WASHINGTON, DC – The Mets were trying to break a 6 game losing streak and Terry Collins saw the game slipping away. Most managers would have left their closer in the game because the experts would grill them if the decision cost the team the win. But the Met manager is not programmed that way and could care less how much criticism comes his way. He knows sometimes you have to trust your gut no matter what the media or the fans might think. And that is why he is the perfect manager for this team.
I have listened and read the criticism of Terry in the past few weeks and it made my stomach turn because this guy ALWAYS gets this team to respond in their darkest hours. He knew that this game was key to his team turning things around and he could have left Jeurys Familia in the game and laid all the blame on his shoulders but instead he knew Edgin was the right pitcher to face Bryce Harper on this night and he never hesitated to make the move.
After the game, Terry Collins was quick to point out that he knows Familia will get better but he had to make this move to insure the win in a game his team needed badly. There are only a handful of managers in the game today that would have taken that route because we’ve become so used to define a particular way a bullpen HAS to be used. Getting the know Terry over the past 7 years I can assure you he could care less what others think and it is a refreshing change from the way managers base EVERY decision they make on a formula that shields them from criticism and puts it all on their players.
I can’t say I agree with EVERY SINGLE move Terry Collins makes within a game but to me that matters little. This is a man who has dragged this team through tough times whether it be the near Wilmer Flores trade or the death sentence the media put on his team last year when he was besieged with injuries. As injuries struck this year, I knew Terry would get slammed in the twitter world. That train is never late.
But those critics need to understand a simple truth—this man has created an atmosphere where all of his players would go through a wall for him—even those that are removed from a game. That simply does not happen in every clubhouse and it gets you through the tough times. Like what the Mets have gone through in the last 2 weeks. And if this team turns it around, we should all remember this night at Nationals Park because it defined what this team is all about. Things go wrong but they keep bouncing back. And Terry Collins is a huge reason why that mindset exists with the New York Mets.