The recent comments from Mets players, who remain anonymous, regarding their Manager, Terry Collins, are the stand-alone reason for the sorry state of this franchise.
Terry Collins is not the reason for the Mets second consecutive underwhelming season. Apparently, though, some Mets players have finger-pointing skills better than their batting average or ERA. And whether it’s frustration or guilt that spurs their discontent, in either case, it’s inexcusable and a sign that if it’s not fixed, there is no reason to expect anything different from the Mets in the 2018 season.
True to form, the supreme professional, David Wright, took exception to the backstabbing cowards, telling the New York Daily News:
“It was cowardly, in my opinion. I have been very fortunate in my career. I haven’t had too many gripes, but when I did, I went and talked to Terry or whoever the manager is. His door has always been open and he’s always listened,”
The list of “charges” levied against Collins include his overuse and misuse of the Mets bullpen. Uh-uh, the Mets starting staff are the ones responsible for overusing the bullpen, not Collins, who had to find someone to pitch after they faltered, game after game.
Collins biggest mistake
I’m not naming Collins as a candidate for Manager of the Year, but let’s make sure we assess responsibility where it belongs, and that’s with the 25 players who occupy the clubhouse as a major league team.
A major league team composed of men who are, presumably, adults. And therein lies the biggest mistake Collins made in assuming his players are adults and professional ballplayers who go about their business, busting ass to win ballgames, no matter what it takes.
Noah Syndergaard, for instance, has more TV commercials than he has wins this year. And his pretty boy matinee idol look is better reserved for the stage in a rock band than on the mound at Citi Field.
Syndergaard, the same player who insisted he was healthy and an MRI was not needed, who bullied the front office and Collins into letting him make his next start, only to be lost for months when he re-injured his shoulder.
If, as these unnamed players say, Collins lost control of his team, the only question I have is where was the self-control by the players themselves in that clubhouse. And who was there to stand up to lead, admonish poor behavior, and direct the team? Where for instance, was the (now) veteran, Matt Harvey , he of the pedestrian career 34-35 record, when he was not appearing on Page Six of the New York Post?
Mets players, look inside!
Most managers, Collins included, reserve the clubhouse for the players, and seldom do they trespass behind those closed doors. The temper and personality of a team are created within those walls by the players, not the manager.
The time for change has come and Collins will be fed to the lions. But lest anyone think the Mets are ready for 2018, think again. And if anyone should be on the management firing line, it should be Sandy Alderson. And we’ll get into that in the next post about the Mets.
But for now, and to Collin’s credit, he is refusing to step down, because, in the face of everything that’s happened with this team in 2017, Collins knows he has performed well and he has little or no regrets about the effort he’s given this organization.
And so once again, we have remembrances of how and when the Mets fired Willie Randolph as manager in the middle of the night while the team was on a trip to the West Coast. Randolph didn’t deserve the treatment he received from the Mets, and neither does Collins now.
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.
