Terry Collins’ curious usage of Jeurys Familia cost the Mets Game 4
There will be plenty of blame thrown around following the New York Mets’ Game 4 collapse against the Kansas City Royals. There are a number of deserving parties.
Tyler Clippard shouldn’t have walked those two hitters, Daniel Murphy shouldn’t have misplayed that grounder and Jeurys Familia shouldn’t have blown his save opportunity. While all of those guys deserve some blame, it’s manager Terry Collins who should bear the brunt of the criticism.
Collins’ usage of the bullpen during Game 4 probably cost the Mets the game, and his usage of Familia over the past few contests may have cost the Mets the series.
[Related: World Series Game 4: Five things you need to know before first pitch]
While Collins’ errors on Saturday were the most egregious, the whole reason he’s in this situation stems from Familia’s Game 1 appearance.
With the Mets leading 4-3 in the ninth, Collins called upon Familia. There was no questioning the move at the time. Familia had experienced a true breakout during the regular season, posting a 1.85 ERA over 78 innings and emerging as the club’s closer. He showed no signs of fatigue, either, as he put up a 1.30 ERA over the second half.
Up until that point, Familia had been nearly un-hittable during the postseason. In the NLDS and NLCS, the 26-year-old combined to allow just two hits and two walks over 9 2/3 innings. He struck out six batters over this stretch and had yet to give up a run. Game 1 was over. It belonged to the Mets.
Then, the impossible happened. Or maybe it was Royals magic. With one out, Alex Gordon smacked a 97 mph fastball out to center, the deepest part of the ballpark, for a game-tying home run. Familia was able to get out of the inning, but the damage was done.
Aside from the home run, there was nothing particularly alarming about Familia’s outing. He simply got beat by Gordon, who is an exceptional player, and easily the most over-qualified No. 8 hitter on the planet. It was shocking to see Familia get beat based on how dominant he had been to that point, but things happen. That’s baseball. Sometimes, you get beat by a good hitter.
It seems Collins was slightly more concerned about his closer’s psyche following the blown save. That’s really the only way to explain Familia’s bizarre relief appearance during Game 3.
With a six-run lead, Collins turned to Familia in the ninth inning during Game 3. Many immediately wondered why Familia was in a game that had basically already been decided. Perhaps Collins thought Familia could use a confidence boost following his poor Game 1 outing, so he gave him a chance to redeem himself in a stress-free situation.
Collins never confirmed that theory. Prior to Game 4, he stressed that Familia was the type of pitcher who needed constant work in order to be effective. After not pitching in Game 2, Collins felt Familia could use the extra work to stay sharp.
“He hadn’t pitched in two nights,” Collins said. “You don’t know when he’s going to get in again. So I wanted to make sure he got an inning last night. We talked before the game, he wanted to pitch an inning. The more he pitches, the sharper he is.
“Yeah, it would have been very easy to pass him last night, not to have to use him. But we don’t have that many more games to play, and he’s a big, strong guy that has to pitch. So I thought one inning wouldn’t hurt him, and he didn’t use that many pitches so he’ll be ready tonight.”
It was a bit of a puzzling move, but Collins’ explanation made some sense provided Familia’s usage in Game 3 wouldn’t impact his usage in Game 4. Turns out, that wasn’t the case.
With the Mets leading by a run, Collins called upon Tyler Clippard to begin the eighth inning. With the game so close, many questioned why Familia wasn’t available for a six-out save.
Clippard started things off well, forcing an Alcides Escobar ground out to open the frame. He fell into trouble shortly afterward. Clippard walked Ben Zobrist, putting the tying run on base. After another walk to Lorenzo Cain, Collins called upon Familia to pick up five outs.
[Related: Noah Syndergaard’s first pitch from Game 3 is up for auction]
Following the game, Collins said the club had considered using Familia for six outs, but decided they would only bring him in if Clippard ran into trouble.
“Well, we talked about possibly doing two innings and Jeurys,” Collins said. “So we thought we’d start with Clippard, and if the go-ahead run gets on, we’ll go to Familia. And when he walked Cain, we said, We’ve got to go to Familia.”
When asked about whether Familia’s usage during Friday’s game had something to do with that decision, Collins would admit that was the case: “A little bit. A little bit,” Collins said. “But again this is what we’ve done. To get back in it we knew we had to get through the eighth inning, and again I thought that certainly the way Clippard has been throwing, he’s been throwing the ball very well in this series, and the two walks hurt us.”
What happened next was unexpected. Familia induced a slow grounder to second. While it was unlikely to be a double-play ball, it should have resulted in at least one out. Instead, Murphy let the ball roll under his glove, tying the game and putting men on first and third. Mike Moustakas then hit a weak groundball just barely out of the reach of a diving Murphy, driving in the go-ahead run. Sal Perez would follow that up with an RBI single of his own, and that was the game.
Had Murphy made the play on the error, perhaps he’s in a better position to pick up Moustakas’ grounder on the next play. There’s a chance Familia escapes the inning unscathed, or at least with the game tied, and we’re all talking about a much different story. That wasn’t the case.
Now, it’s unclear whether Collins will have his best reliever available with the season on the line Sunday. Familia only threw nine pitches during Game 4 and 11 pitches in Game 3. That’s not too many, though it’s uncertain whether Collins would go to him three straight days.
Even if that’s a decision Collins is comfortable making, there are now some legitimate questions about whether Familia is struggling, or possibly rattled. Sure, Murphy’s error played a big role in Saturday’s collapse, but Familia still gave up two singles to blow the lead. After a flawless postseason run, he’s now allowed three runs, though only one has been earned, in 3 1/3 innings against the Royals.
To make all of this worse, Collins’ team couldn’t mount a comeback partly because Ned Yost went to his closer, Wade Davis, for a six-out save. Collins was beat by the strategy he should he employed in the first place.
On Sunday, the Mets will face elimination. While there are a number of reasons for the team’s failures, Collins’ bullpen management stands out above the rest. With the season on the line, Collins’ best reliever may be unavailable. Even if he pitches, there’s a slight chance Familia’s confidence is shattered.
[Check out Big League Stew on Tumblr for more cool stuff from the MLB postseason]
Familia hasn’t exactly performed as expected during the World Series, but it’s tough to fault him for that. Collins usage of his stud reliever has been puzzling, and he has no one to blame but himself for Familia’s poor results.
More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:
– – – – – – –
Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
