After managing the Mets to three years with a losing record, the Mets have decided to extend Terry Collins. The talent level has not been high during Collins’ tenure, but Mike Vorkunov (of the Newark Star Ledger) reported that Sandy Alderson has praised Collins for his ability to keep the team playing hard and have players playing at a high level. Although Collins has had periods of success, it does not make much sense to keep him around.
Remember when Juan Lagares was on fire earlier in the season and was benched for a couple of games? In a six-game stretch, the free-swinging Lagares went 5-25 with two RBIs, and Collins considered this a slump. Considering his average at that point in the season was .296, it did not make too much sense to bench him. This decision caused many fans to become critics, and soon enough Collins started putting Lagares in the everyday lineup. The decision to sit Lagares out because of a “slump” was not one of Collins’ brightest moves.
With top catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud struggling after coming off the 7-day disabled list, he was sent down to the minor leagues, where he found his swing and confidence. The level of play in AAA is not like the majors, but why couldn’t this be done at the MLB level? It isn’t too far of a stretch to think Wally Backman and his coaching staff turned around d’Arnaud’s season, as they told him to move closer to the plate in order to hit the outside pitches. MLB.com has d’Arnaud finishing the year with 14 homers and 46 RBIs. That’s not too bad of a season considering how much he struggled early in the year. Due to the failure to recognize what was holding the catcher back, Collins shows that he struggles with helping players to bounce back.
Even the questionable use of Josh Edgin and Wilmer Flores has left people scratching their heads. Edgin has pitched extremely well this season, having a 1.64 ERA, striking out 19 batters and walking three in 22 innings. With stats like these, it would be nice to see Edgin pitch to more than one batter per outing. Let’s see if he can be more than a lefty specialist and get righties out. The Mets need another left-handed pitcher as the past few lefty relievers have not faired so well. “Perpetual” Pedro Feliciano didn’t pitch in the majors from 2011 and 2012, and is not in the majors this year, and Tim Byrdak pitched eight games last year and is not playing in the majors this year. Scott Rice is missing this season with an elbow injury. Edgin needs to be used correctly, and that means not pitching everyday and given breaks. Hopefully Collins lets him get more outs and uses him in the most productive way possible.
As for Flores, there is high offensive upside with question marks on the defensive side. It would only make sense (if the Mets really wanted him as their shortstop) to call him up and start him immediately. Give him more than a week to see what he has, instead of playing him sometimes. If the plan is to continue playing Tejada, then keep Flores in AAA to continue playing shortstop. This may not have much to do with Collins, but the Mets management in general. It’s nice to finally see Flores get a chance, as he is hitting .286 over his last 35 at-bats.
While Collins may not have had the talent before, there is talent coming up, and results are going to be expected. After a while, the manager needs to lead his team to the playoffs in order to be successful. The rebuilding process has gone on for the past couple of years, and the Mets are close to competing. Alderson’s goal of winning 90 games this year will not be met, and with Collins returning next year, 90 wins may be too high of an expectation.
I absolutely hate Collins, but here are the few positives (out of many many more negatives) i found.
1. Having the guts to move Granny into the leadoff spot.
2. Reviving Marlon Byrd
3. Getting the most out of Hairston
4. Optimizing Justin Turner
5. Transitioning Murphy to 2nd.
6. Solid PH squad in 2012
There is something noticeably absent. Nothing good to say regarding the pitching staff. And this is a team that’s being built around pitching.
Yes, Collins has had successes throughout the past couple of seasons, but we need results. The points you make are good ones, and the pitching staff has been good, but I also credit those points to Sandy Alderson. Collins made the most with those players, but has been unable to do so with others (Chris Young, Jose Valverde, Andres Torres).
The pitching staff has been good too, and the starting pitchers have taken a baby step forward. Got to give credit to Collins and Warthen for that, but I expected them to take an even bigger step forward this year.
Add to the above reasons to can Collins: Stupid comments about players and the team, in general; poor fundamentals; starting the Youngs; failure of some players to play hard—with no apparent consequences to them.
Here’s another positive:
Never misses any action because his steadfast refusal (or perhaps inability) to blink.
He sees all.The unblinking gaze is ever on you.
Perhaps the biggest reason is this: Hes a loyal company man and takes the every day beatings by reporters so Alderson and Wilpon dont have to. He jumps on every land mine that SA creates. He takes looking like a fool for trotting out the heaps of rubbish that Alderson brings in with grace and aplomb. Through spells of black magic, he has created a media image of having the guys work hard, despite the strings of managing flaws evident on a daily basis.
All that adds up to 1 thing: Teflon Terry and his band of misfit coaches return for another miserable season in Queens.
Late note added: We just resigned Bobby Abreu, who fixes to be back in Queens when the rosters expand!!! A power bat from the bench…woooooo hoooooo!
For whatever reason, it is perfectly acceptable to win 74 games and finish in 4th place.
Sandy Alderson accepts it when he rehired Collins. He will be accepting it when Terry starts the 2015 season in the dugout. There is talent on this team and the record should reflect it. It does not. I would prefer Terry gone and Wally in the dugout. This team is not playing to its potential. The bottom line is that 74 wins and 4th place should not be acceptable.
For Terry’s achievements, I applaud him. Name, out of your list, it seems TC does a good job getting the most out of veterans. But in addition to the lack of pitching success he’s had, is any development of interior players, except perhaps Murphy’s transition to 2B. Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler have come through the system during his tenure, but neither of their successes can be directly attributed to anything TC did. I don’t think any Mets fan would say the way Collins handled the lineups was in any way helpful to Duda’s transition over the last three years. Some may say it was because Alderson was making the lineups. If TC’s defense is that he’s just a company guy who’s taking abuse for the team and doing what he’s told, well then I pity him. But that doesn’t mean he should be running the team. We need someone who will act as a liason between the players and the lawyers up front. I don’t see that Collins has a pulse on this team. Yes, he runs a tight ship, but there’s more to winning than checking off all the boxes of things you should do. Sometimes it takes genuine leadership to corral various personalities. I’m not saying the job is easier. And maybe TC does all these things in spades behind closed doors, where none of us have access. But then why aren’t we winning? Why are we juggling which shortstop to play? Why was Lagares fighting for time earlier this season? Why was Bobby Abreu continually being used as a PH despite his lack of success? These are things that have hampered this team, and they’re primarily TC’s responsibility.