I usually tend to avoid playing Monday morning quarterback, but this move I must call attention to.
On Sunday afternoon, the Mets watched J.J. Putz struggle through the 8th inning. He was eventually replaced by Bobby Parnell, who got out of the inning without giving up the lead.
Last night, Jerry Manuel called upon Parnell in the sixth inning. Instead of saving one of the key pitchers for a later inning, Manuel tabbed Parnell to get out of a jam in relief of Livan Hernandez.
Of course, as is the Mets luck, this move came back to bite Manuel and his team. Nursing a two run lead, the Mets turned to Putz with one out in the 8th inning after Pedro Feliciano gave up a leadoff double.
Putz faced five batters, allowing four hits and issuing a intentional walk. Brian Stokes had to be summoned from the bullpen to finish out the inning.
With Putz’s struggles of late, why didn’t Manuel save Parnell for a more high-pressure spot?
Thankfully, Manuel seems to realize that he can’t trust Putz as much as he may like.
"I’ll probably have to see if the matchups really favor him, that type of thing," Manuel said. "I’ve got to find some success and then the confidence I’m sure will probably come back. I think that’ll be key for him and key for us. We need him. That’s how we are designed to map out the way we did tonight — to try to get to that point."
Though Putz is a former closer and seems to thrive on pressure, I’m sticking to my guns and maintaining that the Mets should pull him from the 8th inning role entirely.
Putz will not pitch tonight, so it should be interesting where or when he pitches again.