I gotta tell ya, it’s pretty difficult to tackle this next subject because the Mets bullpen ranks No. 1 in the National League with a 3.01 ERA this season.
The Mets bullpen also has a solid .223 Batting Average Against and own the best Save Percentage in the majors at 81.02. In my opinion, Save Percentage is a much better metric to gauge the overall effectiveness of a team’s bullpen than saves alone which is a pretty meaningless and hollow statistic, mostly because it provides absolutely no context.
Anyway, let me get to my root motivation for this article and that is the ongoing ineffectiveness of left-handed reliever Antonio Bastardo. The last time I brought this up I was met head-on with the “It’s only May” defense by many of our readers.
Newsflash: I wish all of you a Happy 4th of July weekend.
After Sunday’s dreadful performance, Bastardo leaves me questioning his role on this team.
After a solid performance by Bartolo Colon who held the Braves to just one run through seven, that one run coming off a solo homer by – who else – Freddie Freeman, the veteran right-hander’s day was done after only 84 pitches.
When Bastardo came in to start the eighth inning, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and immediately I thought…. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
Bastardo then proceeded to allow three earned runs to cross the plate without even recording one singular out.
In his last 13 relief appearances, our high-priced reliever has surrendered 14 earned runs in 12.1 innings for a 10.22 ERA. He now has the worst ERA in the bullpen at 5.46, more than a full run higher than Jim Henderson who has the second worst mark with a 4.24 ERA.
“Physically, everything is OK. I’m just having some trouble with my fastball command and just locating my pitches. I need to make some mechanical adjustments,” Bastardo said after the game.
But therein lies the issue at stake, Bastardo has always had trouble with his control and command. This is not something new, but rather something that has plagued him throughout his eight-year MLB career.
On Sunday, Terry Collins told reporters that it’s all about Bastardo commanding his fastball. “When he falls behind on his fastball, it gets him in trouble and that’s what he’s been doing,” Collins said.
Thank you Terry for pointing out the obvious cause and effect that can be applied to just about any pitcher in the league.
Here’s what our esteemed manager fails to grasp… This is a career norm for Bastardo, who usually has brief streaks of dominance in any season, but always slips right back into this pattern where he completely loses his command.
So my question is as follows… Knowing what we know about Bastardo, how many more times will we continue see him in such high-leverage situations – especially in a one run game with everything on the line?
How many times will Collins continue to stick his hand in the fire and get burned?
Can we expect to see Bastardo emerge out of the bullpen gate in the seventh inning of a tied game in the Nationals series?
The good news is that the Mets have several better options that can probably handle late inning duties, chief among them the ever-improving Hansel Robles who keeps climbing the team’s chain of command in the pen.
Yes, I understand that the Mets are still obligated to Bastardo through 2017 given the two-year $12 million dollar deal he signed before the season. But that doesn’t mean we need to keep trotting him out there in critical situations while the Mets are locked in a fierce battle for the NL East title – a title that could end up being decided by just one game.
