5/19/17

Peter Hyatt - Terry Collins Managerial Death Watch


The proverbial employment "death watch" for New York's Mets Manager, Terry Collins, is ticking a bit louder now trust as he crosses into the record book for longevity as Mets skipper.

It's an ode to mediocrity and/or submission to Sandy Alderson.

Perhaps it's a bit of both.

Matt Harvey was, with the bar now lowered, not too bad.

6 innings of 3 run/4 walk was better than we have become accustomed to.

At 94 pitches, should he have been left in?

Terry Collins was in no-win land and can't be faulted here. I don't know the answer and I don't think others do, either.  

He needed another inning to keep the bullpen from pitching another inning and Harvey appeared strong at at only 94 pitches, he could have left him in.

He also knows that we were right at the Harvey breakdown point as hitters are seeing him for the third and fourth time, they've eaten him for lunch.

Also if Harvey injures himself Collins will be blamed without regard. Scott Borss has the media on speed dial and a ready victim to blame.

All of this, including a horrific bullpen, gave Collins no real option but to play it safe.

I felt for him.

Yet, the talent though injured team is in dire need of leadership as many have addressed:  the inmates run the Bedlam of Baseball.

An opportunity to lead and send a signal that he wants to win instead of his verbalized perception of keeping the team from implosion.  He isn't trying to win as much as he's trying to avoid losing.

Collins has a history of doing the unconventional.  It mostly fails but when it does succeed,everyone takes note of it, as if he is savajylu genius in his bizarre choice.

Such was having one of the league's lowest on base percentage hitter lead off.

Jose Reyes led off with a sharp single and as he turned first base, he she showed tiny only the speed and skill of yesteryear, but the focus and turned it into a double.

This type of hustle is contagious. It was impressive.

Reyes ended up with thre hits which to the attention deficit today means he's clearly the best choice for both lead off and shortstop even while Amed Rosario tears up AAA

Reyes isn't battle his weight.

Then as quickly as Reyes electrified the team he deflated and muted them with his lack of focus.

Terry Collins was granted a gift-wrapped opportunity to exert leadership and turn from avoidance to active competition.

For a moment I thought he would avail himself of the golden opportunity and tell Reyes to sort down and think.

The signal to the demoralized Mets would have been;

You are privileged to play a kids' game and make more money than most every customer who ultimately pays your salary. You will give 100 percent maximum effort and concentration or you will sit.

Had Reyes gone 0h-for after that, more would likely agree but like the roll of the dice Collins, acting when no such gamble is called for, memory is short.

The ticking of the clock is increasing.  A few more losses will seal his fate.

It’s very easy to unravel right now, and I will not let that happen here. We are not going to do that. We are going to stay together, play together, get on the same end of the rope and pull together. I will not let this team get down. I will not do it.’

That he chose a "rope" to employ his meaning is not a surprise.  He does not want to be retired; he would rather retire on his own terms.  No one can blame him for this, either. 

"We got back to .500 and we are going to do it again. We’ve got to get healthy a little bit, but it’s too easy, losing can be as contagious as winning. We’re going to turn this around.’’

Off topic, the Post included an ironic quote from Matt Harvey:

“I think we are ready for an off-day.  Things happen in baseball, it just seems like everything is not going our way right now. The off-day will help.’’

Would you have mentioned an "off day" after what he just did last week? 

Collins' use of English is sometimes startling.  Here he substitutes "head" for "tail"....


“I’m going to continue to communicate with these guys, I’m not going to put my head between my legs and feel sorry for myself, that doesn’t go here,’’ Collins said.
He gets the notion of accountability but does not act upon it:  
“You can’t feel sorry for yourself because no one else does. You’re big league players you’ve got to get ready to play. You’re a big league player, with that are expectations.’’
In the next one: The pronoun change from "you" to "they" shows he will not hold anyone accountable.  "You" is universal.  If he had said, "They have to execute or they're going to sit..." it would have been strong, but:  
“You got to go execute and make adjustments. If they belong here there are things that have to get done or we’ll find somebody else, and we’ll continue to do that.’’
Head-scratching.  

As difficult as it is to see Alderson pull the plug on Collins the day before he ties the longevity record, days off are sometimes the day to make the change. 

My guess is that Alderson has be pre-screening a list of candidates.  

But I also believe Collins is a "yes man" for Alderson more than anything else. 


Maybe as June arrives, and the super-date signing passes, we will see kids get opportunities under new leadership.


6 comments:

Mack Ade said...

Peter -

Thank you for your very intelligent post this morning. (But what do you expect from someone that teaches FBI agents how to do their job?)

At this point only a four or five game win streak is going to turn around the numbness I am feeling.

I expect the whole TC thing to limp his way through the season.

Reese Kaplan said...

I want Terry Collins to prove he's got a brain in his head and bench Curtis Granderson when Yoenis Cespedes returns, bench Jose Reyes when Asdrubal Cabrera returns, and consider benching Lucas Duda in mid June if he doesn't turn it on by then when Amed Rosario gets promoted. While Duda is somnambulating his way through the 2017 season, did anyone notice Sr. Flores is up to .282? T.J. Rivera has cooled a bit but I'd still rather see his contributions than Duda doing his Curtis Granderson impression.

Tom Brennan said...

Good write up Peter.

I am hoping that Matz going 3 innings and Lugo 3.2 innings means the pitching will get a boost soon. Also, McGowan's last 2 relief outings for Vegas have been exceptional: 5.1 scoreless, 2 hits, 7 Ks. Heck, even Smoker has started twice since his demotion and tossed a total of 8 innings, 4 hits, 2 runs.

TDA had 2 hits catching in the St Lucie game last night, and Cespedes likely will be back soon. And Harvey hitting 98 in his last start shows progress - maybe it clicks for him soon.

SOOOO....if they can get lucky and win 8 of 14 over the next 2 weeks, maybe they can climb off the mat yet when all of the A team guys arrive.

To Reese's point, I'd like to see less of Duda and more of Flores. Flores has been his own worst enemy this year and last by starting the seasons very cold, but I think a full time, heated up Flores at 1B is better than Duda.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

A healthy and motivated Cespedes, Conforto and Bruce outfield could literally give us 100 home runs.

I have serious misgivings about the trainer and allowing ego to dictate.

Cespedes was already strong and needed to maintain strength while increasing flexibility. He doesn't need to add 10 feet to his homer: he is strong enough to land 30 HRs.

This ego driven stuff is now, finally, being called into question:

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=18819172

It may be exciting and fun for others, but baseball requires a balance.

I would consider a new trainer given all these injuries.

Peter

Tom Brennan said...

I read that Cespedes and d'Arnaud will be back next week, and Matz and Lugo expected by month end. That would be a huge, non-medicinal shot in the arm for this club, clearly.

I would:

Leave Rene Rivera as # 1 catcher. Plawecki to minors.

Bench Granderson once Cespedes returns, and ease Cespedes back in (for example, 2 days off the first week).

Add Lugo and Matz to the rotation, replacing Milone and Gsellman. Milone to AAA, and either Gsellman in pen or back to AAA to work out kinks.

Now if we can only get Paul Sewald to pitch like the 2015 version of Jeurys Familia...

Kidding aside, with those 4 returnees, it is not impossible that this team could retain Wild Card aspirations.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Steve Philips had some interesting comments.

One caused me to pause,
one cause me to chuckle.

Pause: He said never bring up a rookie under the magnifying glass of need, as is savior.

Chuckle: he said Terry Collins was tough no nonsense guy who called out players. This after saying how he is always uplifting and positive.

I wanted the interviewer to ask,

"Can you name one player he has called out, Steve?"