The lineup mystery has been solved. Terry Collins spoke with reporters today and said the lineup is created by him and his coaching staff, as well as the front office. “It’s a collaboration.”
Collins said he has the final decision as to who starts, where they bat, and which players get benched.
Additionally, he credited bench coach Bob Geren with formulating this current version of the lineup back in February.
Sandy Alderson provided some more clarity on it.
“When we put the roster together, the front office makes that final decision with input from the manager and the coaches,” Alderson explained.
“When it comes to the lineup, yeah, the front office has input from time to time, but it’s up to the manager. It’s no different than infield defensive positioning or anything else. Our job is to provide information. The manager and the coaches decide.”
April 7
Last month, John Harper of the Daily News, reported that there were visible signs of mounting friction in Port St. Lucie between GM Sandy Alderson and his manager Terry Collins.
Some level of tension between the GM and manager has always been inevitable, Harper wrote, “but things seem to be escalating.”
“With Collins’ job very much on the line this season, there are subtle signs that this relationship could get testy, especially if the Mets start slowly.”
In the new biography about Sandy Alderson, the author documents an incident last August when Sandy Alderson told him that Terry Collins had only a “51 percent chance of returning for 2015″, and that “even that percentage has been eroding.”
On Monday, Richard Justice of MLB.com spoke with a front office executive at Nationals Park who floated the idea of batting your team’s best hitter second in the order, and of course the Mets had David Wright batting second yesterday.
Additionally, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, wrote that despite the front office having “heavy involvement” in the lineup configuration on Monday, it was Terry Collins who was left to explain it to reporters.
Finally, Ed Coleman of WFAN, said that he heard that Monday’s lineup “was taken out of the manager’s hand.”
If this is true, it really reduces Collins to nothing more than a front person like The Michelin Man or Flo from Progressive Insurance.
He may have some influence, but like his hold on the team, even that now seems to be eroding. I still think he’s a poor manager, but these emerging reports make me feel sorry for him. I’m pretty sure most managers in the majors wouldn’t stand for something like this.
If these reports are accurate, and who really knows, what’s to be gained by leaking this stuff on a day where most Mets fans are feeling good about the team? I don’t get it.
