Terry Collins is stark raving mad.
After the Mets’ 9-0 loss today to complete the Diamondback’s sweep at Citi Field, where the only thing that went right for the Amazin’s was the National Anthem, the beleaguered manager went off on the proverbial “Dennis Miller” rant to the media.
Fielding only one question, Collins tore into his team with this lackluster play.
“I know one thing; there has to be passion to come and play, there better not be a sense of ‘this is what I do for a living.’ People who pay to see me play are going to see (our) best effort,” Collins said. “Now we’re going to get our ass beat again. Don’t ever mistake that, because that’s part of the game here. You are going to get beat and you are going to get beat bad sometimes. But you need to pick yourself up and move on.”
We won’t bother you with the unabridged version, but you can surely find it online under #FireTerry.
That being said, there is always a turning point for a manager, where they have lost the clubhouse or locker room, and this is possibly Collins’s Waterloo. The players see this and they know when the manager has faith in them.
During my tenure, I’ve seen two Met managers and two Rangers coaches fired. With Willie Randolph it was his racist accusations of the Wilpons. Tom Renney had his bag skate and John Tortorella lost it when Henrik Lundqvist questioned his future on Broadway.
All of them were gone within weeks. Jerry Manuel managed the team longer, but the Mets were planning wholesale changes with then general manager Omar Minaya also going out the door.
It will be interesting to see how the Mets react this weekend. If they play with passion against the Padres, then this moved worked, but a manager really only can do an epic rant like this once. If this truly came from the heart – and knowing Collins it did – it’s up to the players to respond.
However, there’s a good chance that this has fallen on deaf ears and the Mets just continue along on their merry way of malaise.
Look, they can still win this. The division is out of the question with the Mets now 10.5 games back, but the Wild Card is still in play with a 3.5 deficit. It’s there for the taking, especially with the weak schedule in September.
Maybe the club is waiting to get back Azdrubal Cabrera, Yoesnis Cespedes, Jose Reyes and even Zack Wheeler. But it’s up to Collins to motivate the team right now.
And after today, Collins is now officially on the clock. If the Mets don’t respond, it means he lost the clubhouse and it’s time for a new voice to get this club, with so many expectations, to salvage what has been a brutal 2016.
Because right now, Collins isn’t the only one who is stark raving mad.
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