All the walk-off losses on the road is indicative of an eighth-inning guy. That’s where an eighth-inning guy pitches. It’s basically that simple. If that eighth-inning guy is the guy, he pitches the tie game on the road. At home, the closer pitches the tie game because you get a chance to bat. That’s just the way that works. I mean, that’s baseball.
– Jerry Manuel.
OK. Exhale.
That’s baseball?
The Mets’ absurd and quixotic quest for this elusive “eighth-inning guy” has crippled them all year. It forced Jenrry Mejia into the big leagues before he was ready, Fernando Nieve into an ungodly amount of work, and now Pedro Feliciano and Elmer Dessens into situations they should never face.
That’s not baseball. Not good baseball, at least.
Look: Some teams have an eighth-inning guy. If you have two awesome relievers, great, make one the closer and one the eighth-inning guy. Shorten the games. And yeah, you might be better served using one of them in higher-leverage spots in the sixth or seventh when the starter tires and there are men on base, but whatever. The eighth inning and ninth inning of close games are pretty big spots. By all means, use your two best relievers there.
But if you don’t have some distinct second-best reliever, or hell, even a second decidedly good reliever, holy crap, don’t force it. There’s no need at all to anoint someone “eighth-inning guy” if he’s not cut out for it.
Pedro Feliciano is a valuable bullpen arm who can pitch nearly every day and retire tough lefties with unbelievable reliability. I am a fan of Pedro Feliciano. He is very good at his job.
But he is not capable of reliably getting right-handers out, nor has he ever been. He should absolutely not be facing right-handed hitters with the game on the line.
And look, before you ask: I’m not even certain what I would’ve done there. Presumably Bobby Parnell was unavailable after pitching in three of the last four games, clearly next in line for the Nieve treatment. And Jerry’s not getting much help from the front-office, with his team already man-down and carrying three catchers and a crappy bullpen.
But if K-Rod needs work badly enough to come in with the Mets down one run in the eighth inning Tuesday, why is he not allowed to pitch with a tie game on the line on Thursday? Hell, he was warming up. Is it — heaven forbid! — that a save situation might arise without K-Rod available to nail it down? Because, you know, managing to a pointless stat, that’s baseball.
Also a big part of baseball: Throwing your entire bullpen under the bus when you’ve mismanaged it all season. The Mets aren’t suffering walk-off losses on the road because they need an eighth-inning guy, they’re suffering walk-off losses on the road because they think they need an eighth-inning guy.
Sagiv at Fire Jerry Manuel covered last night’s game with his unique brand of vitriol. Check it out (language furiously unsafe for work).
Tedquarters 
Everyone killed Jerry the other day for not ‘saving’ Krod when Feliciano ended up blowing the game later on, so how is this situation any different? If he used Krod in the tie game, then someone else would have blown it the next inning would he then get blamed for not saving Krod for the save situation?
To me at the end of the day, in situations like this, in order to win the game you need at least 2 solid innings of relief, and maybe more. One guy to hold the game, and one guy to close it if the team takes the lead. On the road you will always need someone to lock down that important last inning when if the lea d is taken.
So really at the end of the day, I think it gets a little overblown as to what order these guys are used in. Bring Frankie in with the tie, save him for the save….. does it really matter? In the end, Frankie’s going to have to pitch one inning, and some other guy will have to pitch one as well. I mean if the setup men can’t hold the game, what makes everyone so confident they would get the save if Frankie pitched first. Bottom line is the pitchers are just not getting it done.
Maybe some WFAN clowns killed Jerry for that, but I don’t remember anyone here or at Amazin’ Avenue or wherever killing Jerry for that.
The fact is, this is a guy who played FIVE infielders in the ninth inning last night. I think using four infielders is a bigger part of “baseball” than saving your closer for a save situation.
So if Jerry’s willing to go against conventional wisdom and not have a left fielder, why can’t he use his best reliever with the game on the line?
Again what it comes down to for me, is that in the road game situation, there will always be another inning after the Mets might take the lead. So in order to win, Krod would have to be used. People argue that you are leaving your best RP on the bench, but like I keep saying, in a road game you need someone to close the game.
In a tie on the road, to win the road team needs two things, 1) first is to take the lead, and 2) to shut down the other team in the bottom of the inning. What it says to me if Krod never gets off the bench in a game like this is that the offense couldn’t come through. Bottom line is, if the Mets were to have chance to win this game, Krod would not be wasted because he’d pitch the bottom of the inning.
bottom line, someone other than your closer has to get outs now and again.
I agree and recently they aren’t doing it.
Yup, bringing in a fly ball pitcher, then bringing in an outfielder to play a 5th infield spot is classic Jerry Ball.
Also, it would be one thing if Jerry was just a terrible manager. There are plenty of terrible managers out there. But he’s a condescending a-hole who doesn’t realize how dumb he is.
Two nights ago on FAN, Ed Coleman asked him about pitching to Uggla instead of Ross. Jerry’s response was that “Pedro didn’t stick to the plan,” which was apparently to pitch carefully to Uggla. Now here’s Feliciano, who has gone to war for Jerry for 5 years, not a “whiner” like Church or Maine, and Jerry happily passes all the blame on to him.
Even if that’s true, what is gained by blaming one of your guys to the media?
And last night he essentially says how terrible his bullpen is. Which may be true, but is just another reason to leave Santana in for the eighth.
This. I’m sick and tired of Jerry throwing guys under the bus.
Why does that even matter? A fly ball wins the game at that point doesn’t it? Even if a someone catches it?
Well for one if a flyball wins the game don’t bring in a flyball pitcher. For two it takes away the top half of the strike zone, which just makes it harder for your pitcher to get any kind of out.
err top quarter
it takes away the high fastball basically, which, when located correctly, is the most effective pitch against hitters.