Since the Mets called up three more hitters than Las Vegas, it made me think of how much Terry Collins gambles every time he fills out the lineup card. Will Yoenis Cespedes be healthy enough to play? He gets in. But what about the other outfield positions? Jay Bruce did well before the trade. Michael Conforto was red hot in Vegas. Alejandro De Aza was hot in August. Curtis Granderson has struggled in the clutch but he has more wins above replacement that anyone else in this non-Cespedes outfield rotation. No matter who Collins puts in center and right field, they could go 0-for-4 while a potentially productive bat sits on the bench.
The Mets’ veteran manager seems to be reacting the way that novice gamblers react: treating bad information like good information. If a hitter gets hot, they keep playing. If someone has “success” against a pitcher, they get in. That’s how Granderson got to hit cleanup yesterday. He hit .300/.333/.500 in 21 prior plate appearances vs. Nationals’ starter Tanner Roark. That’s hardly enough plate appearances to make a well informed decision, but it’s the kind of bet that old-school managers make.
Collins’ bets paid off all game long. In the bottom of the third, the Mets got runners on second and third with Cespedes up. Roark threw two balls out of the zone before Dusty Baker put him on intentionally. Wouldn’t you rather face Granderson, who is hitting .116/.231/.151 with runners in scoring position this season? If you throw hanging sliders like Roark did, it may not matter. Granderson singled through the shift to score two runs, giving the Mets a lead they would never surrender.
Robert Gsellman did his best to keep the ball low and give the Mets infield a chance to get outs. It wasn’t always pretty, but he kept the Nationals to one run through five innings. In the top of the sixth, Gsellman gave up a leadoff double when a curveball caught too much of the plate, then walked Wilson Ramos after getting up in the count 0-2. Collins bet his young starter could escape another jam, and once again his bet paid off with two weak grounders and a clutch strikeout.
James Loney appears to be one of the few constants in the Mets lineup, no matter how cold his bat is. Collins finally demoted him to eighth in the batting order. In the bottom of the sixth, Collins’ bet on Loney as a major leaguer paid off with an RBI double down the line. Loney now has as many extra base hits in September as he did in August: one.
With a 3-1 lead in the top of the seventh, Collins continued to roll the dice against the top of the Nationals’ batting order. Jim Henderson started the inning despite his struggles since returning from the disabled list. Trea Turner just missed a home run, then Jayson Werth singled to bring up Daniel Murphy as the tying run. Here comes Josh Smoker – last seen serving up a big home run to Christian Yelich. Murphy smoked a line drive to short center field. Michael Conforto broke in on the ball and sold out to make a diving catch. Harper chased a slider to end the threat. Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia each threw clean innings to end the game.
What’s Next?
Sunday Night baseball on ESPN. Max Scherzer is pushed back a day. The Mets pulled to within a game of the Cardinals for the second wild card spot.
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