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April 14, 2016 Mets 2016 Games Dan Capwell

Does Terry Collins Read Mets Today?

To quote Howard Cosell, “what a performance.” The calendar may have read April 13, but the Mets acted as if it were October 13, as they pulled out all the stops; from high-priced outfielders supermanning it into the stands, to their valuable closer getting five outs, coupled together with some aggressive base running, all in an effort to stem a losing streak and getting a win over what may prove to be a very pesky division rival.

I may be in the minority on this, but I applaud these efforts. As I wrote here, have wasted way too many days and nights of my life watching players and managers wearing Met uniforms that appeared to be simply mailing it in. “There’s still plenty of time,” they would say, or “wait until the weather gets warmer,” or “they (the Pirates, the Phillies, the Braves, etc.) will have their slump and we’ll close the gap.” The dearth of championship banners waving in the breeze on top of Citi Field is a good indication of the results of this way of thinking.

After Wednesday’s tour de force, Mets manager Terry Collins made several statements that made me wonder if he isn’t lurking somewhere on this blog.”The perception is there’s no energy here, which is completely not true,” Collins said. “That we’re not prepared. That we’re overconfident or we’re not taking things seriously. I heard that and it made me sick to my stomach.

“I (Collins) said, ‘We’ve got to win this game. We’ve got to show people we mean business…I just thought it was important for our fan base, to stay excited.”

Isn’t this what we want? So why is he being ripped in the papers, on talk radio and in other blogs? I thought the feeling was that after watching the Royals rub their collective noses in it for two days to open the season, that we wanted this kind of play, right from the start. We got it from them yesterday and now we don’t like it?

What’s wrong with us?

A Mets fan since 1971, Dan spent many summer nights of his childhood watching the Mets on WOR Channel Nine, which his Allentown, PA cable company carried. Dan was present at Game 7 of the 1986 World Series and the Todd Pratt Walkoff Game in 1999. He is also the proud owner of two Shea Stadium seats. Professionally, Dan is a Marketing Manager in the Bulk Materials Handling industry. He lives in Bethlehem PA with his wife and son, neither of whom fully get his obsession with the Mets.
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  1. Dave April 14, 2016 at 11:39 am
    The issue, as always, is Collins’ bullpen management. I like Terry Collins. I think he’s done a fantastic job with this team and really cannot think of another manager I would rather have leading this team. That being said, they need to take bullpen decisions away from him. Running Jim Henderson out there the day after he throws a career high in pitches is irresponsible, and letting him face more than one batter when his 95 MPH fastball was topping out in the upper 80s is even worse. As Joe Janish loves to tell us pitching injuries happen because of poor mechanics and overuse. Henderson looks like he can be a very useful bullpen arm on this team, but Collins seems determined to blow him out before the start of May.
  2. Jimmy D April 14, 2016 at 2:50 pm
    I do not care for the way MLB is managing the schedule. Had the Mets beaten the Royals both games it still would have been poor form to put those teams together when the Royals were presenting their WS hardware. I mean, did someone lose a humiliation bet? I have been watching baseball for nearly 50 years with hundreds of friends and have never heard anyone say, ever, “I wish there was interleague play during the regular season”.

    If I want to see professional wrestling I’ll watch the WWF, thank you very much.

    LGM

  3. argonbunnies April 15, 2016 at 2:22 pm
    I thought the aggressive baserunning was great. I thought Cespedes flying into the stands was great. I thought getting 5 outs from Familia would have been great if Collins hadn’t just used him in 2 straight games; given that, though, it was too big a risk.

    I thought the usage of Henderson in both of the last 2 games was mind-bogglingly awful. It was the equivalent of letting Harvey throw a 170-pitch complete game last year. But, y’know, Harvey’s famous and well-paid, and Henderson’s a nobody, so no one cares. Except that set-up relief could be a Mets achilles heel, and Henderson might have turned into the solution there, and now we’ve lost that possibility. It’s akin to giving Addison Reed or Antonio Bastardo permission to go skiing — blindfolded. Who would do that?

    So, hooray for Terry showing urgency, but boo for the specific arm-shredding ways he went about it.

  4. argonbunnies April 15, 2016 at 5:07 pm
    Separately, I think the fans are as upset as we are because we aren’t quite confident that the Mets will hit. If we were losing because starting pitchers were making one bad pitch at the wrong moment, we’d shrug it off. But a lineup of old guy, broken guy, free swinger, streaky guy, newcomer, rookie, up-and-down guy and health risk? After only hitting for about 40 games of 2015 (besides Murphy)? Risks and unknowns aplenty remain.
  5. DaveSchneck April 16, 2016 at 10:58 am
    I was away and did not see the games. However, the use of Henderson, no name or not, was both deplorable and penny-wise.
  6. argonbunnies April 17, 2016 at 4:36 pm
    Henderson’s velocity and command were a little better on Saturday, but still not near his first 3 appearances. I will assume that’s he’s pitching hurt until I see what I saw back then. I know that’s not very charitable, but I don’t think this organization’s medical record deserves any fan charity.

    On the plus side, I was very happy that deGrom did not throw his next scheduled bullpen immediately after straining his lat. Collins said he was going to, and I began bracing myself for an aggravation and a two-month absence, but SOMEONE somewhere had a clue, and the session was skipped.

  7. david April 20, 2016 at 9:31 pm
    IF Terry reads Mets Today, then consider resting D Wright every 3rd game and adjust as you see fit for crucial situations. If they want to get the most out of him, trotting him out every day is not the answer. His back needs regular rest. If they rest him regularly he will be stronger for longer.
  8. david May 13, 2016 at 10:21 am
    I give credit to Terry for not sending out Noah for the 9th against the Dodgers. With these little injuries or worries cropping up, his job to manage becomes harder. So far, so good.

    Who is the next in line for a promotion from Vegas (a Q for Sandy, not Terry)? Any thoughts out there? Reynolds is stinking out the joint of late, but was next in line. I wonder if TJ Rivera and his consistently hot bat earn him a shot? Cecchini would be a gutsy call, however Flores was the back up SS so it should be him or Reynolds, you’d think. Herrera is the most talented option but unlikely to see much time on the field with Walker. I’m guessing Reynolds since he also plays 3rd and 2nd base.