NL East Bullpens

[Frayed Knot]

So did you ever think you'd see the days when you'd almost look forward to a game that comes down to a battle of the bullpens.
Well, in NL East intra-division games anyway, the ammunition for those battles is decidedly in our favor and not just in a category or two but in all of the biggies [ERA, batting average against, OPS-against, WHiP] and by a substantial margin in most cases including, perhaps not coincidentally, fewest innings pitched.

TEAM	ERA	BAA	OPS-A	WHIP	IP
METS	2.68	.214	616	1.128	161.33
NATIONALS	3.67	.253	681	1.283	184.0
BRAVES	4.65	.246	737	1.376	178.0
MARLINS	3.76	.257	687	1.318	201.0
PHILLIES	3.22	.254	708	1.463	190.0

Not bad for a collection that's gotten exactly ZERO innings so far from 4 of the 5 relievers who one hoped would be the most relied upon as the season started: Mejia, Parnell, Black, and, because he figured to be the top LHP out there, Edgin. We're also -- as noted several times last night -- LOOGY-less these days and probably will remain so for another month or so.

[Edgy MD]

How strange that the Braves have gone from a team that was almost built around a seemingly inexhaustible bullpen supply of homegrown high heat throwers (some with control even) to a team holding their breath through appearances by the likes of journeymen such as Dana Eveland. And in many ways, the Mets have become the exact opposite.

And among the advantages the Mets' starters have given them is that their longer workdays mean less of a burden upon the bullpen, and fewer critical appearances by the back-enders.

All that said, facing Freeman and Markakis with the bases loaded and �lex Torres on the mound and all around the plate was NOT for the faint of heart. Last night's win felt a little stolen.

[Frayed Knot]

Markakis had himself a tough night even beyond normal 0-fer-5 standards

5th inning: bases loaded/2-outs, down by one after the Braves had already scored twice in the inning to cut the lead down to one. Result: soft come-backer to Colon

7th inning (A Torres): bases loaded/no-outs, down by two. Result: GiDP, scoring a run but effectively killing the inning even though not ending it (Uribe then did with a come-backer).

9th inning (Familia): bases loaded/one-out, tying run on 2nd/go-ahead on 1st. Result: Game ending GiDP


Blevins, if available, certainly would have been in for that middle AB while the first and final ones would have been the same cast of characters.
But, yeah, all it takes is one hit, even a single, in any one of those situations and it's a totally different game.

[Edgy MD]

And it's Markakis, a guy with a long reputation as the sort of guy you want up in that situation, who may not give you a grand slam, but is a damn good bet for a walk or a productive out.

I got in a Facebook exchange yesterday with a "longtime diehard Mets fan" who opened with "Wow!! You know the Mets lineup is Awful when you have Flores batting Cleanup!"

Had to be told by three guys during the game that the Braves were countering with a cleanup hitter with no homers. While this discussion was going on, Flores was adding 0.138 wins to the Mets ledger, while Markakis was subtracting an astounding 0.615 wins from the Braves.