You win some and you lose some, that’s baseball. But Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to the Nationals was far more than your garden variety, ho-hum loss… It was a painful punch in the gut and kick in the groin. That one really hurt.
We were four outs away from leaving DC just a game out of first place, and with our heads held high as we returned home to Citi Field for a four-game showdown with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Terry Collins was well aware that he screwed up and before he was even asked one question he took full responsibility for the debacle that ensued during the bottom of the eighth inning on Wednesday.
“That’s all on me — that’s not on Bobby,” Collins said. “He had been throwing the ball great and the ball in the dirt, it was a big mistake, and those two guys got in scoring position, but that’s on me.”
Collins admitted he should have had his closer Jeurys Familia warmed up and ready to go, but instead he hung in with Bobby Parnell who was obviously struggling.
“I would have had Jeurys face Taylor, but it’s hindsight now. It’s too late now. It’s a huge loss. It’s a big loss for us,” Collins lamented.
It’s amazing how he had Familia pitch the ninth inning the night before with the Mets up five runs. And then with a slim two-run lead to protect and the tying runs on base, he kept Familia on the sidelines in such a critical must-win game.
Furthermore, after Parnell uncorked a wild pitch that allowed both runners to advance into scoring position, followed by a two-run double to Michael Taylor, Familia still didn’t come in to end the carnage.
Instead Parnell remained in the game and Danny Espinosa doubled in the winning run. Essentially, game over.
Arguably the team’s most valuable player this season, Familia has come through so many times in these exact situations to pick up a clutch four or five out save, or to hold the damage at bay in a tie game. But not this time. This was an epic fail for Collins.
So now with the team having had the wind knocked out of them, they have to face Clayton Kershaw on Thursday coming off a deflating and demoralizing defeat.
Nice going, Skip…
