Here’s the bad news: The Mets are now 12-27 (going into Sunday’s finale with the Pirates) against teams that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. Playing so poorly against the upper echelon of teams in baseball is a direct reflection on Terry Collins. Without the veil of an anemic offense, Terry’s shortcomings are now being seen front and center.
Terry simply doesn’t stack up against the likes of a Bruce Bochy, Joe Maddon, or Clint Hurdle. He just seems out of his element against these better teams. He keeps relievers in too long after they’ve started to show that they don’t have it, and his defensive realignments are head-scratchers. Why would you ever move Kelly Johnson out of position in the outfield or put Flores back at shortstop (as he’s done in the past) late in any close game?
Furthermore, why wouldn’t you bunt Tejada over in the bottom of the the 10th with no one out. Sure Flores and Granderson have been the Mets most clutch hitters this year, but they are still both batting in the .250s. Sure enough, a fly out and a double play grounder and the inning was over. Opportunity wasted. Terry does these things all the time against all teams, but the good ones make him pay. That is the real reason why the Mets are 12-27 against playoff-bound teams.
Now, the good news: It doesn’t matter for now because the Mets only have one more series against a playoff-bound team the rest of the way, the Yankees in mid-September. But knowing the above, should make any Mets fans reel in their expectations for the playoffs. If the Mets don’t make noise in October, it will be because Terry Collins will be out-managed.
There is still a lot of room for positivity. It’s not like these elite teams have been beating up on the Mets’ best pitchers. They are simply taking advantage of the Mets’ weaknesses, i.e. bullpen depth, bottom of the rotation, and managing. Additionally, if the season ended today the Mets would face the Dodgers who might have an equally inept manager in Don Mattingly (Dodger fans have been calling for his head for years).
The bottom-line is that Mets fans should hope for the best the remainder of the season, but keep expectations in check. The division looks more winnable by the day and getting to the playoffs is half the battle in MLB. If and when the Mets’ division series starts, then we can lose our minds about our performance against the league’s best. Anything can happen in October, so we can take solace in the fact that the Nats are imploding and the schedule requires little heavy lifting the rest of the way. Godspeed Terry Collins.
