“This collapse has been epic in that the Mets have set records for futility at home not even the ’62 team can match.”
FLUSHING, NY – There is no smoke at CitiField which means there is no fire. Sometimes that can be seen as a good thing but since the beginning of July it has been an awful thing. The Mets certainly were overachieving at 46 – 40 at the All-Star break. Terry Collins was being hailed as manager of the year. Since the break they are 19-39 with four wins at CitiField. The Nationals (6) and Braves (5) have more wins than the Mets at Citi over that time.
The Matts have been begging me to take to Twitter and I’ve been slow to adapt. I find the only time I have something to say through that medium is after a Met game has ended and Terry Collins is given yet another free pass by the media. I decided that I would use this forum to show my displeasure.
This collapse has been epic in that the Mets have set records for futility at home not even the ’62 team can match. They are on a streak of 14 straight games without scoring more than 3 runs at home. But don’t worry tickets are half price with a can of Pepsi for tonight’s game.
The 1962 Mets won 11 home games after the All-Star break. This Mets team has won FOUR home games since the break. They would have to go 7 – 2 at home the rest of the way to even equal the 1962 team. For the record, the ’62 Mets won a total of 40 games and are the low bar measuring stick by which all others are judged. A baseball team measured against the ’62 Mets is like a comedian being compared to Margaret Cho.
The team from top to bottom isn’t concerned about this awful stretch in the least. The players don’t care because they have been given a free pass by the manager. The manager doesn’t care because he has been given a free pass by the GM. The GM doesn’t care because he was hired by MLB to straighten this mess out and the ownership doesn’t care because it is still in business thanks to MLB. I only care because I bet $900 on over 72 1/2 wins for the year.
Terry Collins was sold to the fan base as a fiery manager. Really? I haven’t seen it yet. Mr. Rogers showed more fire in his neighborhood than Collins has at Citi Field. The Astros hired Collins to replace Art Howe. Maybe that is where he got is reputation as being fiery. Compared to Art Howe even Jeff Spicoli would have been seen as a fiery manager had he replaced him.
Of course, Collins has been a good soldier not saying anything bad about management or ownership. He has been given a ton of awful players, including multiple clunkers brought in by Alderson (Torres, Ramirez, Francisco, etc). That being said, where is the accountability for being WORSE than the 1962 Mets? Terry is now taking the stance that the team set the bar too high by playing over .500 ball through July 20th. The sad part is the media and ownership are letting him get away with it. In other words Met fans: just be thankful we weren’t 20 games under .500 in the first half too.
The SNY-run press conferences would be comical if they weren’t portrayed as gospel by those reporters who attend and participate in them. Kevin Burkhardt has become the biggest company shill EVER. Bigger than John Sterling because he pretends to be a reporter at these press conferences. Baghdad Bob asked more hard hitting questions of Saddam Hussein then Burkhardt does of Collins.
Stop coddling these players. Coddling equals enabling. David Wright will never learn to hit a curve ball because nobody gets in his face to tell him he sucks because he can’t hit one. Ike Davis needs to be told current .225 MLB hitters are future BLT dishwashers.
Met fans don’t always expect a winner every year because the ownership is inept. What we do expect is accountability and pride. Neither of those are on display at CitiField these days. The players have zero pride, partly because there is no accountability required of them by the manager. The latest is that the Mets are about to give Collins a one year extension through 2014. After all these years, this organization is still in denial. Nothing short of a change of ownership can help after all.
Here are my Tweets from @Grote2DMax last night if anyone cares:
– @KBurkhardtSNY With 4 wins in last 27 home games don’t you think #Mets offer of kids get in free in September is tantamount to child abuse?
– @KBurkhardtSNY Baghdad Bob asked tougher questions than you. If Terry Collins is a fiery manager then Mr. Rogers was a rowdy neighbor.
– #Mets Amazin’ lineup: Mets 6, 7, 8 hitters batting a whopping .551 (Bay .156 + Torres .222 + Nickeas .173).
Stay tuned tomorrow for a real Tweet, Angry Ward.
