As to why his starting line up in the midst of a lost September includes:
35 year old waiver pick up Nokia, Jose Reyes and
Astrubal Cabrera, while kids sit on the bench with lost opportunities for tomorrow impossible to regain, Terry Collins defended himself with the following statement:
"Winning is contagious."
He said he does not focus on development, not even in the minors, because winning is contagious. The Mets promptly lost 5 in a row with the kids rarely seeing precious playing time. Ron Darling called it "respecting the game" but only when Keith Hernandez was not in session. Keith doesn't share his view.
Matt Harvey
After Harvey got tattooed for 7 runs in 4 innings on 12 hits with 2 walks, bringing his comeback era over 17, Terry Collins said that if the games were meaningful and needed to be won, Matt Harvey would not be pitching in the starting rotation.
Listen to Terry Collins again about winning being contagious:
“In this particular case, when you are coming back from basically a year-and-a-half of injuries, at this particular stage, if it were about wins and losses, he wouldn’t be out there. Somebody else would be pitching, so it’s a process where we think it’s good for Matt to be out there as he continues to work on getting back into form.”
So, which is it?
Is it about winning being contagious or about developing a player?
Conclusion: Hypocrisy from a weak leader who has lost a divided clubhouse.
When it comes to keeping vets happy over developing for tomorrow, Collins plays the vets because winning is contagious.
When it comes to keeping the winning line up with the best staff, winning is not contagious.
The hypocrisy is not likely lost on Jay Bruce who did what he could to help get younger winning-first players on the field during his tenure with the Mets. For Bruce, it became a battle to see if the Mets would begin to develop its young talent while the older vets continued to squawk. It would mean a commitment for 2018 and beyond and it was a fight.
He lost.
The kids continue to sit in meaningless games.
When he wants to play his vets, it is because "winning is contagious" over development.
When he wants to play whiner Harvey, winning is no longer contagious and the games no longer meaningful.
Will Ron Darling call this "respect for the game" too?
Regarding September games:
Terry Collins said that winning is contagious and it is not about developing players, in defense of playing his vets over kids.
Terry Collins said that winning is not important and it is about developing a player, in his defense of having Matt Harvey pitch.
Next up: Why is Keith Hernandez concerned about Amed Rosario's "tutor"?
You mean the emperor's got no clothes? I've been saying that since 2012. :)
ReplyDeleteI heard Evans (5 for 17, and about 9 line drives in his 17 at bats) is playing again today. Hit or sit?
ReplyDeleteThere is a reason I call him "The Imbecile in the dugout"
ReplyDeleteMost Mets fans like his brother Tom Collins much better
ReplyDeleteAnd every 5th day a HARVEY Wallbanger.
ReplyDeleteHarvey went from Batman to Badman in no time. Lets hope he is smart enough to save his money for his second career.
ReplyDeleteOnly two more weeks of the "imbecile" right? (fingers crossed, rabbit's foot firmly pressed into the other palm)
ReplyDeleteI mentioned this late last night in a different thread, but I am not convinced that Harvey isn't doing this on purpose. It may be his escape plan, in order to go to a team that he WANTS to play for.
Is there a bigger pain in the ass then Scott Boras?
Whether it is intentional or not, I think we have seen the best of Matt Harvey.
Mike
Viper, I read that Sandy is VERY cautiously optimistic on Harvey. next year is his key year for future dollars. He knows he will be on the clock for impressing some team enough to give him some sizable bucks after 2018.
ReplyDeleteHe will be a almost 2 years post-rib surgery and nearly 9 months from his shoulder injury. Maybe we'll still see a recovered Dark Knight in 2018. If not, for the Mets it will mean Dark Days.