A move should be judged on whether or not it made sense at the time, not whether or not it worked out in the end.
That’s my philosophy, at least. But it doesn’t matter if you agree… because Terry Collins flunked both tests last night.
After an error (the mistake made by Wilmer Flores, not the one the official scorer made in ruling the play a hit) put runners on first and third with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning and the Mets clinging to a 1-0 lead on Friday night, Terry Collins pulled Jacob deGrom and brought in Sean Gilmartin.
Gilmartin promptly allowed a two-run double to center which would eventually give the Braves the victory (but not before Collins went through two other relievers, including his suddenly-available closer Jeurys Familia, to get through the inning).
You can blame a lot of people for the loss last night. The only man who can not reasonably be held accountable is the only one who was: Jacob deGrom, the game’s “losing pitcher.”
Flores should have gotten an out on the chopper, in which case deGrom could have proceeded with two outs and a runner on third. The Mets should have scored more runs against a guy making his MLB debut and given themselves some margin for error. Gilmartin should have escaped the jam once called upon.
But Terry Collins’ decision to pull deGrom and bring in Gilmartin was the most glaring mistake of all. DeGrom had thrown just 97 pitches—his lowest pitch count in nine starts. DeGrom was just as capable of getting the upcoming left-handed hitters as Gilmartin— deGrom does not struggle against lefties (good pitchers can get any hitters out) and Gilmartin is not especially dominant against lefties himself.
DeGrom had not faltered just before the move— Collins did not pull him after he allowed a leadoff double, so unless Collins wants to teach his pitchers to not let the batters hit the ball towards Flores, there was no performance-based reason to pull Jacob when he did.
The reigning rookie of the year has been throwing a high number of pitches this season, and the Mets might want to consider addressing that at some point in time. But a one-run game with the tying run on third? Collins chose the wrong time.
If you’re going to pull deGrom in that spot, it better be for a guy you’re confident will get the outs. Familia entered with two outs in the eighth, so he certainly should have been able to come in with one out in the eighth (granted, he might not have been warm in time— he probably wasn’t ready when he was brought in either, as he suffered cramps after the inning). But the Mets elected not to use Jeurys.
And if the Mets are going to be settling for 1-3 runs a game, and they’re not going to make a move for a slugger, and the organization wants to protect its young arms, they’d better have a Wade Davis or a Dellin Betances (or maybe even a Jenrry Mejia, which is what an idle Sandy will likely wait two weeks for) to bring in when they decide it’s too early for their closer.
DeGrom was angry after being pulled following Flores’ misplay. He kicked the dugout and slammed his glove in frustration. Then he watched as his team turned a gem and a win into a loss on his 27th birthday. He should be angry.
After the game Collins said he pulled deGrom because it was 90 degrees and he thought he was fatigued. “I just thought it was time,” Collins said.
However deGrom told reporters he was fine and wished he could have remained in the game.
“I felt good. I think he really wanted to go with the matchup there. That’s part of it. He happened to get a hit there. It’s frustrating.”
Frustrating indeed.
