It appears the time for believing in the 2011 New York Mets has come to a close. When a team consistently wins two or three games and then turns around to lose the same amount, it is safe to say they are not going anywhere. Is anybody really surprised? Not really! Look at the injury list for the season and you kind of came to the conclusion early on that this was a dead end season. So Mets fans have geared up for football season with hopes of getting something cheer for rather than have another dead sports season.
While everyone is undoubtedly disappointed in where the season has gone, I am sure no one is more disappointed, or perhaps “pissed off” is a better term for it, than manager Terry Collins.
Here is a quote from Collins from ESPN New York: “As I’ve said before — and I don’t necessarily mean young players — there’s a lot of guys playing for jobs here, on this team. I want 25 guys next year that are willing to give me all they have 162 nights”. It sounds like Collins is placing every player on notice for next year. It is impossible not to blame him.
You can call these guys “the comeback kids” or “the team with heart”, but that does not equal to wins. When the 2011 baseball season comes to a close, you can bet GM Sandy Alderson and company will be very busy trying to figure out what will be the best solutions on the free agent market or via trades. However, spring training 2012 will determine who will take the field come opening day.
Collins is looking at who can possibly come back next year and help take the Mets to the next level, like the major league level. Watching this team play throughout the season and seeing how many ridiculous mistakes were made, you cannot help to wonder at times if you were watching a minor league ballclub. Maybe the next step is to start looking at who is developing these kids down in the minors and change it up. It starts at the bottom now. While they’re it, let’s get a new set of trainers.
So to the 2011 New York Mets, you are hereby placed on notice. Put up or lose your job! It is in your hands. There are no excuses for poor executions on defense, poor pitching and not hitting. The one thing Mets fans should be happy about is having a manager who has no problem with saying exactly what needs to be said.
You said exactly what I’ve been feeling for weeks. Yes, this team has heart and fight. But they make too many mental AND physical mistakes on the field to make those qualities equate to wins. How many games have they fought and clawed back to tie a game late only to come unglued and lose the game in a fashion that would make the Bad News Bears blush with shame? Ok there are a lot of young guys being thrown in there to cover for injuries (Tejeda, Duda for instance) but fundamentals are fundamentals whether it’s AA, AAA, or MLB. The mistakes they’re making are mistakes that should have been corrected in the minor leagues. Does this speak to an organizational failure to teach fundamentals at the minor league level? I don’t know. But the mistakes being made now had better be corrected by next year or we’ll be in line for more of the same in 2012.
Wow, Tanya and 86mets chill out a little. They are trying to change the attitude of the minors so that there is a Met way to do things in the organization. They are trying to build from the bottom up but it has been less than one season. Blame the lack of fundamentals on the previous administration. Blame it on injuries, Turner,Tejada, Duda, Pridie, Evans, Baxter and Gee were expected to be at AAA this year to develope further (and the minor league injuries of Mejia, Nieuhenaus, Havens and Lutz only wreak havoc on their developement). If they had their regular team, including the players thay traded away, the experts were only picking them to finish at 500. With all this adversity, they are there, playing over their heads. Yes TC wants them to continue to keep it up, and yes they are auditioning for jobs in 2012 and he is just trying to motivate them. (and not pack it in ala Jerry’s Mets).I really don’t expect a playoff run next year unless some excellent trades are made because as presently constructed they are not equal to the Phillies or the Braves.