Carlos Mendoza Explains Mets’ Controversial Bullpen Usage

The most controversial decision involved the use of Richard Lovelady, the last player added to the roster before Opening Day, in the 10th inning. Lovelady had pitched on Saturday as well, making this back-to-back appearances for him, and surrendered two runs in the top of the inning.

The Mets had a chance to put up a big inning in the bottom of the tenth but were short-circuited when Francisco Lindor was thrown out at home for the first out. Lindor would have represented the tying run, but instead of having the middle of the order up with no one out the Mets couldn't get Juan Soto home to tie the game.

Manager Carlos Mendoza was asked after the game why Lovelady started the 10th inning instead of someone like Devin Williams or Brooks Raley. The decision turned out not to be too complicated as Mendoza revealed both relievers were unavailable after working in Saturday's win.

Why The Mets Made The Right Calls With Their Bullpen

After an off day on Friday, the Mets had a relatively fresh bullpen outside of Tobias Myers, who threw three innings on Opening Day in relief of Freddy Peralta. With the understanding that Myers was likely unavailable until Monday after that workload, it left Mendoza with seven relievers to get through the rest of the weekend.

The Mets managed aggressively yesterday to get a series win, using every reliever in their bullpen other than Sean Manaea to secure an extra-inning victory. Nolan McLean gave the Mets five innings today, and Mendoza used Manaea today as well as three other relievers who had worked in Saturday's game: Huascar Brazoban (who had thrown only four pitches on Saturday), Luke Weaver and Lovelady.

The best way to get through a baseball season and reach the playoffs is to win series, which the Mets had already accomplished by winning the first two games against Pittsburgh. Sweeping the series against the Pirates would have been nice but doesn't significantly increase their odds of making the postseason, so the Mets played it safe by not pushing too many of their back-end relievers for consecutive appearances.

If the Mets were 0-2 and looking to avoid a sweep, perhaps Mendoza would have acted with more urgency and used Williams or Raley to maximize their odds of winning. An off day on Monday also could have helped Williams' availability, but the Mets are not off again until Thursday as they begin a series in St. Louis tomorrow night.

Mets fans are rightly traumatized after missing the postseason by one game last season but one game in March will not make the difference between them making and missing the postseason with this roster. If the calendar hits September and the Mets are lamenting a game they lost before the calendar hit April, something will have gone horribly wrong.

It is also important to remember that the season is a 162-game marathon, not a sprint like the stretch run or the playoffs. Overusing relievers in March and April is a good way to burn them out before the summer, so any extra work Williams or Raley get now could lead to more costly performance dips in August or September.

Mendoza had a tough break with the Mets playing extra-inning games on consecutive days in March, when his starters are still building up their pitch counts. The offense also didn't help much, going just 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position on Sunday and leaving eight men on base.

Failing to complete a sweep stinks, but the Mets are playing the long game here. Sometimes you have to lose a battle to win the war, which is what today's bullpen usage points towards.

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