Is anyone surprised the Mets decided to smear Terry Collins before parting ways with him this offseason?  Well, you shouldn’t be because  it follows a pattern from this organization since the Wilpons have taken control of the team.  While full ownership did not fully transfer until 2002, the Wilpons had gradually gained control throughout the years and were really front in center with an already hands-off Doubleday suffering health issues.

Coming off the heels of the 2000 World Series, Alex Rodriguez made it well known he wanted to play for the Mets, the team he’s always loved.  Instead of the team letting themselves get outbid, they declared him to be a 24 and one player.

Instead of thanking managers like Bobby Valentine and Art Howe for their service, they talked about how their teams quit on them, which is as damning a statement you can make against a manager.  Things went further for Howe calling him soft, weak, boring, and out of touch.

As poorly as Howe was treated on the way out, it pales in comparison to how Willie Randolph was treated.  This went beyond the accusations he was out of touch and couldn’t get through to his players.  No, they had to fly him out to California and fire him at 3:00 A.M. after a win!  They then replaced him with Jerry Manuel, who was the person bad mouthing Randolph behind his back with, you guessed it, Jeff Wilpon.

It wasn’t just managers that received this treatment.  Remember what happened with Yoenis Cespedes in the 2015 offseason?  When the team made it clear they had wanted to pass on re-signing him?  First, he was a round peg in a square hole that couldn’t handle center.  It wasn’t just that, we heard whispers about whether a team could trust Cespedes on a long-term deal.

Now, the Mets have turned their attention to Collins.  Reading Marc Carig’s Newsday article on the subject, the team couldn’t help but tear him down before parting ways with him this offseason.  Reading the column, you can see the Mets have gotten much better at this detailing all of his faults:

1. Constant tactical blunders;
2. Resisted input;
3. Poor relationship with players;
4. Shielded by Fred Wilpon from firing;
5. Front office had no confidence in him;
6. Abused relief pitchers;
7. No interest in playing young guys;
8. Played players like Jeurys Familia into injuries;
9. Inmates ran the asylum; and
10. Team was miserable.

Any Mets fans who has paid attention to the team could tell you any of the above was true.  We saw Collins staple Michael Conforto to the bench for under-performing veterans.  He pressured Steven Matz to pitch through the pain.  There was the drama surrounding Asdrubal Cabrera‘s position switch.  There have been a wake of injured relievers during his career.  All of the above has proven to be true.

Through all of it, the Mets kept Collins.  They dismissed these concerns and even put forth the illusion he was great handling the clubhouse.  However, now that Collins is on his way out, those positive narratives are gone; replaced by the truth or something close to it.

The sad part is this is completely unnecessary.  Collins dutifully serves this organization since 2010 and managed them since 2011.  He led the team to consecutive postseasons and delivered a pennant.  Despite all of this, we all knew this was the end, and really, there was no one asking for him to return to the Mets.  Most agreed it was time for the Mets to select a new manager, a new direction.

For some reason, the Mets couldn’t leave well enough alone.  They had to tear the guy down on his way out.  Sadly, this is not a new low for the organization because you can’t get any lower than how they treated Randolph.  Rather, the team has become better and more efficient at doing it.

With the way Collins has been treated it makes you question what type of manager would be willing to accept a job from the Mets considering how they are treated and smeared on their way out the door.