With optimism beaming in Port St. Lucie, and by extension Flushing, many of the local writers are saying expectations are elevated as well, and a poor start could mean trouble for Mets Manager Terry Collins.
Entering his fifth year with the Amazins’, Collins has amassed a 304-344 record, which some would say should be worse considering the talent level of the players the last couple of years. But baseball, and sports in general, is about results. With Wright, Cuddyer, Duda, Murphy, d’Arnaud and the host of pitching talent, the time is now to put up or shut up.
Obviously, the most pressure is on the players themselves. Collins can’t throw a fastball or swing a bat, but he’s got to know what buttons to push, especially with the late inning substitutions and the bullpen, to win close games and keep the Mets in contention.
It doesn’t help much that fans have been clamoring for Wally Backman to replace Collins for years now. Backman, a pivotal part of their 1986 championship-winning team, is the current manager for the Las Vegas 51s, and he could be the next in line if Collins were to struggle.
Backman’s MLB managerial experience is all of four days. He was hired as the Diamondbacks’ manager on Nov. 1, 2004. Immediately afterward, reports became public that Backman had previously been convicted of DUI in 2000, pleaded guilty to harrassing a female friend of his family in 2001 and was accused of spousal abuse by his ex-wife. The Diamondbacks admitted that they had not conducted a financial or criminal check of Backman before hiring him, and fired him on Nov. 5.
It’s easy to root for Backman, because his fire and passion emulate those teams of the 1980s, but he’s also gotten himself into plenty of trouble. It’s long been speculated that the Mets wouldn’t seriously consider him if Collins were to eventually get the boot. Don’t get me wrong, I am not rooting for Terry to get fired. Hell, I’d love if he and the team were talking about a contract extension later this season because the club has had a break-out year. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.
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