Monday’s firing of Mets hitting coach Dave Hudgens clearly placed manager Terry Collins on the hot seat despite assurances from Sandy Alderson that he was safe.
“I think this is in response to a specific situation,” Alderson said when asked about Collins. “Nothing else should be read into it by any means.”
Additionally, multiple sources within the organization told Newsday that Collins is not in immediate danger, but there’s an expiration date that might cause patience to wear thin. Collins bristled when asked if he might be next.
“Well, everybody could be next,” he said. “When you’re evaluated, you know where it starts? In the mirror. You know what kind of job you do; you know how you go about your job, and at the end of the day, if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. Don’t think for one second there’s not a guy in there that doesn’t realize this is part of it.”
“We just released one of the best professionals I’ve ever been around in my life in Jose Valverde. Shit happens. You deal with it, and if you can’t, you don’t belong in the game.”
Prior to the season, odds maker Bovada ranked Collins third on their list of managers most likely to get fired, and they did so knowing full well he had yet to begin the new two year extension he signed last Fall.
Alderson is smart enough to understand that firing Hudgens didn’t make his offense better overnight and that the only thing that could change that dynamic is better players and a roster that wasn’t ill-conceived from the very start.
Things will not suddenly click for the Mets offense. The team is not going to transform itself from a team that struggles to average three runs per game to one that will average five or more runs per game. There is no magic pill.
As one beat writer mentioned, the big leagues are not for teaching, and essentially that’s what the Mets are trying to do.
“Players play and most of them have become who they will ultimately be, by the time they arrive.”
That spells doomsday for Terry Collins, who like Sandy Alderson, believes that with a wave of the wand (or a bat) that they can turn lead into gold.
Sorry guys…
You want to win? Then spend more money and sign better quality players.
