Updated by Joe D. at 6:30 PM

After making inflammatory remarks against Met fans yesterday that rubbed many people including those in the organization the wrong way, Terry Collins acknowledged that he misspoke and took back some of the things he angrily said about Met fans while a guest on WFAN today.

“The New York fans are maybe the most knowledgeable fans that I’ve ever been around,” Collins told Mike Francesa. “When the question was asked, it pretty much was … Look, as much as I respect everybody’s opinions, it’s my opinion that counts and what’s best for this club. I can’t be influenced by outside people who aren’t here, and that’s pretty much all I meant. Certainly I misused the words. I shouldn’t have said ‘fans.’ I should have just said ‘people.”

“Nobody spends more time with the fans and nobody goes out and does more with the fans than I do,” Collins said. “I respect the fans immensely. I tell everybody that it’s about the fans. I don’t care who you’re a fan of. If you’re a baseball fan, you’re a fan, and certainly I meant no harm, no disrespect to them. We’re doing the best we can to make the right decisions here to get our team better. I hope that’s cleared up.”

In the meantime, while he cleared up that mess there’s still the matter of the Mets losing five straight and 18 of their last 25 games.

How about we quit with all the players in the doghouse, and start giving less playing time to the players in the outhouse?

How about we start managing this team to win and not use games and writing lineup cards as a means to teach certain players lessons?

If you want to get through to someone, why not do it the old fashioned way and just call him into your office and clear the air?

Go win some games for crying out loud.

And if you’re looking for any sympathy from me, you won’t get any.

You’ve been in this game for over 40 years and you are your own worst enemy. We expect more from you!

Original Post 9:00 AM

Terry Collins did what no manager should do, especially one with a career losing record likely to be made a scapegoat for what figures to be the Mets’ fifth consecutive losing season.

Collins, who has been erratic and puzzling on several issues this season, took on the exceedingly frustrated Mets’ fan base Tuesday night, basically calling them clueless and he didn’t care for their perception of his team, which is rapidly falling out of relevance before June.

Not surprisingly, the catalyst for Collins’ anger was the lingering Jordany Valdespin issue. Neither Collins nor general manager Sandy Alderson has been able to get through to Valdespin, and both handled his self-glorifying home run and subsequent beaning poorly.

If the Mets were winning, it would have gone away. Because they are not and in the midst of a stretch that could blow up their season, Valdespin is an issue.

After Valdespin’s homer last Friday in a blowout loss, Collins alluded to the possibility of the temperamental outfielder getting beaned as payback. Collins spoke of baseball’s unwritten code, and how Valdespin’s attitude is the norm and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Basically, he left it up to the Pirates teach his player a lesson, when what he should have done was rip Valdespin’s actions. Collins could have also told Pirates manager Clint Hurdle he would handle Valdespin.

By not doing so, Collins invited the Pirates to throw at his player. After the plunking, Collins pretty much said, “that’s baseball,’’ and Alderson took the same milquetoast approach.

No Met approached Valdespin after his dugout temper tantrum, and only David Wright offered any verbal support. The perception is the Mets don’t have Valdespin’s back, and several nameless quotes say he is universally scorned in the clubhouse.

Collins was asked whether Valdespin is on an island and told reporters in St. Louis: “I don’t answer to fans. They don’t play this game. They have no idea what goes on. They have no idea what goes on in there.

“They have absolutely no idea what it means to be a professional teammate at this level. … I’ll tell you one thing: Jordany knew they were going to throw at him. He knew it. And you’ve got to go take your medicine. That’s part of being a big guy in this league.’’

If Valdespin knew he would get hit – and his reaction suggests he might be oblivious to the baseball code – then why would he put his player in that position?

Telling Hurdle he would handle things might have prevented the rib-banging pitch.

There are varying perceptions of the incident brought on by how Collins and Alderson handled things. Shipping Valdespin’s butt out the next day would have sent a strong message to the Pirates as well as his clubhouse his hot-dogging would not be tolerated.

The perception of that would have been clear and decisive. If nothing else, it would have shown Collins and his front office were in sync.

Instead, Collins put himself in position to handle another question of which its answer could grease the skids on his exit.

“I don’t care what the perception is,’’ Collins said. “All I know is what goes on here. I’ve been doing this for 42 years. I don’t care what anybody on the outside thinks.

“I know how to get it done in the clubhouse. I’ve been doing it a lot longer than a lot of people. He’s fine. He handled it great, I thought, the way he went about it. He went to first base. He didn’t throw his bat any place. … He did it the right way. And now it’s over. Now we move on.’’

Easier said than done, because Valdespin did not handle it the right way. No, he didn’t throw his bat or charge the mound, but he did slam his helmet, which prevents moving on.

Collins then went on to make excuses for Valdespin, saying he had a tough background. He also said Valdespin has to be careful not to alienate his teammates, which might already be the case.

One day, Collins spoke of baseball’s code and another made excuses for his polarizing player. You can’t help but wonder how Valdespin’s teammates might be annoyed by that defense.

Valdespin was not in the lineup Tuesday, and for a team struggling for offense, the perception is clear he’s on the outs. So, why is he still here?

Yes, Collins has been in the game for over 40 years, and in that time one would have thought he would have learned a few things.

One, managers are hired to be fired, so don’t align yourself with a seemingly lost cause like Valdespin, because by the time he gets it, you’ll be gone.

Secondly, this fire keeps on burning because Collins refused to put it out. He knows he could have given a neutral answer with the Cardinals media in the room, then after the session gathered the New York writers into his office for an off-the-record briefing. That way, his ripping the fans never gets out.

Finally, don’t take on the fans, as they always have the last word. That word is “boo,’’ and Collins will hear it loudly if things don’t change fast.

Thoughts from Joe D.

I get emails all day long asking me why don’t we let the story die. My answer to them is that we are not the story. The Mets are the story and we do what we’ve been doing for nine years now, which is to report and debate things as they happen.

Three months ago there were plenty here who told me that it was a non-story when I wrote that there was something amiss between Jordany Valdespin and his teammates in the clubhouse.

I picked up on that during the start of Spring Training when two players came into the clubhouse to find their lockers and said, “Thank god I’m nowhere near Valdespin’s locker.”

“Joe D. you are reading too much into things.”

I commented on the jokes that were made when Valdespin was hit right in the groin and lied on the ground in pain.

Then there was the pie.

All I did is what any rational and reasonable person who reports would do and that was to connect the dots. Rule number one if you are going to follow and report about this team? Take anything and everything you hear from management and their SNY wing with a grain of salt. They are all on the same team – Team Wilpon.

Now it’s a full blown controversy and the only story that anyone is talking about.

How can you hope it goes away when the General Manager only two days ago added more fuel to the fire by saying he wasn’t hung out to dry, and then learning that Valdespin ask out of going to the plate a second time after being plunked the first time. A fact that Collins even admitted to shortly after he ripped into the fans.

The Mets create the stories and it’s on the Mets to stop feeding us the stories, not me. I don’t have the power to keep players, coaches and management from saying things that are better left unsaid. I can fault the players for saying silly and inappropriate things, but when management does it how can you find that to be acceptable and professional behavior.

I agree with Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post regarding Collins who said:

Collins probably knew, as soon as he said this, he shouldn’t have said this. He knows the fastest way to be packing your belongings in boxes — faster than losing games in bunches — is to take on fans. Fans are undefeated. Fans are a franchise’s lifeblood. Fans …

Well, fans allow you to stay relevant, long past your expiration date. I’ve believed, and written, that Collins deserves a full and fair accounting before his time is done here. But Collins has also found trouble in Houston and Anaheim when the losing became too much for him. In both cities, he lost the players, and that’s bad enough (and judging from the listless way the Mets mailed in another game with the Cards last night, 10-4, that may be happening again).

My big concern right now is that the Mets are blind to their own problem. That means nothing is being done to keep more incidents like this one from taking place. The best way to fix a problem is to admit you have one. So far management seems to think everything is hunky-dory when it’s clearly not.

How many dog houses does Terry Collins have and why was Ruben Tejada apparently in one of them last night when the manager decided to scratch him from the starting lineup before last night’s trouncing at the hands of the Cardinals?

That factoid came from Eddie Coleman who is not known for exaggerating the truth and conjuring up false storylines. Eddie is as straight as an arrow.

Is there anyone else residing in these dog houses aside from Jordany Valdespin and Ruben Tejada and when are their parole dates?

I don’t make the stories, I just talk about them and ask the tough questions and am usually the first to do so. Ahh the benefits of having an independent Mets site.

Look, I can give you the same regurgitated stuff you can find on any other Mets blog if that’s what you want. But I try to be different. I like to play devil’s advocate. I enjoy ultra analyzing the things I hear and try to wrap it around a unique post that doesn’t always stay inside the lines.

I could just post everything Adam Rubin reports and make our jobs here easy-peasy, but what do you the reader gain out of that? Where is the uniqueness? Where are the insights? This blog is meant to be the antithesis to MetsBlog and it always has been. That’s never gonna change. We serve hard liquor here.

Mets manager Terry Collins was a guest on WFAN this afternoon and lets just say that his whole demeanor about outfielder Jordany Valdespin has done a complete 180. Collins said that Valdespin is the leading candidate to hit in the leadoff spot for the Mets on Opening Day and whenever the Mets are facing a righthanded pitcher.

“Right now, the way Valdespin has been swinging the bat in that spot, we’re leaning towards him,” Collins told Mike Francesa. “As of right now, that’s what we’re looking at.”

Valdespin has been scorching the ball and in 14 games he is hitting .341/.386/.634 with four home runs and eight RBIs. Spin has struck out just twice all spring.

“He’s really worked at the pitch selection,” Collins said. “He’s got a nice idea at the plate, he makes pitchers work. He can bunt for a hit and he can hit a homer. He’s not getting very many easy, first-pitch fastballs.”

Collins even went as far as saying that he has become a threat to take the starting left-field job from Lucas Duda if he continues to produce. Wow…

“His whole demeanor has been a great surprise,” Collins said.

“I just think that, probably, there was some place along the line — maybe at the end of last year — where I know David Wright had a conversation after the guys cut up his shirt and he got upset. I know David took him out and kind of settled him down, and maybe he’s grown up a bit, because he’s certainly been impressive down here.”

Sandy Alderson said adding a difference-maker or two would be his offseason goal for the 2013 season. While it seems he came up short in that department, maybe Omar Minaya left him one in Jordany Valdespin.

Wheeler has firmly set his sights on a spot in the Mets starting rotation.

As Zack Wheeler heads to minor league camp and begins to focus on what he needs to do to ready himself for a potential major league debut later this season with the Mets, let’s consider some of what we did get to see and hear while he was in Mets camp.

Wheeler gave a concise self-assessment of his repertoire not too long ago during an interview with WFAN’s Mike Francesa:

“I like to come at you with a fastball, not afraid to come inside. I am aggressive, I got a sharp slider, good curveball that I can strike you out with, or get over early for a strike. Changeup is a work in progress.“

Most scouts, and those who have seen him, all agree that Wheeler’s number one issue is gaining a better command of his primary pitches while continuing to develop his secondary offerings, particularly his curveball and changeup.

There’s no questioning Wheeler’s confidence and determination and in that regard, he is like fellow teammate Matt Harvey. They both seem to share that bulldog mentality.

I thought I’d ask our MMO minor league guru, Mitch Petanick, to share some thoughts on Wheeler and provide us with some additional analysis.

Thoughts From Mitch

What can be said about Wheeler that hasn’t been said before? His fastball is dynamite. His two-seamer has wicked movement which moves in on the right-handed hitters hands, and away from left-handed hitters. Wheeler states that he likes to pitch inside, and if the two seam is used effectively on the inside half to righties, opposing hitters will be going through a ton of lumber. In the video shown below it gives a great view of Wheeler’s pitches from behind the plate, and you can really see the filthy movement on all of his pitches.

Wheeler’s curveball is also very sharp and considered a biting curveball. His changeup is still a work in progress, as he states in the quote, but the changeup is not an easy pitch to master. If he’s throwing a circle change, the grip on the ball is awkward for pitchers to get used to. The thumb, which is usually there as a guide, is now on the side of the ball, instead of under it. The pitcher basically makes the O.K. sign with their fingers, and then grip the ball with the middle and ring finger placed on the two seams of the baseball. It is then thrown like a fastball, and due to the grip, the baseball does not generate as much velocity as the fastball.

The Circle Changeup Grip

The batter perceives the pitch to be a fastball because the arm speed of the pitcher does not change, but the velocity of the ball drops by about 10 mph due to the grip. The pitcher releases the ball and lets the ball come out of the hand off the middle, ring, and pinky in a fashion that the ball rotates and creates a motion, from a right-handed pitcher like Wheeler is, that will move in and down on right-handed hitters. Grip a ball making an O.K. sign with your hand and throw it as hard as you can and you will see how hard the pitch is to control and master.

Wheeler’s changeup may still need some work, but it will be effective. Anytime you throw in the upper 90s, the speed drop off from throwing a changeup will be enough to confuse hitters and keep them off-balance, as long as he can throw it for strikes. Wheeler is all but ready to embark on what hopes to be a long and exciting career in a Mets uniform. The fans are patiently awaiting his arrival.

I’m sure you’ll also remember that on October 4th, 2012, shortly after the close of the 2012 season, Sandy appeared on WFAN with Mike Francesa to say the following in regards to the team in general, more specifically to the positions of outfield and cather:

“There will be more substantial changes, than subtle changes.”

Call it naivety if your must, but for some reason I took Alderson at his word that the Mets would finally begin to move forward.  As recently as last week, I wrote that the winter meetings would be the beginning of the turnaround.  Well the winter meetings have come and gone without a single move.  In the process, the Mets have managed to insult the reigning National League Cy Young into publicly criticizing the team he has vowed his loyalties to.  All this makes me ask, what exactly is the end game here?

Certainly that end game isn’t to put forth a better product?  To date the Mets have only retained All-Star third baseman, David Wright.  Speaking of Wright, who negotiated his deal to free up an additional $8 million dollars of payroll for the team in 2013..what must he be thinking?  Having been sold on the organization’s path going forward, it now appears as if Sandy Alderson won’t even reinvest the money Wright will go without this year, nevermind elevate the payroll in general.  If I feel swindled, I’d have to imagine Wright is having trouble sleeping right now.

Alderson has done a lot of things since arriving.  First and foremost, he has deconstructed what were once the New York Mets.  Dropping a payroll that was once in excess of $140 million dollars to what stands to be less than $90 million this season, the Mets seem as far away from contending as they have in recent memory.  So what Alderson traded an injury ridden Carlos Beltran for stud prospect, Zach Wheeler.  So what he’s resigned the face of the franchise.  So what he’s shielded ownership from further scrutiny.  At some point he’ll be forced to answer for his lies too.

You see Alderson has sold a bill of goods to the Mets fan base.  The 2014 season was to be the year of the revival, but there is no plan in place to date that can see that plan to fruition.  Instead the Mets appear set to bring in bottom of the barrel free agents to once again bandage a flawed roster.  Once again, Alderson will stand in front of the microphone at Spring Training and preach about the clarity of the market and the possibility of contention should everything fall into the place.  However, for the first time, I won’t be buying what the con man is selling!

Sandy Alderson may have been brought here to see the Wilpon’s through the most difficult years of their ownership.  In fact, he may be doing just that.  But don’t lie to me.  Don’t lie to the legions of fans who expect a quality product, who expect the Mets to function like a big market franchise and those who expected a man of his word.  David Wright was quoted on WFAN yesterday as saying he didn’t remain in Queens to finish in fourth place.  Welp, I wonder how he feels about last place, because that precisely the type of team Alderson is in the process of piecing together.

Three years after his arrival, the Mets remain a mess..and worse yet there is no end in sight.  Sandy Alderson is not the answer and he’s certainly not “the adult in the room”.  Save the schtick going forward Sandy, because we’re not buying it anymore.

Follow me on Twitter at @RobPatterson83

Mike Francesa

Has anyone been listening to Mike Francesa absolutely kill the Mets on WFAN lately? Most likely many of you have, since Francesa garners a large audience, and rightfully so.

He is a knowledgeable sports personality that commands respect based on his reputation. But seriously, talk about something other than degrading the Mets.

This whole past week, Francesa has been tearing the Mets apart for their pathetic play. Yes, the Mets are pathetic right now, but why does Francesa feel the need to drive the stake deeper into Mets’ fans hearts?

I’ll admit that I do sometimes enjoy listening to Francesa. He can easily get on my nerves, but he does provide great insights into the sports world.

There are so many more important New York sports topics going on right now than the Mets. The Yankees are entrenched in an AL East pennant race, the New York Football Giants are looking to repeat a Super Bowl title and the New York Jets are an absolute circus, from the quarterback debate to Bart Scott threatening journalists.

The Mets are no longer relevant in this town, but it’s a shame that Francesa keeps on talking about how bad they are. His shows this week have been so repetitive when it comes to the Mets.

And also, have any of you been following along with Terry Collins’ weekly spot on the show? For the past four weeks, the interview by Francesca has been exactly the same. Mike asks, “Terry, have you ever seen anything like this out of a baseball club?” And Terry always responds, “No Mike, I’ve never seen an entire lineup all go cold at exactly the same time.”

OK, we get it, the Mets stink right now. But the misery is almost over. The last thing Mets fans need is for a die-hard Yankee fan to use his platform to continuously bash our team.

There’s plenty of other things to fill a 5.5-hour period. By talking about the Mets, Francesa is beating a dead horse.

It almost seems like he’s “asleep” to what else is going on in New York sports…

Howie Rose

Yesterday, WFAN’s Mike Francesa discussed how Mets broadcasters Howie Rose and Gary Cohen were “out of line” during this past weekend’s Subway Series.

Francesa said that it’s great that the Mets have fans as announcers, but that they sometimes take it too far in rooting for their team, especially against the Yankees.

Frankly, I love that Rose and Cohen are as die-hard of Mets fans as I am. Yes, I agree that there should be unbiased announcing if the opposing team wins or hits a home run. However, I love the excitement when we hear “It’s Outta Here!” from Cohen or “Put It in the Books” from Rose.

Is it so bad for a fan of the team to be an announcer?

I could see how a Yankees fan would be upset after listening to the Mets broadcast from the weekend. Rose talked about Nick Swisher’s antics after the back-to-back-to-back home runs, and Cohen was not shy about saying that Russell Martin’s first home run was a cheap Yankee Stadium homer.

Gary Cohen and Kevin Burkhardt

But here’s the thing: If Yankee fans are upset about it, go listen to John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman on 880. That’s their radio broadcast anyway. Rather than complain about the Mets broadcasters, Yankees fans should have enough to complain about with that interesting duo.

The whole point of radio is to attract an audience. Die-hard Mets fans enjoy Rose and

Cohen because they believe that the announcers are in the same boat. When a Met gets a clutch hit, it’s made that much more special when Rose or Cohen presents the call.Along the same lines, when the Mets blow a save or suffer a heartbreaking defeat—not too uncommon in our team’s history—Rose and Cohen are right their with the fanbase suffering.It’s not like they show up to work, call the game and say goodbye. These guys genuinely care about what they do, and it shows in their passion for the team.

While other teams or fanbases may have a problem with what Rose and Cohen are doing in the booth, they should simply be worried about what Mets fans think. Everyone I know loves them, and I’m sure the vast majority of Mets fans would agree.

For me, this is really wonderful because I get WFAN with the best baseball announcers team now working. (Vin Scully works solo) So for every single Mets game, I can hear Howie Rose, Wayne Hagin and Eddie Coleman and it’s bliss.

I’m sure many of you grew up with a transistor radio tucked under your pillow so you could pretend you were asleep when Mom or Dad checked after lights out as I did. I have three radios – office, living room and bedroom – so I hear it all no matter where I am in the condo. Or I can take my transistor out onto the porch and listen there.

And I listen carefully – each of these men has his own style and his own stories. They carefully describe each pitch, each play and everything else you need or want to know about the game. It never gets boring.

Howie has his signature sign off – “Put It In The Books” – and when I hear that I know it’s time for me to sign off too, but during the season there is always the next game with Howie, Wayne and Eddie to look forward to.

I think it’s baseball as it ought to be.

He did not specify where he would be going other than that he would still be covering the Mets in some form.

Today, Pich communicated with Rubin via email and was told that he will be joining ESPNNewYork.com, which will go online in about two weeks.

Over the past couple of years, Rubin has been noted for his incredible analysis of the New York Mets organization. Last year, Rubin made headlines for getting into a very public spat with General Manager Omar Minaya during a press conference.

Rubin has always been supportive of the Mets blogging community and has done interviews with Mets Merized Online on numerous occasions.

Best of luck to Adam on the next chapter of his career!

Regarding Omar Minaya and the Wilpons he said:

“Either they are a lot more ignorant than I thought, or they just don’t really care about winning. It can’t possibly be anything else. They just are plain ignorant or they just don’t give a damn.”

“If I, who am not even a baseball executive could plainly see that this offense had real problems playing in the pressure cooker of New York, what does it say about the Mets? I’ll tell you what it says, it says that they don’t care. They don’t care about their suffering fans, they don’t care about filling the stadium because they’ll have no problem doing that this season, and they sure as hell don’t care about winning.”

Omar had plenty of opportunities to upgrade this offense he went on to say, but he basically upgraded the bullpen and then sat on his hands. “Was he not watching this team last September” he said, ” basically he brought back the same exact lineup so what does that tell you about the Mets?”

He then spent the next 30 minutes taking calls from bent out of shape Mets fans, but in his usual classless style, he never let them get their points in, spoke over them, or just disconnected them.

Outrageous.

I don’t mind picking on the Mets or criticizing them which is something I and most bloggers do often, but it just ticks me off hearing it from a Yankee fan.

However, I would never say that Omar or the Mets are ignorant or that they don’t care. That’s hitting below the belt, especially when he doesn’t have the guts to say it to their faces when they were all guests of his show during the home opener.