It’s been obvious for most of this season that Terry Collins wouldn’t be fired before the end 2014. By most accounts he was handed a deck that was only half full and deserved a chance with this team at full strength; or whatever Sandy Alderson’s version of full strength is. Fans that don’t believe in Collins point to his in-game management as a sign of weakness. Every week he makes a few moves that make you scratch your head. Alderson seems content with bringing Collins back, a sentiment he shared last week with Andy Martino:
“His status still hasn’t been announced…I think he’s done a good job. Throughout the season, we’ve had some issues that we’ve had to deal with. He has handled them very well. We have seen the growth of our young players, especially in the pitching area. And we have played well the last — really, if we go back to even before the All-Star break. So he has done an excellent job” (NYDN).
The Mets have gone 12-7 to open up September and if they are able to win at least 4 of their last 6, it will be the most wins by the team in any single month this season. It’s not only that the team is playing to their strengths in the rotation, they are also hitting the ball. They scored 19 runs in the series sweep against the Braves and 9 in the previous series to the Marlins. While 9 doesn’t seem particularly high, consider the amount of series this year in which the Mets scored 2 to 4 runs. Things have gotten better this September.
You could say that Collins is fighting for his job, pushing the team a little bit harder these last few weeks. Like it or not, the team is playing better for him down the stretch.
So I ask you, does the way the team has played in September change your feelings on Collins moving into 2015?
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