Sandy Alderson acknowledged the Daily news report regarding the relationship between Jon Niese and Terry Collins, but said it would have no bearing on which pitcher the Mets will trade this offseason.
“It would have no impact whatsoever,” Alderson said Thursday morning, as the GM meetings concluded.
“I don’t know to what extent that incident was different than maybe a handful of others that have happened from time to time,” Alderson said. “You know, Jon isn’t always happy when he comes off the mound. I don’t know if I’m aware of that particular incident. You know, Jonathon is a competitive guy. He’s an emotional guy. And those things happen.”
“To me, it’s not so much a line between fired up and inappropriate. It’s more about how that moment affects the relationship going forward, whether there’s lingering anger by one party or the other. And I just don’t see that happening. That’s not Terry and that’s not Jonathon.”
8:00 AM – Original Report
In an exclusive report for the Daily News, columnist John Harper expands on what precipitated the heated exchange between Terry Collins and Jon Niese in his final abbreviated start of the season.
According to multiple sources, Niese may have crossed the line. In the third inning of that Friday night home game against the Astros, after Ruben Tejada had drawn a walk, Collins signaled for his pitcher to bunt. With the corner infielders charging, however, Niese decided to swing away and flied out, thereby angering his manager.
According to players and coaches who were there, Collins jumped Niese as he came back to the dugout:
“What the f— was that?’’ the manager demanded.
“They were coming down my throat so I tried to slash,” Niese said.
“Next time get the bunt down like we told you,” Collins continued.
“F— you,” Niese said to Collins. “Take me out if you don’t like it.”
The exchange was obviously heated, and while Collins on Wednesday didn’t acknowledge that Niese challenged him in quite that manner, he did admit that in his younger days as a manager, “Somebody would have had to get in the middle to break it up.”
Instead Collins said he sent Niese on his way by barking at him, “Just play the game right.”
Harper contends that this was why Niese was lifted so early but also points out that Niese is high-strung and often would bark at being removed from a game.
“I know Jon like the back of my hand,” Terry Collins said Wednesday. “He’s so wired during a game, when you say something to him in a situation like that he snaps.
A Mets executive told Harper: “That comes with the territory. When you’re talking about heat-of-the-battle stuff, it’s the manager’s job to handle it.”
I believe that Collins may have handled this differently if he wasn’t feeling so empowered having already found out he’d be returning in 2015. If Collins removed Niese in the middle of pitching a gem as a way of getting back at him, shame on him. Niese was pitching a 3-hit shutout, had not walked anyone, and had thrown just 60 pitches.
That said, Niese could be on his way out as Sandy seeks to acquire a shortstop or left-handed reliever, but his value is at a low point. Niese has had various arm problems in the last couple of years, and Harper points out that his ERA was a run higher in the second half of the season.
“The problem for the Mets is that other teams seem to think Niese’s value has slipped. And while he would have value in a trade package that included Zack Wheeler or Noah Syndergaard, he can’t be the headliner in a deal for Starlin Castro or Alexei Ramirez.”
I don’t think the Mets will risk having some bad blood between Collins and Niese taint the start of spring training. And while I always felt he could be dealt this offseason, this incident may hasten that. While I don’t care for how Collins handled the situation, Niese disobeyed a direct order to bunt. You can’t have that on a team.
