10/28/17

Reese Kaplan -- Terry's Toxicity vs. Callaway's Culture


When Marc Carig wrote his scathing piece about the nature of the Mets clubhouse and the extent to which players were not nearly as enamored of lovable Terry Collins as the media would have you believe, many people thought it was a case of taking a gratuitous potshot and scapegoating.  I had written my own opinion that if that was indeed the case, how was the usually leaky front office able to keep this secret under wraps for so long?  Furthermore, why wait until September to bring it up…if the players didn’t like the manager (not a new trend concerning Terry Collins based upon his tenures in Houston and Anaheim) why not bring it to light sooner and thus pressure the team to make a change?


Now that the team has gone in a new direction with Mickey Callaway, Carig has doubled down on his September manifesto.  In a series of tweets this week Carig has said, “If you’re implying that I’m wrong — and I’m not -- Alderson himself acknowledged it was bad in there this season.  Alderson had exit interviews with all the players at end of the season. I imagine Callaway’s hire is a response to the complaints he heard.  After all the turmoil in the clubhouse last year, Mickey Callaway focused on communication and collaboration.  It got very bad once the veterans were dealt away.  Bad as in guys were miserable and resented the manager.  Frankly, it was hard not to notice. Very clear to me that Mets reacted to how toxic it got last year by bringing in a communicator.”

That’s a lot to digest and since Carig is the Newday beat reporter for the Mets with unfettered access to the clubhouse, he’s closer at hand than the rest of us when it comes to what actually goes on there.  Now it was clear there was a level of discontent ranging from Asdrubal Cabrera’s request for a trade, to Robert Gsellman saying he didn’t really care if he was called up after Sandy Alderson threatened to keep him down in the minors until he started pitching better, to the pointlessness of giving at-bats to players not likely to be a part of the 2018 team. 

Slowly others are whispering the same sentiments.  Mike Francesa, after the Mickey Callaway press conference, said one of the departing players confided in him that it was the worst clubhouse he'd ever been in.  

Now I don’t want to rehash the whole sad downfall of the 2017 team, but it does look more and more like Sandy Alderson’s hands were indeed tied when it came to keeping the fearless leader in charge of the lineup pencil as he himself has acknowledged that things needed to change.  He wanted a manager with a better grasp of analytics, a person who was a strong and positive communicator, and one who spent a significant amount of time talking about the importance of building a new team culture. 

Towards that end, there are a number of things that could be done to signal the Mets are indeed looking to do just that.  First and foremost, say goodbye to Asdrubal Cabrera and his me-first attitude.  I would make that decision based upon his declining health and poor defense as much as I would his selfishness.  Yes, he’s probably got another .275/18/60 season in him, but is maintaining the status quo what you want?   According to Carig it's pretty much a done deal he'll be back.  Yes, he can contribute with the bat and it's a cheap hedge against David Wright, but what about the change in culture that was the theme of the press conference?

I would also think long and hard about parting ways with free agent Jose Reyes.  His enthusiasm seems to be a positive thing when the club is winning, but his goofing around and smiling while the team is losing suggests he’s not sending the right message to his teammates.  Now it’s conceivable that a new manager might use him the right way as a utility player and pinch runner, but he doesn’t belong as a starter anymore despite the strong finish to his season.  Some will argue that Amed Rosario needs someone to show him the ropes.  I can understand that, but I’d rather that someone be a veteran who takes the game seriously.

Changing the clubhouse culture should also involve rewarding the players who succeed and benching those who do not.  How many times did we see the Skipper stubbornly stick to his trusted veterans when they were sub-Mendoza while other options just rotted away on the bench?  I remember clearly hearing, “You hit or you sit” yet that never came to pass. 

One of the most frustrating things to me this past year was the treatment of Gavin Cecchini.  On September 15th he went 1-4 with a double against the Braves.  He followed that with a 3-4 night against the Braves and then the next game 1-4 against the Marlins.  Gee, by my math that’s 5/12 or a .417 clip.  A reasonable person would think, “Hmmn…should I ride this hot hand who obviously can hit when given the chance to play?”  TC, of course, benched him for the next week and then only got one more start on the final day of the season.  In total he got 77 ABs.  Do you want to know who led the Mets in ABs with 501?  It was a former Marlin, Blue Jay and Rockie who hit a not-too-robust .246 and is departing as a free agent.

Now there’s every possibility that Cecchini never amounts to anything more than a utility player despite being a first round draft choice, but how would you know unless he got the chance to play.  I only chose Cecchini because he’s the most obvious example, but over the years you could fill in the names of T.J. Rivera, Wilmer Flores, Justin Turner and others who despite their success didn’t get the full time opportunity to see what they could do. Even Matt Reynolds got 113 ABs and no one is going to confuse him with Corey Seager.  

If they are serious about a new attitude, then they should mean may the best man win…playing time dictated by results, not by salary, not by veteran status and not by draft choice position.  If the players see that those who deliver start and those who don’t sit, maybe they will start to get it and want to perform to the best of their abilities.  Here’s hoping Callaway doesn’t run out of tricks because unless Alderson and the Wilpons shock us again, there are a great many holes to fill and seemingly no inclination to spend to address them.  Therefore motivation and team culture become even more critical to any aspirations for success.

23 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Convincing...we'll needed change, clearly. Let's proceed further with the extreme makeover.

TexasGusCC said...

Reese:
1. Gsellman said he didn't care how Alderson felt about his pitching. I don't know if he also said it about being brought up.
2. At the time of the article, it didn't surprise me too much about Fred Wilpon. In fact, as I see it, Coupon probably wanted Collins back, and I feared this. The article helped Alderson more than anything that could have happened despite his B.S., about firing whoever spoke to Carig.

I say that Fred Coupon probably wanted Collins back because:
1. They are buddies and an 82 year old man doesn't give a crap how the world feels - my dad is 82, I know.
2. The Mets actually kept this loser around by giving him a front office job despite the embarrassment he has created.
3. Collins had no reason to listen to Alderson, and Alderson couldn't do anything about it. Hence, Collins was blaming the injuries all year long to have a chance at finding a scapegoat. Another reason to hate this loser.

Mack Ade said...

Texas -

I attempted to interview Gsellman when he came to Savannah. It was on Press Day so they were suppose to be reachable.

I did it on the field.

He was a complete sarcastic a-hole and I eventually shit canned the interview.

Hobie said...

Red Sox & Nats win their division. Yankees gt to within 1G of the WS. All 3 managers gone accompanied by "insider" comments like:

"The former Yankees first baseman told The New York Post on Thursday the team decided to part ways with Girardi because he’s too intense and lacked communication skills necessary to thrive in this baseball age."

Every reporter, fan, or blogger can to a better job.

Mack Ade said...

Texas -

Re: the office job for TC by his good friend, the 82 year old...

that's what good friends do if they have the money to do it

I am sure you will understand this more when you are 82

Mack Ade said...

Reese -

I agree with you on Astrubel (every time I write this word I dream of a German danish...) but I do not think you are going to get your way here.

There really is no one on this team strong enough to take his job away. I him, Smith, Rosario, and Flores as starters (unless I can cut a deal for a blue chip third baseman).

The rest (Cecchini, Reynolds, Reyes, Rivera) just do not hack it as replacments for Cabrera.

TexasGusCC said...

Mack, I'm not at all surprised and if you told me how great a guy he was, I would have raised an eyebrow. He needs his lunch to be thrown in the garbage, or to that effect. Problem is, he has something to give and it's the team's job to extract it. Seems like he's always been a douche.

Tom Brennan said...

Chances of getting Moustakas?

Or bring back Neil Walker at 2nd, put Asdrubal at 3B?

Or Wilmer at 2nd, Asdubal at 3rd, spend $$ on pitching (starter, reliever?)

Thoughts?

Easier to manage with talented (and healthy) players.

Reese Kaplan said...

It will be interesting to see if a new manager likes a guy who pops around 18 HRs in half a season's worth of ABs and let's him start.

Tom Brennan said...

Reese, only if Wilmer wears a goalie mask when he hits. He was sure lucky on that foul to the face.

Robb said...

The Mets need a 1 year stop gap at 3rd base. IF wright cant get it to work this year even the insurance companies might have to agree its over. It's also that next year has Muchado in it. I think Cabrera will be back. He seems to have resigned himself to being a 3rd/2nd baseman. I once was forced to make a position change when I was an athlete. I sulked for 2/3rd of the season. I was just an awful person to be around until one day I made a play and all of a sudden kind of figured out how much better i was at that position now then my old one. BTw my could should have benched me. So i get it. Its amazing how winning (he was a clubhouse leader when they were) changes everything.

Im not sure how flores gets 400 abs next year, but i think he's going to do it by playing 1b, 2nd, 3b, ph.

As for TC and Wilpon. My friend might be a great guy so i wouldnt want to fire him, but if he lost the room he lost the room. TC will be teaching in the Minors next year and sitting in the owners box with fred talking about baseball, basically what he should have been doing this whole year. Nothing wrong with a smooth cushion out. the world doesnt have to be brutal if you can afford it not to be.

Reese Kaplan said...

What is he going to teach in the minors -- how to get comfortable on the bench?

Mack Ade said...

"Source" tells me that there is no chance to sign Moose

Mack Ade said...

Robb

Same "source" says Machado will never be a Met

Mack Ade said...

Reece

We will never see TC.again in a MEts uniform

Tom Brennan said...

Terry Collins can be our scout in Siberia.

So, Moose and Machado have no chance of being signed - reflects so well on the Wilpons. Presumably, those 2 see the Mets as a second rate circus?

Mack Ade said...

The Mets are not a cup of tea for a lot of +++ players regardless if the Wilpons would pay the freight

Unknown said...

When you watch the WS you see how far from the top we really are and to think we were there 2 years ago. Machado is a pipe dream just like Stanton if their going to deal him and it's a shame the Wilponzies refuse to compete.

Tom Brennan said...

A lot of it goes back to the fact that over the past 7 years, when an average team should have won 70-100 more games at home than on the road, the Mets have won something like 20 LESS at home. SOMETHING is really wrong there, and I have a sense the possible free agents know what it is. And stay away.

David Rubin said...

Reese- as you know, I posted many months ago, when others were blaming Cespedes for all of the team's clubhouse problems, that it was HIM that was causing things- and I said a LONG time ago that Terry had lost control of that clubhouse. I heard it from multiple sources on the team, and knew that it was Fred protecting TC. I have met Terry, had a nice convo with him, and even got a pair of his comp tix to a game at Citi a few years ago- but that didn't stop me from realizing 2 things - one, that this nice guy had totally lost the clubhouse, a lot like it seems Girardi has (although after 10 years, not 7) and that no matter how nice a guy he is, he was in way over his head as his loss of control in the 15 World Series showed on a national stage. I know you've long shared my disdain for Terry as our manager, and sadly there were things I was hearing for 2 years about how unhappy players were getting under Terry's veteran-favored clubhouse. I remained surprised that Terry got a "free pass" until Carig finally came out and let everyone know just how bad it was but sadly it was after the fact. I understand that no one wanted to be cut out of the "inner circle' when they had to make their living covering the team, but when young players, like Cecchini, as you said, were basically being ignored, it really was the last straw for everyone. I only hope that Sandy can convince the Wilponzi's to put some more funds in place for him to have at least a semi-productive off-season so that Callaway can get 2/3 the support that Terry did, as I know he'll get a TON more out of it!!!!

David Rubin said...

BTW- when I started referring to "HIM" I was talking about Terry, not Cespedes, in case that wasn't clear to anyone.

TexasGusCC said...

Sad. So, how do we explain Fred Coupon turning away from it, and is it hard to believe he would have cashed in the injury card to keep Collins in place another year? It’s all Collins talked about all year: Injuries!

Reese Kaplan said...

I'd been calling for his head since midway through the 2012 season.