Mets GM Sandy Alderson says that the club has “no present plans” to part ways with manager Terry Collins or any of his staff, as ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin reports. Alderson declined to endorse the skipper for the rest of the way, though he did so while noting that he would never issue such an assurance “unequivocally.”
Sitting at .500 entering play tonight, New York is beginning a critical, four-game series in San Francisco. The club sat at seven games over back after splitting a doubleheader on July 26th, but has gone just 7-and-14 since. Still, a recent report suggested that Collins’s job was safe for the time being.
Collins helped guide the Mets to a NL East title and World Series appearance last year, and entered his sixth season on the job with a seemingly firm grasp of the position. Indeed, he struck a new deal with the organization in November which guaranteed his salary through next season.
That successful campaign raised expectations, though, and Collins carries a sub-.500 mark during his time in New York. Of course, his tenure has coincided with a forced austerity plan occasioned by ownership’s financial limitations in the wake of the Bernie Madoff scandal.
At the time of his extension last fall, Collins suggested he was interested only in continuing on for a relatively short period of time. It seemed fairly likely that he had hoped to remain in command for this season and one more — the life of the deal — as the Mets sought to take advantage of their current window of contention.
Things haven’t gone as hoped, however, and some have argued that Collins is at least partially to blame. Certainly, Collins isn’t responsible for the team’s roster decisions over the winter and injuries to key players such as David Wright, Matt Harvey, and Lucas Duda. But there has been simmering frustration over his bullpen management, handling of struggling young outfielder Michael Conforto, and other matters — though much the same could be said of many other managers around the game.
It’s always difficult to assess from the outside just how much blame should fall on a skipper, excepting at least certain in-game decisionmaking. Conforto’s playing time, for instance, was presumably determined in conjunction with the front office. Still, Alderson’s somewhat tepid statement on his manager’s situation seems to suggest that the organization isn’t fully on board with his work this season.
Whether or not a change could make any kind of meaningful difference at this stage, of course, is an open question. And it’s not yet clear whether the Mets will see if a new in-uniform leader can effect a sudden turnaround, or whether instead the team will wait until the offseason to assess its options.
“No present plans to dismiss the manager.” Geez, what a tool. Collins is the guy who took an average team with a good young pitching staff to the World Series isn’t he? I recognize baseball is a business but this is beyond the pale.
You’re clueless. He’s a terrible manager. Do you watch games? They won last year despite him. He’s been terrible since he arrived.
thing is I think they only wanted him steering the ship while they became relevant. he woulda been gone last year if not for the over achieve. I could see kc fans feeling the same toward yost next yr
He’s made some awful decisions this year, he’s really not that good of a manager
I’m in the dark mainly because I don’t get met games. I know Matheny, from the Cardinals, makes moves that I question. What are moves Collins makes that makes him awful?
I cant think of any off the top of my head, but Keith Law has pointed a lot of them out on twitter which I found hilarious. Actually now that I think one was not pinch running for bruce who was the tying run who got thrown out at the plate to end the game. Collins said after the game he didn’t use a runner because he didn’t know if his guys were faster then bruce (They were).
If Law knew so much he would not be a writer for ESPN. I don’t think much of Collins either but Law is a terrible appeal to authority.
And there are injuries, but a good manager can make his way around this. He’s consistently played Granderson and d’Arnaud who are the 1
Not exactly a ringing endorsement. I would keep him around and have next year as a make or break. I think Collins has had a down year, but was great last season, and players and injuries are obviously partially responsible for this year. But he probably hasn’t managed anywhere near as well as last season and 2017 would need to be better, if he’s still around.
Collins wasn’t “great” last year–Matt Williams was horrific.
Alderson’s endorsement-but-not-quite was hazy, equivocal, and about as easy to read as the entrails of dead birds–in other words, completely in character for Sandy.
Sandy’s not-exactly-an endorsement was hazy, equivocal, and about as easy to comprehend as reading the entrails of birds–in other words, vintage Alderson.
The reason Terry is not a good manager because he doesn’t know how to MANAGE a game. With the pitching staff he has and with the awful offensive team that he has, you have to be able to manufacture some runs (a run). The Mets are the worst in baseball in Stolen bases. I get it, we may not be the fastest team in the MLB. However when you get a lead off double or runners on first and second and nobody out: you bunt the ball! Terry does a terrible job manufacturing runs. Also, our hitting coach should have been fired in April. Mets live and die by the long ball.
The one Alderson ought to fire is himself. He couldn’t recognize an emerging MVP candidate in Murphy after he figuratively bit him in the nose by almost single handedly winning 2 playoff series. He should have known that Wright was probably not going to last the season. He could have made the Walker trade and still re-signed Murphy for the relative pittance he got from Washington, as he wanted to stay a Met. He then makes a bad trade with the Reds for an OF that was not much of an upgrade over what they already had. It was the only good trade the Reds have made in the last 3 years. Congrats Sandy. He could have added d’Arnard to that package he gave the Reds and gotten Lecroy, an upgrade that would have been meaningful.