New York Mets manager Terry Collins very confident headed into 2015
By Will Osgood
New York Mets manager Terry Collins is very confident his team can earn first postseason berth since 2006.
The New York Mets were 79-83 in 2014. Apparently, no one remembered to tell their manager Terry Collins of that little fact. Or if they remembered, he has no idea what to do with it. It’s seemingly useless information.
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Confidence comes from opening the spring feeling good with the pieces in place. It’s typical of any and every team. Collins, though, sounds more like he’s living in the middle of a pipe dream.
When asked by ESPN’s Adam Rubin if he thought his Mets team are a playoff team, he quickly exclaimed, “Absolutely, we’ve got to go play. But when you look at the back of the baseball cards on the 25 guys or 27 guys we think we have legitimate chances, they’re pretty impressive.”
Collins emphasized the additions of Michael Cuddyer, who will likely start at one of the outfield spots, and John Mayberry on the bench as proof that the Mets can compete in the NL East for a playoff spot.
Collins would be well advised to take into consideration the recent history of this franchise. It has not been to the playoffs since the Mets lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2006 NL Championship Series.
Eight long years it has been for the Mets since a playoff berth. Do these Mets really have what it takes to do what the last eight teams could not?
Collins rightly praised his pitching staff saying, “We have very, very good pitching. So we should match up against a lot of teams.”
That pitching includes phenom Matt Harvey, who missed all of 2014 recovering from Tommy John surgery, at some point in 2015. It also includes youngsters Zack Wheeler and Jacob deGrom, who had a 3.54 and 2.69 ERA respectively in 2014.
It also includes Noah Syndergaard, a bulky 21-year-old highly rated prospect, rated 11th in all of baseball headed into last season. In fairness, the Mets also have a solid bullpen.
And they possess a group of talented hitters and position players. But playing half their games in spacious Citi Field, the Mets were outscored by all but one American League team in 2014 and only outscored six of the 14 other National League squads.
In other words, they have their work cut out for them if they are going to improve significantly in 2015. With the divisional rival Washington Nationals adding Max Scherzer to their NL best pitching staff it is unlikely the Mets will even have the best pitching staff in their own division.
And Washington is far superior offensively at this point. It will be an uphill battle, but Collins truly believes, “It’s all about execution.”
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