt Reynolds busted it out of the box, and he tripled to right off of Marlins reliever Nick Wittgren. Jarlin Garcia entered the game with Brandon Nimmo announced as a pinch hitter and Granderson behind him.
Terry Collins opted to pinch hit Wilmer Flores for Nimmo. Flores couldn’t bring home Reynolds leaving it to Granderson. Granderson delivered with an RBI groundout giving the Mets a 6-3 lead.
In the eighth, there were two double plays that kept the game tied.
In the top half, in one motion, Riddle caught a Reyes line drive and beat Bruce back to second base.
In the bottom half, Josh Edgin was in a precarious spot after a Gordon lead-off single. He struck out Stanton, and he got Yelich to ground into the inning ending 4-6-3 double play.
After a scoreless ninth, Addison Reed recorded his 12th save giving the Mets the series win over the Marlins. Believe it or not, after a disastrous start to the road trip in Los Angeles, the Mets had a .500 road trip.
Game Notes: Lucas Duda sat a second straight game with the flu. He made once pinch hitting appearance striking out.
There are many problems with the Mets bullpen this year. One of the most understated is the complete and utter lack of a long man in the bullpen for much of the season. This has led to Terry Collins needing to trotting out a series of relievers whenever a starter can’t go deep into games. It has led to Collins pushing relievers past their breaking points.
This has saw Hansel Robles completely break down to the point where he’s not even an effective Triple-A reliever. Collins stretched Josh Smoker to the point where he first was sent down to the minors, and then to the point where he landed on the Disabled List. With Smoker gone, Paul Sewald seems to be the guy who gets stretched out for three innings despite his being a 1-2 inning closer in most of his time in the minor leagues.
Doing that means Smoker and Sewald, two pitchers who should have been establishing themselves as late inning relievers this season, have been bounced around in their roles. We have seen uneven performances from them this year to the point where the Mets really don’t know what they have in either pitcher. More to the point, it has led to Neil Ramirez pitching in important spots.
The latest example was on Tuesday. The Mets were riding high after a sweep of the Giants, and the team was in a soft part of the schedule where they could have reasonably been at or even over .500 going into the All Star Break. At that point, who knows?
And this Mets team looked resilient last night. Robert Gsellman went down in the top of the fourth. Sewald came on and gave the team three good innings they desperately needed. Travis d’Arnaud had two RBI, including a solo home run, to tie the game at 3-3 entering the bottom of the seventh. With Sewald, one of the better relievers on the team, no longer available, Collins went with Ramirez. To the surprise of no one, Ramirez would earn the loss.
Why was he and his demonic 6.66 ERA even an option? Ultimately, it is because of the Mets refusal to carry a long man in the bullpen. Instead, the team would rather carry a group of pitchers who ideally should be limited to two innings or less that can post high strikeout numbers.
Why couldn’t the Mets carry Tyler Pill as the long reliever. Sure, he was predictably lackluster, but that is a significant upgrade from Ramirez being an abject disaster. While it is a small sample size, there are indications Pill could be useful as a long man. In this three games, the first time through the lineup teams are only hitting .250/.296/.292 off of him. Extrapolating this out, this means Pill could be good to keep the Mets into a game for about three innings.
This could led to the Mets turning the game over to their best relievers late in the game. Instead, the Mets would rather pitch their pitchers past their breaking points. They would rather pitch Ramirez in important spots. While there are many things you can pinpoint for the Mets failures this season, it’s the lack of a long man in the bullpen needs to be front and center.