The 24 hours between the beginning with the second game of a three-game series between the Mets and Padres and the conclusion of the third game in the series was as strange as it was unproductive.
It included a player crying on the field, a trade that was done then wasn’t, more than three hours worth of rain delays, a grounds crew which was unable to get the tarp back onto the field as the infield soaked in a flooding rain, and two losses on the field for the Mets, one of which was nothing short of disastrous.
The Mets carried a 7-1 lead into the seventh inning on a hot and muggy afternoon at Citi Field, and while the Padres cut that deficit to 7-5 thanks to a grand slam from Derek Norris, the Mets seemed well on their way to a win.
Jeurys Familia came into the ballgame in the ninth inning, looking to notch his 28th save of the year. Things were looking good – Familia had a one strike count on Norris.
But then, hell froze over. Or, washed the Mets away.
It began to pour at Citi Field, and the umpires called the players off the field for 44 minutes while the first storm blew through.
But when the Mets took the field after the delay, Familia joined the rest of the team, immediately raising questions as to why Terry Collins wouldn’t opt to play it safe and use another pitcher to get the last out.
A single by Norris, a single from Matt Kemp. Suddenly, the tying runs were on for a player who the Mets have been connected to in trade talks throughout the entire month of July: Justin Upton.
Upton did not waste any time, launching the first pitch from Familia over the center field fence. It was 8-7 Padres, and everyone in the ballpark was stunned and baffled by what had transpired, except the San Diego bench of course.
“A bad pitch,” Famlia said after the game. “A bad pitch.”
“Middle of the plate,” Collins said. “At this level, you’re going to get hurt.”
The Mets would then have to wait three hours before the Padres could nail their coffin shut on a mind boggling 24 hour period. But it eventually came, as Craig Kimbrel retired the Mets 1-2-3 in the ninth inning.
Collins was grilled after the game as to why he decided to send Familia back out after the first rain delay, but insists he was the best man for the job.
“He was fine I come back. 30 minutes wasn’t bad,” Collins explained.
Ok, but the problem is, the break was 44 minutes long, which is 25 percent longer.
Collins insists Familia was not affected by the rain delay, and said it came down to pitch execution rather than a difficulty dealing with the delay.
“You’ve still gotta make pitches,” Collins said. “The break did not affect Jeurys Familia.”
Indeed, and in fairness to Collins, Familia needed only one out with a two run lead. He could have given up a run and still deliver a win. But it’s not really customary to have a reliever come out and resume a game even after the shortest delays. And, in a game the Mets really needed to win against the meandering Padres at home, the prudent thing might have been to at least have somebody warming up, if not have someone entirely different in the game.
Yes, Familia is the closer, and he will remain the closer despite these struggles. But, there are times to take chances like this, and times to just take every measure necessary to secure a win. In this case on this date, playing it conservatively might have been the more prudent approach, rather than rolling the dice.
After all, it’s the difference between going into this weekend’s series against the Nationals with a chance to be in first place Sunday night, and tied.
Just Mets 