Terry Collins
The IBWAA Hoyt Wilhelm Award is for the best relief pitcher in the National League. While the National League has had a number of good relievers this past season, there have been three clear standouts over the course of the season that deserves this award:
1st – Addison Reed
Given how Terry Collins has ridden his two best bullpen guys all season, this was a toss up between the two of them. Looking at the numbers, Reed just had a better season.
Time and again, Collins has leaned on Reed in the high leverage eighth inning of games to preserve the Mets lead. For a vast majority of the time, Reed has done that in impressive fashion. In 80 appearances, Reed is 4-2 with a 1.97 ERA, a 0.940 WHIP, a 10.5 K/9, 209 ERA+, and a 1.98 FIP. Those 78 appearances are the third most in the majors (and National League). His 1.97 ERA is fifth among National League relievers with at least 60 innings pitched. His 2.9 WAR is the highest among relievers. His WHIP ranks fifth among relievers. By the way, Reed has made more appearances than the pitchers that are ahead of him in those categories.
This all speaks to how exceptional Reed has been in his role as the Mets eighth inning guy. In fact, Reed’s 40 holds this season is the most in the majors. In fact, it is 10 more than Kyle Barraclough who is in second place. Reed is a huge reason why the Mets are close to unbeatable when they have the lead after seven innings. In terms of a bullpen role, no one has done their job better than Reed, which is why he should be the Hoyt Wilhelm Award Winner.
2nd – Jeurys Familia
For the second straight season, Familia has been the most used, most durable, and best closer in the National League.
In 2016, Familia made more appearances, more innings pitched, and more saves than any other closer in all of baseball. His 51 saves this season surpassed Francisco Cordero and Jose Valverde for the most saves in a single season by a Dominican born pitcher. He has obliterated the Mets single season save record he once shared with Armando Benitez. Keep in mind, a large part of his breaking the save records was because Familia kept the ball in the ballpark. Over the course of the entire 2016 season, Familia has only allowed one home run.
Familia was also at his best when the Mets needed him to be at his best. With the team needing each and every win possible in August and September, Familia was as dominant as he has ever been. In that two month stretch, Familia made 27 appearances recording 14 saves with a 1.62 ERA, a 1.000 WHIP, and a 10.6 K/9 while limiting batters to a .186 batting average.
Overall, for the season, Familia was 3-4 with 51 saves, a 2.55 ERA, 1.210 WHIP, 9.7 K/9, 161 ERA+, and a 2.39 FIP. When you put up these numbers while your manager keeps throwing you into games without giving you much time off to rest, you have been the best closer in your league. .
3rd – Seung-hwan Oh
Choosing the third reliever for this vote was a difficult task. Both Mark Melancon and Kenley Jansen, who both had outstanding years again as closers for postseason teams. However, the nod here went to The Final Boss for a number of reasons.
First, Oh made the second more appearances than Melancon and Jansen. His 2.8 WAR was also the second highest WAR posted by any relief pitcher in the National League. He also helped saved a Cardinals bullpen and season by first being a dominant set-up man, and then being a dominant closer once Trevor Rosenthal went down with injury. As a closer, Oh was 4-3 with 19 saves, a 2.27 ERA, 0.958 WHIP, and an 11.3 K/9. For the season Oh made 76 appearances going 6-3 with 19 saves, a 1.92 ERA, 0.916 WHIP, 11.6 K/9, 214 ERA+, and a 2.13 FIP.
With that, Oh was about as dominant a relief pitcher as there was in the National League. With him mastering multiple roles, and his stepping up to fill a huge void for a Cardinals team in the thick of the Wild Card race, he deserves the last spot on the ballot.
This was a strange year in the National League Manager of the Year race. All the teams that were supposed to be contenders were actually contenders despite most of those teams suffering brutal injuries.
That Nationals lost Stephen Strasburg for a good part of the year and will likely not have him in the postseason. The Mets lost Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, David Wright, and Lucas Duda for a good portion of the season. At one point, the Dodgers entire starting projected rotation was on the disabled list with the most crushing blow being a Clayton Kershaw trip to the disabled list. The Cardinals have had their shortstops, Jhonny Peralta and Aledmys Diaz, on the disabled list with injuries, and they lost their closer Trevor Rosenthal. Even the Cubs suffered a huge injury with Kyle Schwarber going down with a torn ACL. With these teams overcoming those injuries, it could be quite difficult to determine who was actually the best manager in the National League this season. Taking all that into consideration, here is my ballot:
1st Place – Dave Roberts
A large part of his award goes to Roberts because of what he did despite his team being the most injured team in all of baseball. By the first week of the season, he lost two members of his starting rotation with Brett Anderson and Hyun-Jin Ryu. He would also lose important bullpen arms in Carlos Frias, Yimi Garcia, and Chris Hatcher for the year. He’d also deal with the most dramatic injury of all when Kershaw went down with a back injury.
When Kershaw made his last start before heading to the disabled list, the Dodgers were 41-36, eight games behind the Giants in the West and a game behind the Marlins for the second Wild Card. From that point forward, the Dodgers have the second best record in baseball. They have won the NL West for the second year in a row, and they seem poised to make a deep run in the postseason.
That’s not the only reason why Roberts is the Manager of the Year. He’s also capably handled a number of tricky situations that would have the potential to flummox other managers and potentially poison some clubhouses. He had to get Howie Kendrick to accept being a utility player and eventually an outfielder. He had to get one last great season out of Chase Utley. He would pull rookie Ross Stripling while he had a no-hitter going because it was the best thing for the young player’s career and the Dodgers’ future.
Clearly, Roberts has been unafraid to make the tough decisions. He had control of the clubhouse. He avoided near disaster, and he led his team from eight games back to win the NL West. That’s Manager of the Year material.
2nd – Joe Maddon
In reality, any other year this award would go to Maddon. Maddon has established himself as the best manager in the game.
Maddon was handed a roster that was easily a World Series favorite, and he delivered during the regular season. Not only did he get another great season from Jake Arrieta, but he also got better years from Jon Lester and John Lackey. By the way, somehow he got a Cy Young caliber season out of Kyle Hendricks.
We also saw Maddon play mad scientist like he loves to do. When Schwarber went down, Maddon took his budding superstar Kris Bryant and turned him into a Ben Zobrist type of player. It probably helped Bryant that he had the actual Zobrist on the team to give him some pointers. Additionally, never one to stay at the status quo, Maddon experimented using multiple relievers on the field.
On June 28th, Maddon would actually play Spencer Patton and Travis Wood in the outfield in a 15 inning game against the Reds. It actually worked out well for the Cubs. Patton started the 14th inning on the mound and Wood in left field. When Jay Bruce came up to bat, Maddon would switch them around to get Bruce out. After the Bruce at bat, Maddon switched them back so Patton could get Adam Duvall out. This was reminiscent of the 1986 game where Davey Johnson was forced to shift Jesse Orosco and Roger McDowell between left field and the pitcher’s mound due to a Ray Knight ejection leaving the Mets without another position player. However, Maddon wasn’t forced into the decision. There wasn’t an injury or an ejection. Rather, Maddon did it because he simply believed it gave the Cubs the best chance to win the game.
That is the type of progressive thinking that has made Maddon the best manager in the game, and it has helped the Cubs to a 100 win season with the best record in baseball. If not for the terrific season Roberts had, Maddon would have won this quite easily.
3rd – Dusty Baker
Last year, the Nationals were done in by a toxic clubhouse and a terrible manager in Matt Williams. In the offseason, the Nationals did what they had to do in firing Williams, and then they had to settle on Baker as their manager.
Baker has always been a curious case. He has never been a favorite of the Sabermetrically inclined. He makes curious in-game decisions (hello Russ Ortiz), and he has a tendency to over rely on veterans over young players that are probably better and can do more to help the team win. Despite all of that, Baker has won wherever he has gone. He has brought the Giants, Cubs, Reds, and now the Nationals to the postseason. The reason is Baker is a manager that gets the most out of his players.
It wasn’t easy for him this year. Bryce Harper had a down year, Jonathan Papelbon wouldn’t last the season as either the closer or as a National, and Ben Revere would show he was not capable of being the center fielder for a good team. Worse yet, Strasburg went down with injury despite Baker actually being someone careful with his young pitcher. So how’d he do it. Well, he got career years from Daniel Murphy and Wilson Ramos. In a sign of growth, Baker trusted a young player in Trea Turner to not only play everyday, but also to play out of position. Mostly, Baker was Baker.
Overall, it is clear that Baker has some innate ability to get his teams to play well. He did that again this year in turning around a Nationals team that fell apart last year to a team that comfortably won the NL East.
Honorable Mention – Terry Collins
By no means did Collins have a strong year this year. You can point to the injuries, but he did do a lot to exacerbate them by playing players who he knew was injured. He had a year where he messed around with Michael Conforto‘s development and threatened the career of Jim Henderson by abusing his surgically repaired shoulder for a “must-win” game in April. Furthermore, he flat out abused the arms of Hansel Robles, Addison Reed, and Jeurys Familia. So no, Collins is not deserving of the award.
However, he is deserving of an honorable mention with the class and dignity he comported himself in the aftermath of Jose Fernandez‘s death. He made sure his team was there to console the Marlins, and he prepared his team to win games when some of his own players were devastated by Fernandez’s death. This was one of the many acts of kindness Collins has shown as the Mets manager, and it should be highlighted.
With the addition of John Olerud and the emergence of Rick Reed, the 1997 Mets made a tremendous leap forward going 88-74 to be a factor in the Wild Card race. However, they would eventually lose out to a Florida Marlins team that was literally built to win the World Series that one season.
After that season, the Marlins disbanded because, as we were first learning out, that’s what the Marlins do when they win. The Mets were one of the main beneficiaries of the the offseason sell-off with them obtaining Al Leiter and Dennis Cook. Then the real boon came when the Marlins had swung a deal with the Dodgers to obtain Mike Piazza to unload a bunch of big contracts. With the Mets struggling, due in large part to Todd Hundley‘s elbow injury, the Mets moved quickly and added Piazza. With a week left in the season, the Mets won to go to 88-68. All the Mets needed to do in the final week of the season was to win one more game to at least force a playoff with the San Francisco Giants and Chicago Cubs for the Wild Card. They didn’t. Once again, finishing the year 88-74 was not good enough for the Wild Card.
Entering the final game of the 2016 season, with the Mets having already clinched the Wild Card, the Mets needed just one more win to finish the year at 88-74.
There was a version of me 20 years younger that wanted to see the Mets get that win to erase some of the bad feelings that an 88-74 record created. It was going to be a difficult task because the Mets objective wasn’t to win this game. The sole objective was to just get through it with everybody healthy so as not to compromise the team for the winner-take-all Wild Card Game this Wednesday at Citi Field.
For starters, it was Gabriel Ynoa who took the mound instead of Noah Syndergaard. Terry Collins would also give an at-bat a piece to Curtis Granderson, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Yoenis Cespedes. Jay Bruce would get two. T.J. Rivera, Jose Reyes, Rene Rivera, and Travis d’Arnaud would not play. This was a full-on keep people fresh and don’t get anyone injured operation.
Ynoa would acquit himself well even if he couldn’t go five. He would only throw 52 pitches in 4.2 innings allowing five hits, one run, one earned, and one walk with two strikeouts. Collins would lift him for Jerry Blevins, who is probably the one Mets reliever who could’ve used some work, to get out of the fifth. At that point, the Phillies were only up 1-0 on a third inning Maikel Franco RBI single.
The Mets would eventually go ahead in this game making the 88-74 season a reality. In the sixth, Matt Reynolds doubled, and he would score on an Alejandro De Aza RBI singles. In the seventh, Kelly Johnson hit a leadoff single, and he would score on a Kevin Plawecki two out RBI double.
The lead would not last long as the Phillies went to work against Erik Goeddel in the bottom of the seventh. After an Andres Blanco single, an Aaron Altherr walk, and a Lucas Duda throwing error, the Phillies loaded the bases with no outs. Cesar Hernandez brought home the first two runs on an RBI single, and then Jimmy Paredes knocked in the third run of the inning with a sacrifice fly. That Paerdes sacrifice fly was an extra base hit if anyone other than Juan Lagares was manning center field. Lagares once again reminded everyone that he is the best fielding center fielder in baseball, and that if he can at least manage one at-bat per game, he needs to be on the postseason roster.
The Phillies then added a run in the eighth off Jim Henderson to make the game 5-2. That would be the final score of a game where both teams reached their primary objective. The Phillies were able to provide a fitting send-off for Ryan Howard removing him from the game in the eighth so he could leave to a standing ovation. The Mets just got through the game without suffering any injuries, and also got much needed reps for Duda and Lagares.
The Mets weren’t able to get that final win to erase the angst of the past when 88 wins just wasn’t good enough for the postseason. Ironically, 87 was good enough this year. With those 87 wins, the Mets put the capper on a mostly frustrating season. However, in the end, they were able to go to make consecutive postseason appearances for only the second time in their history. When viewed through that prism, this was a successful and enjoyable season.
Last night, Yadier Molina hit a game winning walk-off double scoring Matt Carpenter from first base to keep the Cardinals Wild Card hopes alive and well. There was just one teensy little problem. The umpires blew the call. Molina’s double hopped the bench and hit the back wall meaning the umpires should have ruled it a ground rule double and ordered Carpenter to go back to third base. Now, this is exactly the type of play that should be reversed on replay. It wasn’t, and we learned about a number of issues related to replay.
Understandably, the Major League Replay Rule states, “A challenge to a play that ends the game must be invoked immediately upon the conclusion of the play, and both Clubs shall remain in their dugouts until the Replay Official issues his decision.”
Makes sense, doesn’t it? If the play is going to end the game, why do you need to wait to hear from your team’s replay official to challenge the play? You shouldn’t. If your team is definitively going to lose on that play, you, as the manager, have to get out there and challenge the play. There is no disincentive for asking for the replay in that spot. It is managerial malpractice not to immediately ask for replay in that spot.
As an aside, with the replay rule, we have lost some of the fire and brimstone fans loved from their managers. When there was a bad call like that, before the play was over, you would see managers like Earl Weaver and Lou Piniella, jumping out from the dugout and hopping mad. They knew the play was wrong, and the umpires were going to have to hear about it IMMEDIATELY! Now, with replay, managers are more timid and reserved. They can’t just act out of pure emotion. They have to be measured and get word from their replay team as to whether or not a challenge would be successful.
But that’s the culture that has been created, and that’s exactly what Bryan Price was doing in that situation. Like Pavlov’s Dog, his inclination on a play that was questionable was to reach for the phone rather than pop out of the dugout. It was regrettable because, under the rules, he needed to challenge the play immediately. He didn’t, and by the time he figured out he should challenge, the umpires had already left the field. Keep in mind, the umpires left the field, thereby making the call stand and ending the game, despite getting the call wrong on the field. At the end of the day, the timing aspect of the replay rules were subservient to the spirit of the replay rules, which is to get the call right so a bad call doesn’t change the outcome of the game.
When the spirit of the rule is violated by a technicality of the rule, it is time to seek out solutions on how to balance the two. Here, the solution is simple. Since a challenge for the last play of the game is required to be immediate, why not just automatically review the final play of every game?
On the Molina play, the replay officials could have been reviewing the play right away, and they could have alerted the umpires that the call should have been overturned. The call would have been right, and a game that had far reaching implications in the National League Wild Card race wouldn’t have been decided on a technicality. Again, the purpose of replay is to get the call right, not to get the call right only if it is challenged by a certain time.
In fact, like the NFL with touchdowns and turnovers, the immediate replay rule should be further expanded. Major League Baseball should institute an automatic replay on every home run and end of game situation. Like the NFL, the home plate umpire can be given a buzzer that goes off alerting them to the fact that the play is under review sending the umpires to the the phones. If done properly, this will actually reduce the amount of time wasted on replays. If done properly, the calls will be right rather than subjecting everyone to hand-wringing over whether the challenge was actually done in a timely fashion.
By the way, it will also save managers like Price, and Terry Collins from earlier in the season, from having egg on their faces when they didn’t challenge a call that automatically ended the game.
During this three game series with the Miami Marlins, Terry Collins yet again showed everyone why he is a good human being and a leader of men. The Mets were in a terrible spot after the Jose Fernandez death. The team had to get up for the three game set while also showing proper reverence to a team that lost a teammate and a friend. The task was more complicated by the fact that players like Yoenis Cespedes were personally affected by the death. Travis d’Arnaud admitted to crying on the field. As Bob Klapisch would report, one Mets official said, “We felt sorry for them. We felt guilty trying to beat them.”
With that backdrop, Collins struck the proper tone with his team helping guide them to a series victory over the Marlins while reducing the Mets magic number to clinch one of the Wild Card spots to two. Collins and the Mets did more than that.
Before the first game of the series, the Mets players went out and embraced the devastated Marlins players. They shared in the pain and comforted the opposition to let them know the loss of a life was bigger than this rivalry. As Dee Gordon would say after the game, “I want to say ‘thank you’ to the Mets – they are first class. Coming in and showing their gratitude to us, being there for us in a time of need. That was just amazing.” (USA Today).
It didn’t stop there. Several of the Mets players made sure they attended Fernandez’s funeral before Wednesday’s game. When asked about the Mets attendance at the game, Collins would say, “I thought it was important to be there to honor Jose. I think it was important to have our people out there, we had several guys out there today. You know this is a very large fraternity. It’s an exclusive fraternity, it’s hard to get in, when you lose somebody I just think you need the representation of everybody else. We were represented very well today. I was very proud.” (NY Daily News).
The Mets should feel well with how they comported themselves in the wake of Fernandez’s death. There was there consoling the Marlins players. They all signed the Fernandez Mets jersey they had and gave it as a gift to the Marlins players and organization. In an important three game set, they did nothing to show up an emotionally battered and already defeated opponent. Finally, after the series was over, the Mets team, lead by Collins, made sure to embrace the Marlins one last time.
We all, myself especially, get on Collins for his deficiencies as a manager. He probably costs his team more games than not with the decisions he makes. However, that is just part of who a manager is. A manager is someone who has to deal with 25 (now 39) guys in a clubhouse. He has to keep them on an even keel during the highest of highs and during this week which was the lowest of lows. As we saw last season, baseball is at its most fun when you not only have a team that wins, but also when you have a group of players that you are emotionally invested. It’s better when you get to root for a team that you genuinely like. As the manager of the Mets, Collins has created a culture in that clubhouse that does both.
This isn’t the first time we have seen this with Collins. There was him hand-writing a letter to a grieving family, or his gathering the team during Spring Training workouts to take a picture with a child who just had heart transplant surgery. At his core, Collins is a good man, who has done a fine job representing this organization. While we sometime lose that when he makes head-scratching decisions, we are again reminded of that again this past week as he showed himself to be a leader and a good human being.
Editor’s Note: this was also published on Mets Merized Online
That’s exactly what we’ve come to expect from a Seth Lugo start. He’s not going to give up more than two earned runs. He’s going to bear down and be at his best when there are runners on base. Most importantly, he’s going to give the Mets a chance to win.
In the first, Lugo navigated his way out of a jam after a Martin Prado two run homer. Lugo would intentionally walk Justin Bour after a Giancarlo Stanton two out double to get to Jeff Mathis. Lugo struck out Mathis to get out of the inning.
In the third, the Marlins would have runners at first and second with one out and Stanton walking to the plate. Lugo got Stanton to foul out, and then he got Bour to groundout to end the inning.
In the sixth, Collins wouldn’t let Lugo get out if the “jam.” After a Bour one out single, Collins lifted Lugo at 82 pitches so face the same Mathis who Lugo struck out to get out of the first. Hansel Robles would justify Collins decision by striking out Mathis and then inducing an Adeiny Hechavarria grounder to end the inning.
That set up the Fernando Salas–Addison Reed–Jeurys Familia 7-8-9 tandem to close out the 5-2 win.
Once again, the Mets scored their runs off the long ball.
In the second, James Loney, who was starting in place of Lucas Duda and his sore back, hit a two run homer off Jose Urena to tie the score.
In the fourth, Lugo started a rally with a two out double. He then came around to score on a Jose Reyes double.
In the fifth, Jay Bruce continued his hit hitting with a two run homer scoring Curtis Granderson. Over Bruce’s last five games, Bruce has gone 7-16 with three homers and five RBI. That accounts for roughly 40% of Bruce’s homers and RBI as a Met.
With that, the Mets magic number to win the Wild Card now stands at three with three games left in the season. The Mets control their own destiny, and as long as they put together three more games like this, they will certainly return to the postseason.
Game Notes: Granderson was 4-4 with a walk. He has now reached on eight straight plate appearances. Asdrubal Cabrera somehow went 0-5. Juan Lagares came on for Bruce for defense, and he was 0-1 at the plate. Familia recorded his 50th save of the season surpassing Francisco Cordero and Jose Valverde for the most saves by a Dominican born pitcher in a season.
When the score was 4-1, you understood Terry Collins keeping his big guys in the game. However, why are the Mets keeping them in during a 9-1 game?
Asdrubal Cabrera is so banged up that he has taken to sliding to stop his momentum whenever he can. Anytime you can get him off the field and give him some rest, you need to do it. Getting that rest is more important than him hitting that ninth inning single that helped turn a 9-1 lead into a 12-1 lead.
Cabrera’s single came after a Jose Reyes base hit. Reyes remained in the game despite his tripping over second on his eighth inning double. Rather than take him out there or after the inning, he was left to finish the game.
The Mets still had Gavin Cecchini, Eric Campbell, and Matt Reynolds on the bench. They were all quite capable of playing an inning or two to protect a 9-1 lead. They’re especially capable when the Mets are going to use Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia in the game.
The decision was even more baffling when you consider the Mets announced Wilmer Flores is still unable to take batting practice. Remember Flores isn’t playing because Tim Teufel is a poor third base coach and because Collins didn’t think about pinch running for a player slower than molasses.
Collins apparently learned nothing from the Flores situation. It didn’t hurt the Mets last night, but as we have seen, it can’t hurt you at any given moment. Y