May 01 2013 08:25 AM
When Bob Klapisch says so, it's official! Terry Collins is on the hot seat.
Klapisch: Mets' Terry Collins losing grip on manager's job
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 Last updated: Wednesday May 1, 2013, 12:30 AM
By BOB KLAPISCH
RECORD COLUMNIST
| The countdown on Terry Collins began on the first day of pitchers and catchers and nothing so far has made it any easier to believe he’ll be back with the Mets in 2014. Of course, Collins has handled his lame-duck status with grace and maturity — he’s an honest guy, good with people — but that hasn’t stopped Sandy Alderson from letting his manager continue to drift away from the mother ship. Collins, no dummy, knows he would’ve already received a vote of confidence, even in private, if Alderson and Jeff Wilpon were entirely sold on his body of work. Both men know what job security — or its absence — does to a manager’s standing in the clubhouse. Without a commitment from ownership, Collins looks like a short-timer on a bad team, a latter-day George Bamberger. The current six-game losing streak, including embarrassing back-to-back losses to the Marlins, doesn’t help his cause, either. So what’ll it take for Collins to avoid being fired, even before the end of the season? A more robust roster would help, obviously. In the meantime, he has to prove to the front office that the Mets are listening to him, and that he’s relevant enough to relate to the next wave of stars — particularly Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler and Travis D’Arnaud. Collins’ relationship with David Wright is solid, as it should be. But just as Davey Johnson had built-in ties with Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry and Ron Darling, among others, in 1984, it’s Wally Backman, not Collins, who has a head start with the 20-somethings who’ll be at Citi for the rest of the decade. The best-case scenario for Collins is to keep the Mets around .500 and then finish out September with a modest surge. The over-under on that algorithm is 82 wins, which might be enough for Collins to get rehired. It’s highly improbable, especially as it already feels like the season is slipping away. But, with five months still remaining, nothing is impossible. Not yet. Part Two of Collins’ must-do list is even more critical. He has to become a master tactician, in the same conversation with, say, Buck Showalter, able to get the most out of a below-average club. Collins had a particularly bad series against the Phillies over the weekend, especially in his choices with the bullpen. On Saturday, the Mets were trailing the Phillies by only a run in the fifth inning, yet Collins summoned Robert Carson, the last pitcher on his staff. The results were disastrous, as Carson instantly surrendered five runs. Collins inexplicably used a mop-up man in a close game and paid dearly. The following day, Collins flubbed a more complex set of choices, allowing Ryan Howard to beat the Mets with a pinch-hit, two-run double in the seventh. With Kevin Frandsen at the plate in a tie game and runners on first and second, Collins decided Jonathon Niese had reached his limit after his 117th pitch. Collins wanted Scott Atchison, a righty, to face Frandsen, also a righty. But why? Surely, Collins must’ve known that Atchison’s appearance would prompt Charlie Manuel to use Howard off the bench. Didn’t Collins know Howard was a career .421 pinch hitter and was the last guy the Mets wanted to see? But that’s exactly how it played out, because Collins didn’t want to bring a lefty like Scott Rice to face Frandsen. Instead, he gambled on Atchison versus Howard, and promptly got smoked. The Mets were swept and haven’t won a game since. These are the ways Collins is being judged from now on. Call it unfair, and you’d be right, because there are so few assets for Collins to draw upon, especially in the bullpen. But like it or not, this is an audition and Collins is already struggling. |
http://www.northjersey.com/columnists/K ... l?page=all
Terry Collins is officially on the hot seat
Craig Calcaterra
May 1, 2013, 10:00 AM EDT
Terry Collins is not under contract for 2014. That alone makes his job security a tenuous proposition at best. But Bob Klapisch notes that he’s on even shakier ground than that:
Considering Wheeler isn’t on the Mets and D’Arnaud is on the DL for a long time, well, good luck Terry. You sorta have to figure that Collins is bright enough to know that he was hired to be a caretaker manager. It’s a respectable gig. In light of that I find worrying about his job to be way less interesting than wondering who might replace him. I figure that the Wally Backman truthers will come out strong again soon. And I figure it’s silly to think that Backman won’t get a chance to manage the Mets at some point. I just wonder whether he’s the next guy or the next-next guy. |
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/ ... -hot-seat/
