Anatomy of a collapse

New York Magazine did an article this week on Billy Wagner and while most of the attention was on what Wagner later called out of context comments their was actually some great insight into this week's meltdown. It also is a great look into Billy Wagner.......

Wagner stoically accepts responsibility when he fails, but his sense of loyalty, and his frustration, leads him to punch back at critics of the worn-out bullpen. “We’ve been throwing four innings a night—for months!” he says. “Our pitching coach [Rick Peterson] has no experience talking to a bullpen. He can help you mechanically, but he can’t tell you the emotions. He has no idea what it feels like. And neither does Willie [Randolph]. They’re not a lot of help, put it that way.”

In Queens, though, the Mets are hostage to aged limbs. Tom Glavine, 41, is tired; Pedro Martinez is recovering from major shoulder surgery; and the geriatric Orlando Hernandez missed large chunks of the season. Perhaps Omar Minaya should have made a bold trade months ago. But the costlier miscalculation has been of the team’s young prospects. To maintain momentum, Minaya’s (necessarily) quick fix required the Mets’ homegrown talent to mature. Yet Lastings Milledge, Mike Pelfrey, and Philip Humber have all turned out to be less than advertised, and even the wondrous Jose Reyes has vanished. source NY Magazine

Here's Wagner's clarification in response to the article;

Wagner was miffed over an article that appeared in New York Magazine on Sunday, in which he claimed quotations were taken out of context to create a false angst between him, Randolph and pitching coach Rick Peterson. The quotes were run separately in the New York Post before the magazine article was released.

"I don't want people to misinterpret what I was saying," Wagner said. "I wasn't trying to knock Willie or Rick, because they've been great. As bad as we've played, they've been the most supportive coaches I've probably been around." source MLB.com