Mets Bullpen Continues To Crash And Burn

Once again, the New York Mets suffered a painful loss, highlighting a recurring issue: questionable bullpen management.

In their recent game, the Mets encountered another unfortunate incident as their bullpen became their Achilles’ heel. Buck Showalter, the Mets’ manager, was cautious about the workload of his top relievers and chose not to deploy them in the eighth inning. Regrettably, this decision proved costly as the Mets’ hard work crumbled before their eyes, depriving them of a chance to win a series for the first time since June 1.

Prior to the game, reliever Adam Ottavino informed Showalter that he was ready to pitch. Despite not feeling completely at his best the previous night after throwing 26 pitches to secure two outs, Ottavino expressed his willingness to take the mound if needed. However, Showalter stated that he would only use Ottavino in the event of extra innings.

Similarly, closer David Robertson had efficiently recorded five outs on Saturday, requiring just 13 pitches. Showalter intended to limit Robertson’s usage to a single inning. He picked the wrong inning. Robertson had only pitched twice over the 11 days previous to Sunday.

Left-hander Brooks Raley, who had pitched in the preceding days, was considered unavailable since the Mets had never used him in three consecutive games. Drew Smith was also unavailable as he was still serving his suspension for using “sticky” substances during a game ten games ago.

In a game that demanded a sense of urgency, Showalter chose a different path. Instead of relying on their strongest options, the Mets entrusted Jeff Brigham and others to navigate a disastrous situation that ultimately led to their downfall in a 7-6 loss against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. With the game slipping away and events already in motion, Robertson began warming up for an appearance that would never happen.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Mets found themselves in a corner that they created themselves beginning with rookie Josh Walker on the mound. Unfortunately, Walker struggled and failed to retire any of the three batters he faced. Following Walker came in Brigham, who had a 5.19 ERA in June.

Despite inducing a ground ball, a throwing error by third baseman Brett Baty and a missed catch by Jeff McNeil at second base allowed the situation to worsen. Brigham then issued a bases-loaded walk and hit consecutive batters, resulting in the tying and go-ahead runs for the Phillies. Remarkably, he became only the second Mets pitcher, alongside Óliver Pérez, to hit two batters in a row with the bases loaded.

“What else can we do? I was hoping, just like last night, that we could’ve stretched every out we can with everybody we got. They are capable of doing the job, they just didn’t today.” said Showalter after the game.

Unfortunately, by the time the Mets realized the necessity of bringing in Robertson, it was too late. They had already suffered their 15th loss in 20 games without even reaching the bottom of the ninth inning. Collectively, the pitchers who came into the game (including Carrasco) have a combined ERA of 5.25. It’s worth noting that two of the pitchers who pitched today (Nittoli, Leone) were not part of the organization at the beginning of May. This defeat plunged the Mets to their season’s lowest point, matching their worst record by falling seven games below .500. Part of the blame falls on Jeff Brigham and rookie Josh Walker, who allowed all three batters they faced to reach base.

The remaining blame can be attributed to Buck Showalter and general manager Billy Eppler. Showalter’s selection of relievers – Dominic Leone, Grant Hartwig, Walker, Brigham, and Vinny Nittoli – is certainly debatable, especially considering that Robertson had only pitched twice in the last 10 days and threw only 13 pitches in the previous game. Furthermore, Eppler’s failure to provide competent replacements to fill the void left by Edwin Díaz has had a significant impact on the roster and the overall outcome of several games that could have gone the other way had adequate reinforcements been provided for the team.

When will a significant change be necessary to spur actual progress? The current approach taken by the team on the pitching mound is clearly not yielding positive results. If the organization genuinely aims to contend for a postseason spot, performances like the one witnessed today certainly don’t contribute to achieving that goal. It’s logical to assume that Billy Eppler and his team cannot continue watching the Mets score runs abundantly, only to squander the lead and give away games.

From a managerial perspective, Buck Showalter needs to adopt a more assertive approach and rely on his trusted relievers, even if they were used a day prior. Every poor decision made in the bullpen only serves to distance the Mets further from a potential postseason berth. When teams overthink or try to do too much, their choices ultimately harm the overall performance of the team. If the Mets even want to sniff a postseason berth at this point, they cannot continue to move forward with certain personnel in that bullpen and the manager needs to become more diligent in his moves while Billy Eppler needs to provide the team with better fallback options that can get the outs needed to seal the deal.

If not, we’re looking at another summer lost to the books with everyone repeating the old Brooklyn Dodgers mantra of “Wait Till Next Year,” which frankly, many Mets fans are tired of hearing.