It has been an interesting year for this Mets team. Decimated by injuries, the team has stayed afloat. Manager, Terry Collins had been under severe scrutiny at various points of the season, he though weathered the storm. His team is now in sole possession of the second Wild Card spot and only a half game back of the top one.
“I don’t care who is not here. There are no excuses here. They are major league baseball players,” said Collins. “I don’t care where they came from. I don’t care how they got here. The names on their back and on the front of their uniforms say they are a major league baseball player.”
“It starts with them. When you come and when you owe what you do, you have a responsibility to the fans, our fan base, the organization and to yourself — the respect for this game to come out and grind it out.” (ESPN)
The manager stated this when it seemed his team had hit rock bottom after a 9-0 drubbing at home at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team dropped to .500 on this date, August 11. Things looked bleak, a disappointing season with no playoffs seeming to be in sight. To everyone’s surprise though, this team responded. They rose from the dead, pieced together with Frankenstein type parts, they persevered.
Collins helped to rise a 57-57 team from the ashes and have them currently sitting at 74-66. It would have been easy for the manager’s team to pack it in and go through the motions in what seemed like a lost season. His players though love him and go out there and fight for him each and every day. His team believes in him and never gave up on him.
Regardless of the loss of 3/5 of the starting rotation that was supposed to be the best in baseball, here they are, in contention. Losses of David Wright, Matt Harvey, Lucas Duda, Neil Walker, Zack Wheeler and more has not kept this team down. Collins has kept this group together, building a winning chemistry in what seemed an impossible situation.
Collins’ Mets are currently riding a five game winning streak and have won their last five series’ in a row. These Mets are 14-4 in their last 18 games. An offense that has been led by Yoenis Cespedes, Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera has caused havoc for opposing pitchers. While on the pitching side, Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo have complimented Noah Syndergaard and Bartolo Colon to lead a formidable pitching staff. Everything has slowly fallen back into place for this Collins led team.
It is hard not to pass some credit to a manager who has overcome the amount of issues he has had to deal with this season. He has his faults, all managers do, but he has still done a good job in keeping this team focused and getting them back in the postseason race. He has helped to bring meaningful games in September to this franchise two years in a row. If things continue the way they are, he may be able to do that for the month of October as well.
