Following the aftermath of the Mets’ World Series defeat, Ron Darling had a lot to say about the final moments of the team’s season. Darling was critical of Collins’ decision to let Harvey pitch the 9th inning, and he also accused the Mets’ starter of bullying his manager.
“He managed with his heart there and not his mind. What you have to do there is the unkind thing to tell Matt: ‘Listen, I know you want to pitch. You might have to pitch again in the seventh game. The best thing for you to do is sit and watch.” (Brian Lewis, NY Post)
“Harvey bullied his way back into the game,’’ Darling said. “It’s more generational, because back in my day if Davey Johnson came to you and said you’re done, there would be no argument … because you just couldn’t do that in those days. You might not pitch for five weeks.”
“If I were on the bench, I’d think it’d be over the top. I would’ve been proud of Matt that he wanted to stay in the game … but there’s a decorum on the bench. The manager tells the pitching coach, the pitching coach tells the pitcher that his night is done. You can bitch and moan to the pitching coach about it, but you don’t take it to the manager because the manager has bigger things to do than one of 25 guys.’’
Since most young pitchers in today’s game do not pitch complete games, Darling argued that Harvey should not have been trusted to finish the game in the 9th.
“Young pitchers don’t know how to finish off games because baseball doesn’t let them anymore.’’
Darling pointed to a crucial mistake Harvey made to Lorenzo Cain to leadoff the inning. Instead of challenging him with a 3-2 fastball, Harvey threw a slider that missed the zone and allowed Cain to reach base.
“In that situation, with a two-run lead,” said Darling, “the only pitch he can throw there is a fastball.”
Darling added that Collins bullpen management was also poor since he continued to rely on Addison Reed and Tyler Clippard in high pressure situations. He said that Collins stuck to conventional roles instead of turning to Jon Niese or Bartolo Colon, who were pitching better in the World Series.
“I thought Colon and Niese were hotter than Reed and Clippard,” he said. (John Harper, NY Daily News)
It’s hard to argue against Darling’s expertise, but Collins was really put into a no win situation with Harvey. If he had taken him out and the bullpen ended up blowing the lead, Collins would have been vilified by the fans and media for taking out his star pitcher and costing the team the game.
So I can’t fault Collins for the decision, especially since Harvey was outstanding all night and had the energy of the Citi Field crowd behind him. Unfortunately, Harvey and the Mets were unable to execute and the Royals took advantage of every opportunity they were given.
