There have been a couple burning questions surrounding the
New York Mets these past few weeks:
- 1. Can the Mets stay in the playoff hunt/will they be “buyers” or “sellers” nearing the July 31st trade deadline?
- 2. If they do stay in the hunt and are “buyers” then what is the most important roster need for them to fill?
Last night’s (July 17th) game in Washington D.C.
made one answer painstakingly clear, and left the other one painstakingly unclear.
To begin with the first question, last night’s
back-and-forth (and then back-and-forth some more) loss offered no discernable
evidence suggesting the Mets can or cannot stay in the playoff hunt. Though they were not blown away by the opposition, the Mets still lacked answers for certain parts of Washington's game, ie their starting pitching and late-inning-rallies.
The Mets’
hitting was nonexistent up until the ninth inning; the club managed just 6 scattered hits
before their late rally. However once they did get going, the lineup and bench both showed some impressive resilience. Starter Jon Neise pitched beautifully, lasting 7 innings while allowing 1 run on 3 hits and striking out 8. Sadly, that will not be the story many remember after watching the bullpen blow 3 separate saves in heart-wrenching fashion.
Obviously one bad night by the bullpen wouldn't be a huge problem. But one look at tonight's game will offer a similar glimpse at a reoccurring issue for the team; the relief pitching has consistently thrown away quality outings by the starting pitching.
Of late, the 1st through 6th inning New York Mets and the 7th through 9th inning New York Mets have looked like two completely different teams. The 1st is consistently pitching well but not hitting, and the latter is rallying hits together while the pitching blows leads. The bottom line is that the Mets need bullpen help very badly and GM Sandy Alderson needs to get it. Reports from a week or two ago indicated that he was unhappy with the high prices necessary to obtain a relief pitcher and thus was looking into acquiring a catcher. However, Alderson, being one of the few (if not the only) MLB general managers with a Twitter account, had to deal with a massive rush of fans tweeting him about the need for bullpen help. Now, more recent reports have stated that he is back looking for a reliever.
