The Mets did well by hiring Carlos Beltran. How about giving him some help now by bringing Terry Collins down from the front office as bench coach…
The Mets and Brodie Van Wagenen know full well that once again, they’ve gone off the reservation by hiring a manager who has never managed before. To their credit, the Mets picked the person they feel is best suited for this team in this city, and the hell with everything else.
But Van Wagenen and company also know they are leaving themselves wide open for the “I told you so’s” that are sure to follow the first time Carlos Beltran shoots himself and his team in the foot with a questionable or plain wrong in-game decision.
Beltran is hopefully the first to acknowledge he needs help and support in that area. He checks every other box, but it’s those “oops” moments, which, like it was for Mickey Callaway, that will seal his fate and fortune as a manager.
The Mets have a baseball field manager sitting upstairs where he has been whittling away the days doing God knows what for God knows who.
That man, of course, is Terry Collins, who inherited the title as Special Assistant to the General Manager when he was dismissed as Mets manager in 2017.
Beltran needs a right-hand man
Terry Collins is a threat to no one, and that makes him perfect for the job as Beltran’s bench coach. During his 45 years in baseball, he’s done just about everything there is to do while earning the respect of everyone he has come in contact with.
But he belongs on the field and in uniform, not upstairs where his talents are wasted. Beltran will need a right-hand man beside him who will whisper in his ear – “Hey, in this situation, why don’t you try this instead of that?”
Carlos Beltran is his own man, and it’s likely that’s a character trait the Mets were drawn to in making their hiring decision. This means that although he is not likely to be bossed around, he will be open to guidance, especially from someone old enough to be his father.
Collins: It’s those little things that can mean a lot
Collins can also aid Beltran in managing a day’s work. Especially making time for the behind the scenes chores.
There are scouting reports, phone calls touching base with Van Wagenen, checking with the medical staff, baseballs to sign, fielding a call from the Mets P.R. Director about an appearance at a school in Queens, not to mention mundane annoyances like getting the car an oil change and inspection.
Remember, Carlos Beltran, like Terry Collins, has been laboring in the Yankees front office for the last few years.
Time management in that position is dependant on how much the Boss (General Manager) throws your way. Neither Brian Cashman or Brodie Van Wagenen is primarily known for delegating the stuff with meat on it to underlings.
The Mets and The Era of Good Feelings
The accolades are flowing in from everywhere, expressing support for Carlos Beltran. Fans appear eager to accept him back into the Mets family, even if they’ll never forget that called third strike he took against Adam Wainwright to end Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS.
A press conference is scheduled for Monday when Beltran will be formally introduced as the new manager of the New York Mets.
The Era of Good Feelings will be present while reporters lob softballs as questions. But we know how these things go, and sooner rather than later, the intensity will rise as these same reporters get back to doing their job.
Carlos Beltran will feel and gravitate toward that intensity. But he will need help, and the Mets would be wise to give him that aid in the form of Terry Collins as his bench coach.
Mets News and Notes: Joe Panik has refused an assignment to the team’s Triple-A club in Syracuse and is now a free agent. The Mets did not make a qualifying offer to Juan Lagares, and he is also a free agent.
Baseball, it is said, is only a game. True. And the Grand Canyon is only a hole in Arizona. Not all holes, or games, are created equal.
