22
2012
Thoughts On Duda, Collins and Accountability
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Lucas Duda was removed in the third inning by Terry Collins last night for not hustling after he chose not to run hard on a misplayed flyball in the outfield by the Marlins defense.
Rather than being at second base and in scoring position, Duda ended up no further than first base.
Although he took an inning to react to it, Collins did the right thing and pulled him. It’s about time he put his foot down on all this lollygagging, but I wonder if this would have been the case if it were David Wright instead who often does the same thing?
Duda took responsibility for failing to run out the popup and acknowledged his lack of hustle.
“I was frustrated and I didn’t bust down the line and Terry pulled me out,” Duda said. “That’s pretty much how it is. I would have done the same thing. I mean, I didn’t run. That’s part of the game — you’ve got to play the game hard. And I didn’t run.”
This came less than 24 hours after Collins chastised his team and went as far as suggesting that his team may have quit. He regretted making the charges the next day, but some players took it hard.
I’ve said this before and last night was a good example of it, but there’s no accountability on this team and that is why for two years players have been getting away with this lackadaisical approach to the game until last night.
“I know he didn’t do it on purpose,” said Collins. “A routine fly ball, you get caught up in that stuff in the big leagues. But as I told him when he came off the field, we’ve made a statement here that we’re not going to play the game like that, especially right now. Had we won 10 of the last 12, or 15 of the last 20, you can kind of turn your head. But I couldn’t turn my head tonight.”
Collins shouldn’t turn his head on any bad play EVER in my opinion. There’s never a good time to turn your head on things like this and it doesn’t matter if you are winning or losing. As manager, Collins is also the disciplinarian and he should address things even-handed and fair. He needs to hold these players accountable. And not just Duda, but all of them… No matter how large their status on the team is or how big their paychecks are.
As far as Lucas Duda is concerned, shame on you. You were the one that was bitching and moaning when the Mets sent you down to Triple A. You were the one crying about how you belonged in the majors. Well if you want to play in the big boys’ league then act like you give a damn. Play hard all the time and don’t slack off.
Last night, Terry Collins attempted to send a message to his team and hold them accountable for their actions. That’s great, but it took almost two full seasons for him to finally get that point across.
Terry promised solid fundamentals, a 100% effort, and accountability from all his players in his very first Spring Training camp when he addressed the team. It was great promise, but it never happened.
The fans deserve better than that.
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 25 | 18 | .581 | - |
| Nationals | 23 | 21 | .523 | 2.5 |
| Phillies | 21 | 23 | .477 | 4.5 |
| Mets | 17 | 24 | .415 | 7.0 |
| Marlins | 12 | 32 | .273 | 13.5 |
Last updated: 05/19/2013
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen David Wright do anything that flagrant. Duda was not even following the ball, but looking down at the ground as he casually loped towards first and didn’t realize it had fallen in until he was just 2 steps from 1st. If TC hadn’t pulled Duda from the game, he would have been an accomplice to the shirking attitude. Duda needed to sit on the pin for the rest of the game and possibly even for the next game as well. Not a good time for Duda to screw up like this if the FO is currently considering him as the future full time 1B (barf!).
pine, not pin.
What kills me the most about this situation is just a few days ago there was a huge brouhaha about trading Ike Davis and putting Duda at first. NO THANKS! Duda is a head case! All we ever hear about is how he gets down and how he lack confidence. Who needs that? Ike was never sent down and he was force fed major league pitching he was not ready to face after being out almost an entire season, which caused him to have the terrible start he had. A year ago, Ike was Batting a little over .300. Not that I believe Ike is a .300 hitter or that he would have sustained it but, I am sure he would have settled into the .280 range with a decent OBP and around 30hrs. Which if they do the smart thing and keep him, I am sure we will see next season. Ike has heart, plays hard and obviously though he got down this season, never gave up!
Duda, is a crybaby and a head case and no team needs a player it has to coddle. If Duda were on the 86 Mets, Keith and the guys would have thrown him a beating! There is just not enough roster space available for any team to be forced to carry a personality like Duda’s. He needs to be traded. So keep giving him at bats, show case him and trade his moody, childish, selfish behavior ass! He’s a DH anyway.
This! Great comment, trade Duda. He reminds me of Mike Pelfrey without the blue pacifier and travelling shrink. He might get both of those at the rate he’s going.
The 86 Mets would have given Duda a blanket party. Just picture Lucas Duda’s face in that scene from Full Metal Jacket.
So now all the frustration, losing, incompetent FO and the lousy play all falls on the shoulder of Lucas Duda. Yeah he made a mistake and didn’t hustle and admitted it so now we are going to blame this bad club on Lucas Duda. This may be the best thing he did to help his career. He could wind up on a contender. As Marlon Brando said in “On the Waterfront” “I could have been a contender, I could have been soimebody.” Well it could happen Mr. Duda.
Hi Lou, thanks for your comment.
In no way should all of this fall on Duda, but last night Duda exemplified what has been an on-going problem for two years.
Not only was what he did bad, but it came one day after Terry Collins went off on a rant and questioned the players determination to play hard.
It was almost as if Duda volunteered himself to be the first of many changes this offseason
Are you saying he gave himself up and took one for the team? He was wrong for n ot hustling but if you look at the replay, when he put bhis head down he was shaking his head if to say I had a damn good pitch to hit and missed it. He was disgusted with himself and lost his concentration to run every ball out. A rookie mistake and he knew it after the benching. That’s the way I see it. He’ll never do that again regardless of where he winds up.
Actually in a way he did fall on the sword for the team and Collins….
If Collins had not done what he did after the day before saying this team wasn’t trying it would have showed the rest of them that he really doesn’t care if they try or not.
Duda was used as an example and nothing more and I’m sure he said this to Duda when he pulled him.
If he had done nothing then he would have had a controversy for nothing!
So he had to make an example of Duda and Duda knows if he had actually run hard it might have been someone else that got pulled instead!
I think if you listen to what Terry Collins said I think benching was more than just for not running it out. It sure sounded to me like he was also intimating that this was about Duda taking his at bats into the field as well. Duda seems to let making mistakes or not making solid contact fester and he continues to obsess over the mistake or lack of hard contact and it affects his play for the potentially the rest of the game. To me the one who dogs it to first base more than any other player is Ruben Tejada. The difference between Duda and Tejada is that Tejada doesn’t take bad at bat to the field. A failure to run hard to first has been a problem with ALL of the Mets with the exception of Daniel Murphy. Ike Davis is so slow it’s hard to tell when he is running fast and when he isn’t. It’s too bad that Collins walked back his comments about team quitting because they did and their mistakes in field and on the basepaths were masked by a Marlins team that clearly has quit on their season.