Of Course The Mets' Attempt To Start A Reliever Blew Up In Their Faces

In keeping with the 2018 trend led by the Tampa Bay Rays, the Mets eschewed a conventional starter and used an “opener” out of the bullpen this afternoon against the Dodgers. With starter Jason Vargas going to the DL, manager Mickey Callaway announced that Sunday would be a bullpen day, and 34-year-old Jerry Blevins would get his first career start. If nothing else, it was a somewhat interesting wrinkle for a terrible quickly running out of reasons to deserve your attention.

So, how was Blevins against the first hitter?

Oh. How was he against the next hitter?

Oh. Blevins got the next six outs before exiting the game, but it seems fair to say that surrendering double the amount of dingers he had previously allowed all season is still a very bad day.

But this isn’t meant to be a knee-jerk condemnation of the relief pitcher as a starter. Sergio Romo, in particular, seems to have adjusted well in the role for the Rays. More accurately, the data suggests that it’s just a bad plan for the Mets to try any new ideas in general, because everything they do seems doomed to fail.