There’s life in Queens. And at least there’s energy.
A day after the Mets endured the “Wrath of Terry,” as the Mets beleaguered manager lashed into his team, the Mets showed some moxie – even in defeat to the Padres – not giving up in the 8-6 loss.
“The hole was too deep, but I was very impressed,” Terry Collins said. “There were some very, very good at bats. The energy was good today. In the game we were two swings from getting a couple of runs.”
Unfortunately, starter Logan Verrett didn’t get the memo.
The Mets now erstwhile No. 5 starter gave up eight runs in 2.2 innings, including two homers and six RBI to second baseman Ryan Schimpf.
That eight-spot was just too much to overcome.
Even though, the Mets are now under .500, the club is in better shape today than they looked yesterday. If they didn’t respond, it would have been a referendum on Collins and his ability to still helm this ship.
But this isn’t a one-day trial for the manager. Win or lose, the Mets are still in dire straits. The Amazin’s are slip sliding away and now 0-4 on this homestand against NL West also-rans.
What happens if there’s no energy tomorrow? What happens if they win a few games, but then continue this same pattern of bad baseball?
There has to be a point where Sandy Alderson will do something. He’s a patient man, but there has to be a breaking point.
Frankly, the only thing saving this team right now is the inability of the competition to put something together for the second Wild Card. Remember, if this was a few years ago, the Mets would be out of it right now.
They still have a pulse.
But Mets’ Nation is getting very impatient. They see how this club is reacting to Collins and invested a tremendous amount of energy putting their faith back in Queens.
So anything but a 100 percent effort every single night is just not enough.
Yes help is on the way. Jose Reyes will probably be back as early as Sunday. Jon Niese will become the No. 5 starter, as Verrett has lost his job and Yoenis Cespedes and Asdrubal Cabrera are not far behind.
Oh, how about the best news. Ace Jacob deGrom is on the mound tomorrow.
But Zack Wheeler had another setback today and is visiting Dr. James Andrews, which means he may have to have another Tommy John surgery and lost until 2018. It’s creating a hole in the rotation that needs something.
Right now, Collins seems to be the James Bond of baseball managers. He gets to live to die another day. Yet, the golden gun that he had last year is lost.
These are tough times in Queens. With 47 games left, it’s getting early very fast. Outside of signing Alex Rodriguez, there aren’t many tricks left up Alderson’s sleeve.
Today, there at least was a pulse, but that wasn’t good enough.
Maybe tomorrow will bring better news.
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