The New York Mets’ bullpen coughed up another late lead on Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers. Southpaw Jerry Blevins had a part in it, and he showed some of his frustration after the game.
Baseball is a beautiful game, but it can also be a very fickle one. Everyone gets that lesson at some point, and it usually happens multiple times. New York Mets relief pitcher Jerry Blevins is getting a strong dose of that so far in 2018.
The southpaw is in the bullpen for one main reason — to retire left-handed hitters in key late-game situations. He’s been very effective at accomplishing this throughout his tenure with the Mets, but not this year. Blevins owns a 5.59 ERA in 9.2 innings, and this past weekend appears to have forced him over the edge.
Here’s what the veteran reliever had to say about his recent performance, via SNY:
"I don’t think I’ve been this angry with baseball in a while" – @jerryblevins pic.twitter.com/OTy72i5wxF
— SportsNet New York (@SNYtv) May 27, 2018
There are probably plenty of fans out there feeling the same kind of anger after watching New York drop its last three games against the Brewers.
Blevins provided a fair amount of insight into what he’s thinking here and is at least owning up to the struggles. He mentioned on a couple occasions that he feels fine physically.
It’s not as if he hasn’t been an asset to the club in recent years, either. In 2016 and 2017, Blevins produced an ERA below 3.00, a strikeout rate around 30 percent with swinging-strike rates of at least 11 percent, as well as strand rates above 80 percent.
Ultimately, let’s hope this “anger” helps fuel some better production. As the only left-handed pitcher in New York’s bullpen, Blevins is the only option for Mickey Callaway when he wants to give opposing hitters a different look in the late innings.
Blevins’ season-long numbers may not recover since he could only have another 30 or 40 innings left to pitch. If he can get back on track, though, he can easily be the asset Callaway needs him to be.
