Terry and the Pen

As bad as the Mets' bullpen has been in 2012 (statistically the worst in all of baseball), Terry Collins' management of the pieces in the pen has been equally horrendous.  And when you combine mediocre personnel and inept management, losses like last night and tonight are what you get.  Just looking at the last two games:

Case 1:  Last night, after the Mets took the lead in the Top of the 10th, Terry Collins elected to bring in Tim Byrdak, a lefty specialist, to pitch to two consecutive righties.  Byrdak's numbers are stark: His BAA vs. left handed hitters is .140.  His BAA vs. right handed hitters is .269.  What happened when Byrdak came in? An immediate leadoff hit and a bunt that put the tying run in scoring position - and an eventual loss.  Pedro Beato should've started the inning, with Byrdak ready to face Harper (last night's result not-withstanding).  The fact that he didn't is mind boggling.

Case 2:  Tonight, after the Mets cut the deficit to 2-1 in the Top of the 7th, Terry Collins elected to bring Miguel Batista into the game.  Miguel Batista, who has a 1.74 WHIP this season.  Miguel Batista, by far the worst pitcher on the entire staff.  What makes using Batista there absurd is the fact that Pedro Beato, Ramon Ramirez, and Jon Rauch were all available.  Now, Beato, Ramirez, and Rauch aren't sure things to succeed.  But Miguel Batista is as close is it gets as a sure bet to fail.  And fail he did, giving up three consecutive ropes (one that was caught), to put runners on 1st and 2nd with 2 out.  Instead of bringing in Josh Edgin to face the lefty, Collins elected to stay with Batista, who promptly gave up a 2 run double off the wall.  That 2 run double was the difference as the Mets lost again, 4 to 3.

To repeat.  The bullpen isn't good.  It's not even close to good.  Sandy Alderson has yet to address it, which is borderline criminal.  Terry Collins has yet to learn from his repeated mistakes, which is simply unacceptable.  If Terry Collins manages the bullpen properly the last two nights, the Mets likely have two wins to show for it.  He didn't manage properly, and the Mets now sit at 46-45 instead of 48-43.