Just Mets

The Mets took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning, and Terry Collins handed the ball to Bobby Parnell, who had allowed just a run in 12 innings since returning from the disabled list.

But Parnell struggled in the eighth inning, He issued a one out walk to Ian Desmond, then Matt den Dekker followed the walk with a single to center field. Then with two outs, Parnell allowed a two-run single to Michael Taylor which tied the game, and then Danny Espinosa singled in the go-ahead run to put Washington ahead for good.

Parnell should never have been allowed to face Taylor to begin with, especially with two outs.

And, Terry Collins knows it, and took responsibility for the end result.

“Its all on me. Its not on Bobby. He’s been throwing the ball great. … It’s on me,” Collins said after the loss. LI could’ve let [Jeurys Familia] get looser, delayed the game a little bit and let him get loose, but … it’s not Bobby.”

Collins acknowledged Parnell’s lack of sharpness could be related to pitching back-to-back days coming off of Tommy John Surgery last April, although he thought his stuff was still sharp in the eighth inning.

“He was fine. He threw 95 again today. He looked great. He made some good pitches,” Collins said.

Collins was prepared to put Familia in if Parnell had allowed Michael Taylor to reach base beforehand threw a wild pitch, allowing the tying runs to advance into scoring position.

“When he got [Tyler Moore] out, we said ‘we will let him have this guy, and if he gets on, we will go to Jeurys.’ But the ball in the dirt all of a sudden changed that. It’s my fault,” Collins explained. “He had just been pitching so good, I had all the confidence in the world he’d get out of it.”

Well, he didn’t.

Collins didn’t feel Familia was quite ready to enter the game prior to the sequence to Taylor, but acknowledges he didn’t stall when he should have.

“I didn’t think Jeurys was quite ready,” the manager said. “I could have delayed it. That’s my fault.”

It’s commendable Collins would accept responsibility for what happened, but unfortunately it doesn’t change the result.

Losses like this are mind boggling. Sure, if Parnell executes and gets the last out before the runs came across, this discussion isn’t being had. And of course, the Mets only scored three runs, but they actually took advantage of the opportunities they had against Jordan Zimmermann and had him beat with two outs in the eighth inning. 

This isn’t a loss due to a lack of offense. Not by a long shot.

It comes down to the simple decision from the manager to put the closer in for a four out save in an absolute must-win situation and he didn’t do it. And, when Parnell threw the wild pitch, Collins had even less of a reason to leave him in.

It’s less of a problem if they lose with the best soldiers on the field. At that point, they can tip their cap; as disappointing as it would be.

It’s a situation he simply cannot let get out of control. It was an absolute must-win in the biggest game of the year, and the manager is obligated to pull out all the stops to ensure it happens. 

He didn’t. And that was the difference between going home 3-3 versus 2-4 on the road trip, and a game out of first versus three games out. Not to mention the dynamic in the Wild Card race.

The complexion would have, and should have been completely different.

It was a big game, a game the Mets had in the bank, and it didn’t come down to poor pitching (necessarily) or poor hitting, or even poor execution, which makes it all worse.

And Collins is fully aware of what his decision cost his club.

“It’s a huge loss. It’s big loss for us,” Collins said.