In an exclusive interview with Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, manager Terry Collins explained what his message to the players will be when they begin arriving to Port St. Lucie for the start of Spring Training.
“I told the players that last day, ‘You knew what it took to get here, now what are we going to do better, so we can finish it off,’ ” he said. “And that is going to be the message in spring training: ‘Yes, we all worked very hard, but guess what? We have to work this much harder. Push the envelope a little farther. Because we have to get over the hump and we have the team to do it.’ ”
Collins understands some of the things the Mets need to get better at – namely fundamentals.
“You create your own expectations. How are we going to go about doing that? I’ll tell you exactly how: We’re not changing it up much, but we’ve got to run the bases this much better, we have to strike out this much less, play a little more defense in the World Series.
Last Spring it was all about playing winning baseball and getting to the postseason, however this year the expectations are infinitely higher – World Series or bust.
“That’s going to be the goal and will be the goal starting on Day One,’’ Collins said. “I tell everybody these pitchers are good and they are now a year older, a year wiser. Go a little farther. It’s exciting. I’m excited.”
Collins told Kernan he wants the Mets to be “relentless in their approach,” like the Royals. This is exactly the aggressive approach and demeanor I was hoping for from Collins, and my hope is that the tone and message resonates in camp with all the players.
There can be no complacency and the team needs to be in attack mode from the word go – no letting up, no easing up on the throttle, just full bore eye on the prize baseball from beginning to end.
The owners and front office have put all the pieces in place this offseason to get the job done, and coupled with a rotation that is built to dominate and endure, nothing less than a World Championship will suffice in 2016… And that’s exactly what I see this team accomplishing in what’s bound to be a memorable Mets season – one for the ages. LGM
