Today, it appears the Mets will meet with Terry Collins to discuss his future with the team. Collins has a 2016 option, but he wants a two year extension. Should he get it?
This isn’t the time to make an emotional decision. Terry Collins may have cost the Mets the World Series. It wasn’t just a bad week, he was a bad in game manager all year. If the Mets bring him back, he very well could cost the Mets a chance at the playoffs or a playoff series. It’s something that must be considered.
Another thing that must be considered is Collins’ handling of the team. He was handed a team with that should have imploded. There was great young pitching coupled with a AAA to AAAA lineup. He kept the Mets afloat allowing Sandy Alderson to make moves. The Mets had every reason to fall apart, but they didn’t. Collins had a huge part in that.
Also, keep in mind Collins comes from a player development background. He was the Mets minor league coordinator before becoming the Mets manager. He’s been a part of the development of the Mets young pitchers and hitters. He oversaw Daniel Murphy becoming a second baseman. He oversaw Lucas Duda become a power hitting first baseman.
He’s working with Wilmer Flores to become a SS. Brandon Nimmo and Dilson Herrera are on the horizon. We’ve seen teams win World Series with bad managers. However, we’ve also seen teams with poor managers waste talent. It’s why players like Jose Bautista become a star elsewhere. I don’t want that with the Mets players.
I also keep in mind that if you don’t want Collins, you have to figure out with whom you’re replacing him. The Nationals just passed on Bud Black, who is noted to be a good clubhouse, poor in game management type of manager. The Mets already have that, so why replace him. You could keep some continuity with Bob Geren, but he’s been noted to burn out young arms. Not the ideal choice.
This is also the time you’ll hear Mets fans clamoring for Wally Backman. This isn’t the time. This is a team that’s a championship contender. You don’t throw a wild card into that mix. Second, he’s been a part of the player development process. He’s sending players up to the big leagues major league ready. Why mess with that?
Ultimately, the Mets should give Collins his extension. He’s earned it. Even if you’re a detractor (which I understand), there’s not a better option out there . . . at least not a proven one. Collins should manage the 2016 Mets.
The Mets have many tough offseason decisions to make. Right now the most pressing decision is Daniel Murphy. The Mets have until Friday to offer Murphy a qualifying offer of a one year $15.8 million offer.
In my opinion, the Mets need to offer Murphy the qualifying offer. The worst case scenario is Murphy accepts the deal. Yes, you could argue he’s not worth $15.8 million. However, it’s a slight one-year overpay considering he was projected to receive a 4 year $52 million contract ($13 million a year). That was before his huge postseason. In any event, it seems the Mets will extend the offer.
Based upon the prospective offers Murpy will receiving, he’s likely to reject the qualifying offer. If so, and Murphy signs elsewhere, the Mets get another team’s first round pick (top 10 protected). If and when he rejects it, things will begin to get interesting because the Mets need to make a tough decision. Do you re-sign Murphy?
If he departs, Murphy will be leaving a sizeable gap behind him. He was the number three hitter on a pennant winner. On a high strikeout team, he is a contact hitter. His power has increased while working with Kevin Long.
Murphy is also the starting second baseman. Now, second is a position where the Mets may have options. The first option is the 21 year old Dilson Herrera. Reading all the scouting reports, he’s a younger Murphy with potential to be more. Herrera has hit at every level. He has more speed. He is raw defensively and has the tools be be good at second, but right now he isn’t.
Now, Herrera struggled during his call-up this year. He hit .211/.311/.367. It doesn’t mean he won’t eventually hit at the big league level. It may just mean it was a short sample size or he’s not ready. In the event he’s not ready, the Mets could elect to shift Wilmer Flores from SS to 2B.
For his career, Murphy has hit .288/.331/.424. His UZR at second was -1.3, which was by far his best year. In the two years prior, he was around a -5.0 player, which means he’s a below average defensive player, which is a shock to no one.
This past year, his first full season in the majors, Flores hit .265/.302/.425. Overall, Flores is not the hitter Murphy is, even if he shows some promise. His UZR in his limited time at second was 1.7, which means he’s average defensively, better than Murphy, but still average. It also leaves a gap at SS. Flores improved as the year progressed. Additionally, we still don’t know how well Ruben Tejada is going to bounce back.
Despite possibly being the best second base option, the Mets may benefit from his versatility. Murphy can play first and third. With David Wright‘s back, he’s limited. He can’t play more than four games in a row. Also, Lucas Duda is prone to some dry spells. Murphy could offset the gaps created by Wright’s back and Duda’s dry spells.
On the flip side, fellow Mets free agent Kelly Johnson does the same thing. He has the added benefit of playing the corner OF positions. He’s also a left handed bat like Murphy. He’s a .251/.331/.424 hitter, which again is worse than Murphy. However, Johnson is seen as a bench bat that won’t cost much money.
That’s the thing. Johnson is a bench player that won’t cost much money. The Mets should bring him back, but it shouldn’t have any impact upon their Murphy decision.
The main reason I keep thinking that Murphy needs to come back is the fact that the Mets just lost the World Series. They were so close. We know the pitching will be there, and it will be even better. However, the Mets have to keep a competitive offensive team on the field.
We don’t know what the Mets are going to get from Wright over 162 games. Many assume Yoenis Cespedes is all but gone. The Mets will be losing their third and fourth place hitters. Why should anyone expect this team to be any better next year?
There’s not really any upgrades over Murphy on the market. If you won’t spend on Murphy, why are we to believe they’ll sign someone like Ben Zobrist. Yes, Zobrist is the better player now, but he’s going to get a similar contract. Also, he’s five years older than Murphy. Murphy is in his prime. Zobrist is close to retirement.
If someone steps up and offers Murphy a stupid amount of money, you have to let him walk. He’s a nice, not great, player. I’m qualifying a stupid amount as a contract around four years $70 million. Eventually, you’re going to have to pay these pitchers, and Murphy can’t stand in the way of that.
However, if the market is reasonable, Murphy has to return. Hopefully, the qualifying offer will keep it reasonable. I say hope because the market rarely is. I mean, did you see the contract some team gave Michael Cuddyer last year? That’s the thing. All it takes is one team to do something irrational to turn Murphy into an ex-Met.
I’m hoping it doesn’t happen. Im hoping the Mets have the money. If they don’t, maybe they can offset some of the cost by getting a Chapstick sponsorship deal?
All jokes aside, the Mets need to re-sign Murphy.
Without a doubt, my favorite part of the 2015 season was seeing my son becoming more and more of a Mets fan.
It all started with that Spring Training game when he heard Gary Cohen make an excited call for a Lucas Duda RBI double. To my amazement, he screamed “Duda!” Soon, every night after his bath he wanted to watch Mets games with his daddy. We watched nearly every game together.
My wife and I got him his own tee-ball set. He worked on his swing. For some reason he prefers to bat left-handed. I think it’s because his favorite players are Duda and Daniel Murphy. Once the weather turned warmed we went to a few Mets games. It was at Citi Field, he learned how to hit a homerun.
We got to see Steven Matz‘s first major league game. We got to enjoy a game with the whole family. We were there on the last day of the season to celebrate the NL East Championship.
During the season, he would begin learning the names and positions of the different Mets players:
This was better than I ever could have imagined. In some ways, I actually started to think it was going to be different. You see since my son has been born everything has been better. For some reason I thought that would extend to the Mets as well.
As the playoffs started, it appeared that way. He loved all the Murphy homeruns. He would jump up and down screaming homerun. His excitement carried on even when he was at home watching the game with my wife. I really did thinks things were different.
They weren’t. As the top of the twelfth was unfolding it occurred to me. I was bringing my son into all of this. This was the reason a good friend of mine jokingly said he should turn me into Child Services for raising him a Mets fan.
I was taking the loss really hard. Then my son, who was asleep since the fourth inning, woke up and came over to me. He saw I was upset and said, “what happened?” I informed him the Mets were going to lose. He was defient. He said, “Murphy homerun! Duda homerun!” It was not so much a plea as it was a demand.
Unfortunately, Murphy and Duda were not due up, so they could not heed their orders. The World Series ended. Neither he nor I said a word. Instead, he just gave me a hug. He then laid down next to me and went to sleep. At that point, I wasn’t as angry. I wasn’t as upset. I was just a Dad in awe of his son.
It was at that point I realized I made the right decision in raising him to be a Mets fan. Being a Mets fan builds character. It’s not always easy being a Mets fan. You deal with tough times. Things don’t always go your way. That’s life.
The type of person you become is how you respond to these situations. So far, I like how my son responds. He tried to take control of the situation. When it didn’t work and things didn’t go our way, he gave me a hug.
The next morning he woke up early. As usual, he wanted three things: (1) milk; (2) Thomas; and (3) to talk about the Mets. I told him about the Curtis Granderson homerun. He always likes to hear about them. Instead of being upset when I talked about the game, I chuckled. (Trust me, I would get angry again on the way to work). It reminded me of something my Dad once said to me, “I only have myself to blame.”
I’ve created a Mets fan. I’m sorry the Mets lost the World Series. I’m sorry for my Dad, my brother, and myself. I’m sorry fur my son. However, I’m not sorry I made him a Mets fan.
He loves the Mets. He has now experienced the losing. When the Mets finally win another World Series, it will be all the more enjoyable for him.
Lets Go Mets!
Apparently, other sports have had seasons start during the Mets playoff run. As of today, I’m still in mourning over the a Mets blowing the World Series. If you’re ready to to come back to society, here’s what you need to know:
NFL
Jets are 4-3, which is good for second in the AFC East behind the undefeated Patriots. They have a good defense, talented skill position players, and no quarterbacks. Something tells me I can cut and paste this for next year.
Giants are 4-4 which is good for sole possession of the putrid NFC East. Their defense is terrible with no pass rush. JPP is coming back, but no one knows how’s my fingers he has left or what he can do. Also, Victor Cruz is yet to play a game this year.
NHL
Rangers are 7-2-2 with 16 points, which has them tied atop the Metropolitan Division with the Capitals. They still haven’t figure out who will play on the last two lines. Their vaunted defenseman are not up to snuff, especially Girardi. They still have Lundqvist though hence the record.
Islanders are 6-3-3 which is good for third in the Metropolitan Division. They’re in the Barclay’s Center which everyone hates, but at least they got their goal horn back. Of concern, leading scorer and captain Tavares has a mystery illness keeping him out of the lineup.
Devils are somehow 6-4-1 with 13 points. Maybe they can sustain it now that Adam Henrique seems to be cashing in on the potential he showed in his rookie season four years ago.
NBA
Knicks are 2-1 with two good and one bad game. Melo finally seemed to get his legs underneath him in his last game. Porzingis has shown promise as a rookie. The Knicks free agent signings have created both depth and a hungry team.
Nets are winless at 0-3. It looks like they’re lottery bound with a lot of ping pong balls coming their way. Unfortunately, it’s going to the Celtics.
In world news, everyone is in mourning because the Mets lost the World Series. In Mets Daddy news, I’ll be rolling out stuff on the postseason starting tomorrow. I have some other ideas what to do. I’m receptive to any ideas anyone has.
In late August, I began to panic. I thought Terry Collins was cost the Mets either a playoff spot or a series with his in game management. Sometimes it sucks to be right.
He had a terrible World Series. Just terrible. As a wise and independent Keith Law verified, Collins managing really cost the Mets in Games 3 & 4. The full details are here. The quick synopsis is from Game 2 on Collins grossly mismanaged his bullpen. He had the wrong guy in the wrong spots, and then he asked Jeurys Familia to bail the Mets out of an impossible situation.
Now, it should be noted the players on the field win and lose games. Collins didn’t force Daniel Murphy to miss the grounder in Game 4. He didn’t force Lucas Duda to choke on a throw home for the last out when Eric Hosmer was dead to rights. With that said, Collins didn’t put his team in the best position to succeed. His mistakes cost the Mets the series.
I’m not going to regurgitate everything from Games 1 – 4. I’m not going to go into the Game 1 & 2 pitching strategy again. I just want to focus on Game 5 here. This game highlighted every weakness he has as a manager.
The first big decision was in the sixth inning. In actuality, it wasn’t a big decision. It was a no brainer that Collins blew. Yoenis Cespedes fouled a ball off his kneecap and went straight down. He was down for a while. He was limping even when he finally got back up. For some reason, Collins let him hit.
Yes, it was a two strike count. You could anticipate that a cold hitter off the bench, presumably Juan Lagares, would’ve struck out or made an out there against Edison Volquez. Instead Cespedes hit. He was given a pitch to hit, and he popped it up. The Mets are lucky he did because the way he was limping, it would’ve been an automatic double play if the ball was hit in the ground.
We all know the next mistake. He left Matt Harvey in too long. Personally, I would’ve pulled Harvey after right, but admittedly, my heart wanted Harvey out for the ninth. Apparently, Collins had the same issue. He pulled Harvey until Harvey talked his way back into the game. Like the rest of the planet, I thought Harvey had to be removed after he walked Lorenzo Cain.
A double by Eric Hosmer later, and the game was 2-1. Collins then lifted Harvey with one out with the tying run on second with no outs. He again put Familia in a bad spot. Again, the defense blew it. Royals tied the game.
The lady fateful decision is one that had t gotten much discussion. I had no problem with Addison Reed in the 12th, even if he’s the only one that had pitched in every game in this series. My problem was how long he stuck with Reed. Reed has been terrific with bases empty, not so much with runners on base.
Once Jarrod Dyson pinch ran for Salvador Perez, after his leadoff single, you knew Reed was in trouble. There’s holding on a runner and there’s being distracted. Reed was distracted and lost the zone. Predictably with Travis d’Arnaud‘s arm, Dyson stole the base. No one was up at this time.
No one would be ready until two runs were home and the bases were loaded. He brought in Bartolo Colon. Now, while this was happening he never thought to warm up Hansel Robles even though: (1) he would get warm quicker; and (2) he’s been terrific. Colon allowed a bases clearing double to Lorenzo Cain. What was a 3-2 or 4-2 game was now a 7-2 game.
Collins’ inaction in the 12th led to a situation where the Royals had an insurmountable lead. Game 5 and the series was over.
My heart does break for Collins. He’s shown himself to be a good man. He waited his whole life for this moment. He’s been good with the clubhouse. With all that said, he cost the Mets the World Series.
There are many things I’m going to personally take away from the 2015 season. For a moment, I wanted to acknowledge that I went to a World Series game with my Dad and brother. It was a dream come true.
I’ve been going to Mets games with my Dad since 1983 when Darryl Strawberry. I wasn’t much older than my son is now. I’ve been going to Mets games with my brother not too long after that. We thought the moment was coming in 2006. We hoped it would happen in 2007 and 2008. It was getting to the point I would never be there to see this in person:
Friday night it finally happened. We made sure to commemorate the moment:
Note, I thought it was great my Dad and brother wore the hats I had picked up for them a while ago. I was wearing the same All Star Game hat my brother got me. It is the same hat I wore the day my son was born. I wore the Lucas Duda jersey my son got me.
Rare is it that you wait for something so long, and it’s even better than you imagined. There was an amazing energy in Citi Field that night. The place exploded when David Wright hit that homerun:
The three of us shared an embrace just celebrating something we thought we would never see (no, I don’t mean a Wright playoff homerun). We were high fiving strangers. It was pure joy. The place exploded again with the Curtis Granderson homerun:
When Wright broke the game open with a single in the sixth . . .
. . . it just became a surreal experience. I mean I was standing there doing the eighth inning “Piano Man” sing-a-long with Billy Joel:
Are you kidding me? I was there for Pratt’s All Folks and the Grand Slam Single games. I was there with my Dad and brother. This game meant much more than those. This was the World Series. THE METS WON A WORLD SERIES GAME WE ATTENDED!
After the last out, everybody was screaming and yelling. We just gave each other a big hug. We were in disbelief that we were even there. We were convinced the Mets were going to win the World Series. We stuck around a bit longer singing along to “Back in the New York Groove” before leaving. It was then time for one last picture:
We decided to take the left field ramps out of the ballpark. It was fitting that we took the ramps like we had so many times at Shea. We said our goodbyes and headed home. It won’t be the last game we go to together. I pray it won’t be the last World Series game.
On the way to my car, I broke my rule. I bought a World Series hat and fleece. I have 1999, 2000, and 2006 sweatshirts and hats that’ll never get worn again. I’ll wear these again. I will forever want to remember this moment.
So thank you to the Mets for allowing this to happen. Thank you to my Dad for making me a Mets fan. Thank you to my Dad for taking my brother and I to all those Mets games over the years. I still can’t believe the three of us got to be there on Friday night.
The Mets may have lost the World Series, but they won the game we attended. Losing the World Series will always hurt, but at least I got this moment 32 years in the making. It was amazin’.
After this season and a World Series, my head is swimming. On the one hand, I want to call the season a success. On the other hand, I want to scream and yell because they blew the World Series.
With that said, to a man, this was a classy team. I’ll remember Daniel Murphy deflecting credit during his amazing run. I’ll also remember when he made the error in Game 4, he stood there prominently to answer questions about his play. I’ll remember how he accepted full blame.
I’ll remember what a great man Terry Collins is. I’ll remember how he reached out and offered condolences to hurting Mets fans who lost a loved one. I’ll remember him congratulating the Royals after that painful loss:
I’ll also remember how the entire team honored a fallen NYPD officer during the World Series:
I’ll also remember how this team acknowledged the fans in the good times . . .
. . . and bad:
https://twitter.com/bbtn/status/661063113178013696
The @Mets are out on the field, saluting their fans after an incredible season. #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/B1u9wip4TP
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) November 2, 2015
Thanks for an Amazin' season Mets fans. You guys are the best! #LGM pic.twitter.com/MQ0OiyxMF0
— New York Mets (@Mets) November 2, 2015
Look, there’s a lot of things that have to be said about this World Series, and trust me, I’ve got a lot ready to go. However, before talking about anything, I thought the team should be recognized for how classy they handled themselves all year.
It’s funny to think in the year Yogi Berra died, the feeling I walked away with from last night was “its déjà vu all over again.”
Fifteen years ago, I watched the Mets lose the World Series in five games. I remember believing that the better team didn’t win. The bounces went the wrong way. The Mets failed to execute in the late innings. They just couldn’t get that big hit when needed. I remember thinking of the Mets could just win Game 5, they could still win the World Series.
Al Leiter started Game 5 and gave the gutsiest performance I’ve ever seen from a Met. He went 8.2 innings throwing 143 pitches. He was just in there too long. After getting the first two outs via strikeout, he let up three successive hits giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead. I still thought the Mets had a chance. I thought Mike Piazza tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. Cruelly, it fell just short.
Last night, Matt Harvey was every bit of Al Leiter’s equal. He too put the Mets on his back and had eight incredible innings. Truth be told, Harvey had a game for the ages. If he doesn’t come out for the ninth, his final line is 8.0 innings, four hits, no earned, one walk, and nine strikeouts. It should’ve been a game that was talked about for years to come.
Instead, Harvey came out for the ninth. He allowed a walk and a double. The talk will forever be about how Terry Collins left him in instead of how great he was. It’s just like 1999. No one talks about how great Leiter was. They talk about Timo Perez and Roger Clemens. I fear this World Series will be talked about over Collins’ use of Jeurys Familia and the late inning defense.
However, I’ll always remember Leiter’s Game 5 performance. If I ever had the chance to meet him, I’d shake his hand and thank him for it. Sure, the Mets lost, but I respected that performance. He wanted in that game every bit as Harvey did last night. If I met Harvey, I’d shake his hand and thank him for last night too.
They both fell just short, but they gave it their all. Last night was just as painful as it was 15 years ago. In some ways, it hurts even more so. I may not have seen a World Series in either year, but I saw something special from two extraordinary local guys. They did themselves and their teams proud. They made me proud to be a Mets fan.
They deserved a better fate. Instead, they have my profound respect. Thank you.
The Mets lost the World Series 4-1. The Mets easily could’ve won the series in the reverse. The difference? The Royals executed in late innings. Terry Collins was terrible. The Royals got a little luck. It wasn’t supposed to go this way. Not this series. Not tonight.
This was the moment Matt Harvey we all imagined when he first came up and pitched against the Diamondbacks. This is the moment we anticipated when Harvey started the All Star Game at Citi Field. We were left dreaming of it when he missed all of 2014 while he was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
My God was he awesome. Awesome may be overused, but I can’t think of a better word. I’m not sure a word exists to describe how incredible Harvey was. He went 8+, five hits, two earned, two walks, nine strikeouts.
For all the narrative thrown his way during the innings limit drama, he promised he would be here when the time called for it. Terry Collins tried to take him out of the game before the ninth. Harvey heard the news from Dan Warthen, and he went over to Collins and told him he’s not coming out of the game. He then threw in a lipper and charged out to the mound. You don’t get more old school than that.
Unfortunately, it was the wrong decision. Harvey allowed a leadoff single to Lorenzo Cain followed by a stolen base and a Eric Hosmer double. Familia got a groundout sending Hosmer to third. Then the Mets late inning defense showed its ugly face again. Salvador Perez hit a groundball to David Wright. Wright looked back at Hosmer, but it wasn’t enough. Hosmer took off with Wright’s throw, and he scored on a poor Lucas Duda throw. Blown save. Tie game.
It certainly highlighted the fact that Terry Collins left Harvey in a better too long. It highlighted the poor offense with four double plays off of the grieving Edison Volquez. The only offense the Mets could muster was a Curtis Granderson leadoff homerun and a Duda sacrifice fly. The latter being the only run scored when the Mets had the bases loaded and no out. The first out of that inning came on a Yoenis Cespedes popout after he fouled a ball off his knee. He would have to leave the game after the AB.
For the second straight game Familia got hit with the blown save that wasn’t his doing. He got the groundball. He did buckle down, got out of the ninth, and shut down the Royals in the tenth. Jon Niese kept it tied. Addison Reed didn’t.
Perez leadoff with a single that dropped right on the right field line. Jarrod Dyson pinch tab and stole second. Travis d’Arnaud had no shot. With the way he’s throwing right now, he couldn’t throw out Sid Bream. Dyson would score on a Christian Colon single. Naturally, it was Colon’s first at bat in the playoffs.
Of course Daniel Murphy made another error. Of course Hansel Robles went unused again.of course Collins would wait for it to be 4-2 before lifting Reed. Of course Bartolo Colon would allow a bases clearing double to Lorenzo Cain. The game was out out of reach at 7-2.
Wade Davis came in, and the Mets went quietly into that good night. Duda struck out. d’Arnaud struck out. Michael Conforto singled leaving Wilmer Flores to make the last out. He struck out. Fittingly, it was his final at bat that left us all in tears.
With the Mets down 3-1 in the series and Matt Harvey on the mound, I was reminded about the 2014 New York Rangers.
For those that are not hockey fans, here’s a brief synopsis. In 2014, the Rangers fell behind the Penguins 3-1 after a frustrating home loss. To make matters worse, the Rangers never beat the Penguins in the playoffs, nor had they ever overcome a 3-1 series deficit. However, there was reason to hope because the Rangers had Henrik Lundqvist, the best goalie in hockey.
Henrik put the Rangers on his back, and the Rangers did the unprecedented and unexpected. They overcame the 3-1 deficit. They did it even though the Penguins dominated them at home in Game 7. This gives me hope because a hockey goalie is like a starting pitcher. They have the singular ability to shut down an opposition’s offense. They have the ability to put a team on its back and say, “I got this.”
Lundqvist knows better than anyone what it takes. In fact, he and the Rangers did it again the next year. When he says Harvey is prepared and focused, I believe it. When he’s pulling for Harvey, it gives be confidence it can be done.
Look, we know Harvey is an unabashed Rangers fan. He watched what happened in 2014 and 2015. He knows how this works. He’s gotten to know the Rangers players, so he knows the necessary mindset. If anyone should be out there to set the tone and start the comeback, it’s him.
Sure, the Mets have never overcome a 3-1 deficit. Last time it happened, it was in the World Series, and the Mets lost at home in Game 5. However, that was a different team with different players. The Rangers have showed that. It can and will be done. We all now that.
Best of all, Harvey knows it too.