The Mets cannot seem to shake the hullabaloo surrounding their injured players. Of course, injuries are hardly a laughing matter. And anyone keeping an eye on MLB Baseball lines for Mets games obviously cares about the health of the team’s players.
But the Mets haven’t done themselves any favors by essentially commanding Terry Collins to keep his mouth shut about the Mets’ injury problems. That begs the question whether Terry Collins is at fault in any way over this issue.
Certainly, the manager cannot be blamed for the way the Mets have handled their injuries, at least not entirely. But anyone that knows anything about baseball will tell you that Collins is always very forthright about the Mets.
The manager has never shied away from questions surrounding the personal health of his team; and if he thought that his honesty was going unnoticed, he was wrong because his bosses came out and rather strongly told him to keep all conversation about the medical status of the players out of his interviews and comments.
Naturally, the situation did not sit well with Collins; one would assume that he was quite irate about the restriction on this particular section of his freedoms. And there were questions as to whether Collins would fall in line.
There are plenty of managers who would have thrown a fit if they were in a similar situation. However, Collins actually proved that he was a good soldier during the press gathering that preceded the Mets/Padre game. For those not in the know, the Mets lost to the Padres on Wednesdaynight.
However, the highlight of the day was Collins’ fencing match with the journalists in attendance. Whether they were genuinely interested in the topic or they wished to test Collins’ resolve, the manager kept fielding questions about Jay Bruce.
Bruce wasn’t in the starting lineup and it was assumed that his departure from the Tuesday game had something to do with Lower back tightness problems. Bruce’s comments suggested that his injury wasn’t serious but his absence from the Wednesday lineup said something totally different.
Collins refused to be baited into a comment on Bruce’s health, saying that he wouldn’t get into the injury discussion. The rebuttal didn’t settle much, and the Bruce question arose once more a few moments later.
But Collins wouldn’t be pushed into responding on the matter. He wouldn’t even reveal whether or not Bruce would be available to Pinch hit.
Regardless of whether or not you agree with Collins’ newfound muteness, the Mets have good reason to get skittish about the subject of injuries. The Mets have been hammered on a number of occasions over the way they have handled injuries.
Sandy Alderson recently came out and expressed his support for the Mets in their handling of injuries, even brushing aside the comments about Noah Syndergaard and Yoenis Cespedes.
To placate worries, Alderson used the end-of-road trip press briefing to admit that the team was reviewing some of its medical protocols to better serve the needs of its players.
One man that won’t have the luxury of letting loose during interviews, especially in the area of injuries is Terry Collins; though only if he chooses to remain in line every single time.
his hip, but aggravated the injury in the playoffs after two months of playing in the regular season. During regular season, the Celtics home record was 22-5; however, they are currently 5-4 in the postseason.
