Reese Kaplan - Should Terry Collins Come Back in 2014?

Anyone who heard the announcement of Terry Collins when he was hired probably exclaimed some language not suitable for family reading.  After all, he was the hothead who bailed on one franchise and had another bail on him.  Yes, he had earned some credibility as a roving minor league instructor with the Mets, but there were other candidates available that would have resonated more successfully with the fan base.

Then a strange thing happened.  Collins seemed to learn how to keep his temper in check.  He probably smiles less than the cops on Law and Order SVU, but we haven’t seen the explosions for which he was famous. 

To be fair, he’s had very little talent from which he can post a lineup each day.  He’s faced major injuries to everyone from Ike Davis to Johan Santana to David Wright to Frank Francisco to Shaun Marcum.  His boss has done very little to improve the team other than to shed salary and award winning ballplayers. 

However, playing the cards he’s been dealt suggests that as a poker player Collins ought to look for a new line of work.  Take Ike Davis, for example.  For the first half of last year he was trotted out there on a daily basis batting as he is this year – 30 points below the Mendoza line.  Somehow that’s OK because he was hitting for a high average before an ankle bruise felled him for pretty much the whole year in 2011.  Davis did come alive with a huge amount of power in the second half of last year resulting in 32 HRs, so he continues doing his Tammy Wynette impression.

However, Lucas Duda hit well in 2011 in Ike Davis’ absence and expectations were high in 2012.  He looked a bit lost and finished with a line of .239/15/57 and after a cold couple of WEEKS he was dispatched to eat hot wings where they originated. 

Now we’re not sure whether he was pressured by management to continue to play Jason Bay when he was healthy yet playing like, well, Jason Bay.  It wouldn’t be the first time someone got penciled into the lineup based not upon talent but instead the size of his paycheck.  More likely it was Collins’ trend of embracing fallen stars for their veteran status because he’s been around the game a long, long time and remembers when they were using their skills productively.

There are countless examples of this approach, including most obviously the love affair with Marlon Byrd this year.  The moment he was signed he was anointed with a starting job because three years ago he was an All-Star.  Never mind the downwards spiral of the past two years and the whole PED issue.  Yes, he had a hot spring, but the last time I looked he was batting .232 yet he plays pretty much full time.

Mike Baxter has been a productive bat off the bench and made every Mets fan ready to nominate him for sainthood after his marvelous, injury-inducing catch in Santana’s no-hitter.  Baxter was rewarded at stretches with extended amounts of playing time and he responded by regressing to norm – a lifetime .244 hitter.

Now you had Collin Cowgill this year announced as the starting centerfielder on the basis of his hot spring.  He responded with a grand slam and another homer early on and then fell flat on his face.  What’s more interesting, however, is Collins’ decision to bench him a mere 2 days after declaring he was the starter.

Mercifully the team saw enough of Kirk Nieuwenhuis last year and again this year to realize his “grittiness” was not enough to succeed at the major league level.  Cowgill may be a similar case, but how would anyone know when he’s not getting a week or more of starts to get into a hitting groove?

Nieuwenhuis’ replacement, Juan Lagares, was mysteriously allowed to come to the big club without regard to his service time or Super Two status.  While he’s done little to justify playing more often, you’d think a guy hitting nearly .350 in the minors is at least worth a consistent.

Now the last outfielder is in a class all by himself.  Jordany Valdespin has had a large number of big hits to win games for the Mets, has more baserunning speed than anyone else on the club, yet due to his personality Collins is “punishing” him by keeping him glued to the bench. 

Does anyone remember the stories about what kind of a person Kevin Mitchell was?  What about Hall of Famer Ty Cobb?  At some point in the interest of your club you push aside your personal feelings and give the players who have the greatest potential an opportunity to play.

The mismanagement of the bullpen is a column unto itself.  The starting pitching is a parallel mystery. 

So with a season upcoming in which Zack Wheeler, Travis d’Arnaud and money will all be available in 2014, is he the right man to helm this crew?  If you haven’t noticed, anytime a rookie forces Collins’ hand and is in the starting lineup, he puts him in the 8^th spot in the batting order.  Now if your pedigree is somewhat suspect like Omar Quintanilla, it’s forgivable.  However, when you have someone like d’Arnaud coming to the majors, is that the message you want to send a young player?

The in-house options include Wally Backman who is probably too colorful for the Mets management to accept, Tim Teufel is well liked but may not be experienced enough for the club to entrust with this responsibility, Bob Geren was reputedly one of the most despised men when he worked in Oakland, so it’s unlikely they want to choose another manager the players can’t stand.  How many times has the media carried stories of players being irked with Collins over one thing or another?  He’s not motivating them.  They’ve gone downhill from 2011 to 2012 and are on a path to be even worse this year.  That’s not a track record worthy of a contract extension. 

Outside options abound, with Bob Melvin and Mike Scioscia’s names coming up most often.  They could do worse.  Then again, if the next manager is saddled with Dan Warthen then it’ll be “wait ‘til next year” before spring training of 2014 is over.