Fansided

5 Postseason keys for the New York Mets

By Jason Evans

Sep 26, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; The New York Mets celebrate in the clubhouse after clinching the National League East Championship at Great American Ball Park. The Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-2. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; The New York Mets celebrate in the clubhouse after clinching the National League East Championship at Great American Ball Park. The Mets beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-2. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /
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Sep 25, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; New York Mets manager Terry Collins waits at the beginning of a game with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 25, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; New York Mets manager Terry Collins waits at the beginning of a game with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /

The Manager

Back in 1996, there was another New York team that hadn’t made the postseason in a while. It had some young cornerstones, some veteran platoons and a skipper who was a baseball lifer who had never been in the playoffs before.  No, I’m not crazy enough to compare player by player the 1996 Yankees and the 2015 Mets. But there is one thing they do have in common is the manager who hasn’t been in the playoffs.

Joe Torre was called “Clueless Joe”, when he got hired. Terry Collins wasn’t exactly Mets fans first choice either when he took over.

Collins has been through a lot with the Mets and he’s tried and gotten the most he could out of teams that were bereft of talent. Jason Bay and Andres Torres were starting outfielders at one point. Not exactly Yoenis Cespedes and Curtis Granderson.

Collins stuck with it, had the team hustling every step of the way, waiting for the young pitchers and Sandy Alderson to pull the trigger on some functional bats (sorry John Mayberry Jr.)

The key to a big playoff run is can Collins pull the trigger on the right move. Pinch-hit for that struggling starter in the fourth down two with second and third and one out or ride it out? If a player struggles in game one do you make the switch in game two? Those are the things that Collins will have to wrestle with and test him during this playoff run. If he presses the right buttons, it may be a long ride in Queens.

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