Anthony McCarron | NY Daily News- The Mets bullpen has devolved into an element of their game that’s worth more hand-wringing than, say, how Steven Matz fits in or whether Matt Harvey is better than Jacob deGrom. Overall, the Mets have the seventh-ranked bullpen in baseball in ERA, but their relief ERA since Aug. 16 is 4.83. They need answers. It’d be nice to think all that high-end starting pitching could deliver the ball right to Clippard and Familia in October, but that doesn’t always work out. Parnell didn’t record an out and allowed three runs (two earned). He wasn’t the only Met reliever who didn’t retire anyone, either; Eric O’Flaherty gave up a run without an out, too.
(Chris Soto: The back end of the bullpen is in upheaval right now. However, as bad as it was last night...It was always extremely good. Right now, Terry Collins is trying to figure who he is going to take into the playoffs bullpen with him. Parnell and O'Flaherty will probably not make it, however, Goeddel was awesome, Addison Reed was excellent, and Sean Gilmartin was strong too. The three of them combined for 3.0 IP, 0 hits and 4 K. Right now those 3 plus Familia, Clippard, and Robles could be your playoff bullpen.)
(Chris Soto: Niese is, very quickly, pitching himself OUT of the playoff rotation and allowing Bartolo Colon back in as the #4 guy in a 7 game series. Not only is the command of his fastball off but his breaking pitches just don't have much bite to them right now. For a guy who's velocity is below average even for a lefty, that's devastating. To get torn apart by the bottom feeding Phillies in back to back starts terrifies me in regards to what a team like the Pirates or the Cardinals would've done to him.)
Kenneth Teape | Empire Writes Back- The Mets have decided to skip the next start of Noah Syndergaard, instead opting to insert Steven Matz back into the rotation, as he returns from his DL stint. The New York Mets have made it very clear that they want to monitor the innings of their young arms to make sure they are fresh for the playoff push and postseason run if they make it. Syndergaard has already exceeded his innings count from last season by 15, as he has thrown 152 innings including his time in the minors. It also makes sense to limit the amount of starts that Syndergaard makes on the road. His performance at and away from Citi Field have been night and day in his rookie year.
(Chris Soto: I'm ok with this entire strategy. What the Mets DO NOT want is a situation the Nationals had when Strasburg was a rookie. Strasburg was so good that he hit his inning limit in mid September and the team wouldn't use him in the playoffs. That can't happen in NY, fans would go nuts if it did. So if this is what's needed in order to preserve those innings for the playoffs.....then so be it. )
Joe Trezza | Mets.com- The Mets will send three prospects to the Arizona Fall League once the Minor League seasons end: infielder Jeff McNeil, right-hander Beck Wheeler and right-hander Ricky Jannis. Players from the Mets, Blue Jays, D-Backs, Nationals and Rockies will combine to form the Salt River Rafters, who play their games in Scottsdale, Ariz,. Binghamton pitching coach Marc Valdes will serve the same role for Salt River, which is scheduled to open Oct. 13 at home against the Scottsdale Scorpions.
(Chris Soto: The Arizona Fall League is a fun league to following during the off-season. The Mets generally send both top level prospects and guys who they think COULD be MLB contributors but aren't sure yet. Last season we saw Hansel Robles emerge as a strong RP and Dario Alvarez continued to show an ability to become a solid LOOGY for the parent club. The club will likely name at least 3-4 more guys later in the month including at least 1 top prospect. Perhaps that name will be Dominic Smith or Gavin Cecchini?)
