How Secure Is Terry Collins Job?

Terry Collins was introduced as the new Manager of the New York Mets on November 23, 2010. He signed a two year deal, with a third year option. At the end of the 2011 season, that option was picked up for the 2013 season. With the recent “collapse” of the 2012 team, how secure do you think Terry really is?

Most of us fans would agree that he has done an outstanding job with this team over the past few seasons. The graphic shown the other night on SNY stated that we had not been 10 games under .500 since 2009. This was surprising statistic to me. We have not been a greatest team over the past few seasons, but with Collins at the helm, he has kept us near the .500 mark each year.

We just got swept by the Rockies in a four game series at home. Are you kidding me? The Mets have fallen 11 games under, and are just 11-28 since the all-star break. Whose fault is it? The players? The coaches? The upper management?

It’s clear that it’s not Terry’s fault. It’s the poor performance of certain individuals and the usual rash of injuries that undoubtedly plague us each year. It’s Sandy’s fault for not providing Terry with solid options at each position. The Mets lack quality backups, and Alderson need to do a better job hitting on his low cost-high rewards acquisitions.  It’s the ownership’s fault for continuing to tie Sandy’s hands, which makes it difficult for him to do his job properly.

What happens if the team continues to tank? We know we are out of it, and have a ton of areas we need to address. Terry makes it clear in his post game interviews that he will not tolerate his players giving up, or not playing at 100%. This shows that he values his players efforts, even if they fail, as long as they are playing hard. He does not tolerate his players giving maximum effort.

If the team starts to level off, we may not see any major changes. But if the team continues to bottom out and things get progressively worse, we may start to hear Terry’s name on the hot seat.

MMO writer Mitch Petanick pointed out the other day that pitching coach Dan Warthen may be sitting on the hot seat right now. He is probably right, and Dan deserves a lot of blame because it is his job to get the most out of his pitchers, which is something he has failed to do. It’s not entirely his fault, but someone has to take the fall, and usually it’s the pitching and hitting coaches that get the axe first.

Right now I see Terry as a safe bet to return in 2013. This is always subject to change if he loses the team over the next month.

I believe in Terry Collins. Mets fans should believe in Terry Collins.

Why?

We all know that he has done the best he could with the hand he was dealt, but sometimes that is not enough. It’s unlikely the “cash strapped” Wilpon’s will eat his 2013 salary, but stranger things have happened.