Collins Apologizes After Implying Team Quit

After last night's bludgeoning, Terry Collins essentially called out his team by implying that they had quit.

Today, Collins decided to apologize for his comments. Apparently they're not quitters. They're all winners...

According to ESPN New York, Collins said:

"I don't want to ever challenge anybody's integrity," the manager said with a day to reflect. "That's wrong. My players are professionals. They didn't get here without being guys that played their hearts out all the time. Sometimes you say, 'What can I say that maybe will make them mad enough to say, 'You know, I'll show that little [jerk].'' That was maybe the way I tried to approach it last night. And I don't ever do that. So it might have been the wrong way..."

Collins tried to light a fire under this team and it turns out, he hurt some feelings in the clubhouse.

"Didn't sit well in that clubhouse." You know what doesn't sit well? Watching this poor excuse of a team go out day after day and find new, embarrassing ways to lose.

I watched the post-game last night and with the exception of Jeremy Hefner ( He appeared to be on the verge of tears), there wasn't a single interview that I watched and then thought to myself, "Wow, they really do care. They are just struggling terribly."

Ike Davis sounded as if he had better things to do than talk to the media (clubbin'?), and David Wright looked like the media was keeping him from getting to whatever he had planned for after the game.

Let's see...the media has just informed you that your manager basically called you quitters and you stand there and continue to look as disinterested as possible. Awesome.

At this point, Collins' future with the team is looking shakier than ever. But let's be honest, after last night, he's probably praying he gets fired. 

ICYMI: The Week In Review

It's almost Harvey-Time. With Dillon Gee undergoing what could be season ending surgery, all eyes will be on Matt Harvey Monday night as he auditions for a spot in the rotation. A number of Mets executives will be on hand for his start Monday, which can be seen on SNY.

According to Terry Collins, with Gee out for the foreseeable future, his choice of replacement has been narrowed down to Harvey and Miguel Batista. 

The Mets called up left-handed reliever Josh Edgin from Buffalo. Don't let his line fool you. Despite posting a 7.71 ERA in 2.1 innings of work, he has been impressive, striking out six batters, five of which were lefties.

R.A. Dickey may find himself working a little more as the season goes on. Terry Collins has suggested that after August 1, if the Mets are still in the race, Dickey could begin pitching on short rest.

Speaking of Dickey, the knuckleballer made his first-ever All-Star appearance this week. He allowed a leadoff single to the Angels' Mike Trout, but went on to pitch a scoreless sixth inning.

Of course, this year's All-Star Game was not without its controversy. National League manager Tony LaRussa chose to start San Francisco's Matt Cain over Dickey because starting catcher, Buster Posey, couldn't catch a knuckleball.

David Wright made his sixth All-Star Game appearance. He went 0-2.

Terry Collins, who was selected by Tony LasRussa to join the National League coaching staff for this year's game, coached first base and made a pitching change late in the game.

The Mets and Yankees will play fewer games against each other starting next season. Instead of the usual six games, the two will play just three or four games.

Chris Schwinden is back with the Mets. After the Mets dumped him earlier in the season, he has since played with the Blue Jays, Indians, and Yankees. He is now back with Buffalo as a non-40 man roster player.

On the injury front...

Dillon Gee underwent surgery on Friday to replace part of a damaged artery in his right shoulder. Gee was hospitalized earlier in the week with a blood clot. Doctors used a catheter to break up the clot. He could begin throwing in about eight weeks, but all signs indicate that Gee is done for the season.

Frank Francisco was shut down this week after he continued to feel discomfort in his oblique.

Jason Bay has moved his rehab assignment to Triple-A Buffalo. He went 1-4 with a walk and two strikeouts for Buffalo. He did not play in the outfield. He could return to the Mets on Tuesday.

Mike Baxter is scheduled to begin his rehab assignment in St. Lucie today.

Lucas Duda will sit out of today's game with a strained left hamstring. It had been bothering him for over a week, but the All-Star break did not help him any.

ICYMI: The Week In Review

After getting swept by the Yankees last weekend in the Bronx, the Mets moved on to St. Petersburg where they swept the Rays in a three-game series.

Chris Young recorded his first win with the Mets since his return. His last win as a Met? April 5, 2011.

Terry Collins and pitching coach Dan Warthen mixed things up in the bullpen earlier in the week. With the exception of Frank Francisco as closer and Tim Byrdak as the lefty specialist, all other bullpen roles have been done away with. Essentially, if you want to be the eighth inning setup man, you're going to have to earn it.  

R.A. Dickey threw a one-hitter on Wednesday night. The Mets appealed to have that one-hitter changed to a no-hitter, arguing that David Wright should have been charged with an error after attempting to field a hit by B.J. Upton. They lost the appeal.

National League All-Star manager Tony LaRussa selected Terry Collins to join his staff for this year's All-Star game.

Ike Davis is starting to heat up at the plate. He has a seven game hitting streak and his average is now up to .192.

The Mets have signed 15 of this year's draft picks. For the complete list, visit ESPN.

On the injury front...

Jayson Bay was placed on the 7-Day disabled list with a concussion after crashing into the left field wall Friday night.

Justin Turner was activated from the disabled list following Bay's injury.

Ronny Cedeno, who has been on the disabled list since May 27 with a calf strain, is expected to return some time this week. In Triple-A Buffalo Saturday, Cedeno played all nine innings at shortstop and went 0-3.

The Mets are hopeful that Ruben Tejada will begin a rehab assignment on Monday. According to Terry Collins, Tejada ran in a straight line on Friday.

Bullpen Leaves A Lot To Be Desired

Frank Francisco is awful. Manny Acosta is even worse.

Francisco can blame the umpire all he wants, but at the end of the day, he blew it. He blew Sunday's game against the Marlins, as well as Friday's game, and blew the Mets' chance to sweep Miami.

The ump didn't give up a triple to Emilio Bonifacio and a single to Greg Dobbs.

When Francisco argued with the home plate umpire, and eventually got himself ejected, SNY announcer Gary Cohen wondered if Francisco would land himself a suspension.

I doubt it, but may I suggest a 128 game suspension?

I have zero confidence in Francisco when he enters a game. I haven't felt this way since the days of Armando Benitez.

The fact that Terry Collins told reporters after Sunday's game that he would address the closer situation on Monday suggests to me that he is about done with Francisco's nonsense.

As for Acosta, I don't even know where to start. Someone explain to me why he is even on this team. I can't figure it out.

Give this team their props. They fight back day after day and put themselves in positions to win. What's the point of all that though if you go to the bullpen and they ruin it?

At this point, I'm not sure who would be the ideal choice to take over as closer. We may be seeing a closer by committee situation taking place soon.

Interview With Tim Byrdak

Tim Byrdak 

Here is part of our conversation with reliever Tim Byrdak from the Blogger Event.


Talk about this team from last year to this year. Is there a different atmosphere?

Terry's done a great job, last year, even this year. I think the biggest thing about this year, with this team, is Johan Santana. He sets our rotation up where everyone kind of falls into place. You can use R.A. as your number two and Niese, it sets everybody up in a rotation so nicely. Without him last year, we had a couple of injuries, trying to keep guys in the rotation and fill spots. It's a little tough, but the atmosphere he brings around the clubhouse keeps things loose and we go from there.

Losing Pelfrey and having Jason Bay out to the 15-Day disabled list, does somebody say just pick up the slack and go from there?  

There's nothing you can do during the course of the year. Guys are going to go down. It's a shame that it happened so quickly, and again, two or three guys sitting out at the same time, but again it's going to give the young kids an opportunity to come up here and compete, and show them what they can do. I think you've seen in in Nieuwenhuis. The role that he's played out there and stuff like that. It's make or break. Can you play up here or not? He's showing right now that he deserves to stay.

Blogger Day At Citi

The Mets were nice enough to invite me, along with my fellow bloggers, to Wednesday night's game.

We were allowed to go to Terry Collins' pre-game press conference, watch batting practice, talk to some players, view the game from the press box, and then attend Collins' post-game press conference.

 It was a very cool experience. Below are some photos.

 

What To Change About Ike Davis? Maybe His Attitude

During the seventh inning of Tuesday night's game against the Marlins, Terry Collins made a noticeable swap. When Ozzie Guillen brought in a lefty, rather than sticking with the left-handed hitting Davis, Collins decided to sit him down, opting to go with Justin Turner instead.

Personally, I liked this move. Davis, while a fan favorite, needs to understand that if he can't get the job done, he's going to be replaced by someone else who will.

He's a mess at the moment, looking lost and frustrated at the plate.

So what can be done?

Well, first thing's first. He can quit complaining to the umpire after every call that doesn't go his way. He's not doing himself any favors when he curses, throws his bat, rolls his eyes, etc.

If you think umpires don't hold grudges, you're wrong. Just as Bobby Ojeda stated in Monday night's post-game show, umps are human. While it would be nice to think they're all professional and can look past immature behavior, let's be real, that probably doesn't happen.

Hissy fits will get you nowhere in this league.

Besides "showing up the umpire," Davis is a role model. Being a professional athlete means, whether they like it or not, there are kids out there who look up to them as a player. The example he's setting right now is embarrassing.

As far as mechanics go, I'm not a hitting coach, and I'm not going to sit here and pretend to be.

I will say, however, that during one at-bat in Tuesday's game, I noticed that Davis is just throwing his hands at the ball. He's not confident at the plate, and his swings show it.

I've heard some suggestions of sending him to Triple-A to, "find himself."

Could a temporary change of scenery help him out? Maybe. A change of attitude would probably help more.

Mets Morning News 2-28-12

Fred Wilpon spoke with reporters Monday afternoon and essentially said the teams' owners are not going anywhere.

"[Fans] shouldn’t be concerned about us owning the franchise, because we intend to own the franchise for a very long time," he said. "Whether they’re happy about that right now, or not, I don’t know."

Adam Rubin of ESPN New York writes of how Lucas Duda has impressed just about everyone in the Mets clubhouse.

"He’s putting the rest of us to shame," [Jason] Bay said. "He was bench-pressing the other day. I couldn’t really tell, but I’m pretty sure they were the 120-pound dumbbells he was doing with one arm. You don’t see that very often. I would say 80, you’re doing pretty good on those.

"And not too many guys turned around a [Braves closer Craig] Kimbrel fastball last year. If I recall, he turned about a neck-high one around to dead-center field. He’s just one of those guys that probably doesn’t get enough notice -- a lot probably because of the personality that he has. He doesn’t say much. But he’s a big, strong guy and he can hit."

Terry Collins gave his opening speech yesterday, telling players that their job is to prove everyone wrong.

"I spoke from the heart, I always do," Collins said. "I told them, 'There are 29 teams that think they are better than you are. How does it make you feel, and what are you going to do about it? You can talk about it or you can do something about it.' And that’s pretty much the gist of the whole conversation."

Mets Morning News 2-26-12

The Mets released this image of the patch yesterday. 

The Mets announced Saturday that the team will wear a patch on their uniforms to honor the late Gary Carter. The patch features a home plate with "The Kid" and the No. 8 in the middle.

Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger did a Q & A with Jason Bay to find out more about his friendship with Eddie Vedder.

"I was a huge Pearl Jam fan … Eddie’s a huge baseball fan. Huge Cubs fan. There’s a lot of guys who have met him. Sean Casey, who’s a diehard Pearl Jam fan, he’s hung out with Eddie numerous times. When I got traded to Boston, we played a game and that night Eddie was playing somewhere in Boston on his solo tour. And he signed this poster, 'Hey, Jason, welcome to the Red Sox.' And then Casey gave me his number. So we text back and forth."

"I’ve never met him. I’ve never actually technically met him. And that’s the funny part. Casey was like, 'Hey, here’s his number, he said text him.' So he was like 'Hey, sounds good, man. If I’m ever up in Seattle recording …' He’s never up there. He’s got a lot going on. I’m probably the last person (on his mind). 'Oh, I’ve got to call Jason Bay!'"

Pitching prospect Matt Harvey threw his first live batting practice Saturday. According to David Lennon, Harvey is expected to begin the season with Double-A Binghamton, but he writes, "plans are subject to change."

"Obviously, that's a pretty impressive-looking pitcher," manager Terry Collins said. "When you stand behind there, he's got a feel for it all. He's got tremendous rotation on his breaking ball, got a good slider, knows how to sink it. We all know he can throw hard. Now it's a matter of dealing with the process, and that's getting better command and more consistency. I truly believe in the process."

Andrew Keh of the New York Times profiles prospect Kirk Nieuwenhuis who discussed past injuries and his future.

"There’s no doubt this is an important spring for him because of the situation we’re looking at, with us in desperate need of guys who can play outfield," ManagerTerry Collins said of Nieuwenhuis. "We’re going to give him a lot of playing time. He’s going to get plenty of chances to prove himself."

Mike Pelfrey did not do well last season. We know it, and he knows it. David Wright is standing up for Pelfrey though, telling Mike Kerwick of The Record:

"He was coming off a good year," Wright said, "and then all of a sudden just because he's named the opening day starter … a lot of times he got matched up with [Roy] Halladay and Josh Johnson."

He deserved better, Wright said.

"There was numerous times where he pitched well and should have gotten a win," Wright said. "There were a couple times where we blew leads for him late. There were a couple times where he just had some bad luck because he's going up against other team's No. 1."

Mets Morning News: Mejia To Throw From Mound, Tejada Already In TheDoghouse, Owners And Madoff Trustee Go Before Judge

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, Jenrry Mejia, who is coming off Tommy John surgery, is expected to throw from a mound today.

The right-hander is scheduled to toss only 15 pitches. And he will do so from the slope, not atop the mound -- and with the catcher moving closer than 60 feet, 6 inches.

Terry Collins is not happy with Ruben Tejada. Tejada has not reported to camp early due to visa issues in his native Panama.

"I take great pride in the game itself, and respecting the game itself," Collins said. "And I wish everybody had the same respect for it, that they wanted to get started as early as possible."

Lawyer for Mets owners and Bernard Madoff trustee Irving Picard will go before Manhattan federal District Judge Jed Rakoff this afternoon to try and avoid a March 19 trial.

Picard's lawyers are asking Rakoff to immediately award the trustee a judgment for $83 million, the amount of Madoff profits which Picard maintains the Wilpon family and its Sterling Equities partners received. That cash was essentially money stolen from other investors, Picard has said.

Picard also wants back more than $300 million in original investments made by the Wilpon group because, the trustee contends, the partners either knew of the scam or were blinded by their dependence on Madoff's annual profits to see warning signs that he was a fraud.

To derail Picard, lawyers for the Wilpons have been digging into the woodwork to prove their clients are immune from the trustee's clawback attempt. The $83 million they received, the Wilpons argue, actually represents a "debt" Madoff owed them by virtue of their investments. Perhaps more important, the Wilpons charge that they didn't ignore warning signs about Madoff and wouldn't have knowingly invested in a Ponzi scheme. As regular investors, they weren't obligated to probe into Madoff's operation, said the Wilpons.

Mets Morning News: How Long Will Collins Last? Is Santana Ready? TejadaHas Visa Issues, And Wilson To Return in 2012

Brian Costa of the Wall Street Journal asked whether Terry Collins will be another Joe Maddon or Jim Riggleman.

The answer will determine whether Collins becomes more like Joe Maddon or Jim Riggleman. Maddon, the Tampa Bay Rays manager, presided over two last-place finishes before leading the Rays to the World Series in 2008. He is now regarded as one of the best managers in baseball.

Riggleman, a friend of Collins, managed the Washington Nationals for parts of three losing seasons before quitting in the middle of 2011, upset over the team's unwillingness to pick up his option for 2012. It was Riggleman's choice, but it was also clear that Washington wasn't yet convinced he was the best fit for a new era of relevance.

Speaking of Collins, the Mets manager believes Johan Santana will be ready to take the mound Opening Day at Citi Field. Santana is not quite as optimistic.

"To have an opportunity to be out there on opening day is always good, but again, I’m approaching everything one day at a time," said Santana, who compared the ups and downs of his recovery to a roller coaster. "So far, I’m feeling good, and hopefully toward the end of spring training, we’ll have a better idea of where we’re at and see if we can be ready for opening day."

Ruben Tejada may be late to Spring Training. Tejada is having visa issues in  his native Panama. According to David Lennon, he plans to  hopefully sort out the issue at embassy today.

The Mets announced on Tuesday that Mookie Wilson will return to the team this season. Along with working with Major League and Minor League players in Spring Training, Wilson will also be responsible for visiting minor league affiliates, and representing the Mets at sponsorship and charitable events throughout the season.

I look forward to both roles, Wilson, 56, said. I am glad to be back. I will get a chance to work with the players in the spring and during the year. Plus, I will be able to look at some of our younger players, which I love doing. This year we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Mets baseball and Im looking forward to getting out there and talking to fans both at the ballpark and in the community

Mets Morning News: Wheeler Tweets His Life Away, Dickey Is MLB's LoneKnuckleballer

Terry Collins will hold his first official press conference of Spring Training at 10 a.m. It will be aired live on SNY.

Top prospect Zack Wheeler is quite the tweeter. As Andy McCullough of The Star-Ledger writes, the 21-year-old right-hander is not afraid to tweet about his life, not matter how boring it may be.

His public persona creates a contrast with fellow hard-throwing prospect Matt Harvey. "People have asked me that before," Harvey said. "'Why aren’t you on Twitter?'" He shrugged. "I don’t really like people knowing what I’m doing all the time."

Wheeler harbors none of those inhibitions. Each day he provides updates on his life. On Mondays, he likes to visit Moe’s Southwest Grill for their $5 burritos. He shoots pictures of his offseason bullpen sessions and provides running commentary during the Grammys. He watches "Eastbound and Down" and "Swamp People."

R.A. Dickey expressed how lonely he is now that fellow knuckleballer Tim Wakefield has retired.

"I’m sad because I want [Wakefield] around — it’s fun to watch somebody who does what you do," Dickey said. "In the past he has lent me some things I needed to see, but now, I’ve got to go to the film and watch him pitch instead of seeing him get to throw a bullpen.

"I don’t know if there’s anyone outside of [Haeger] even tinkering with it. It’s fairly lonely. I feel a little bit of loneliness. My hope is someone is going to see the real value in it and want to keep doing it. There’s a lot of adversity that comes with it."

Mets Morning News: Murphy And Duda Are Corner Infielders, Ignoring OffField Distractions, & Pitching Prospects

Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that Mets officials believe Daniel Murphy and Lucas Duda are best suited as corner infielders.

"The Mets also privately fret if Davis will hit lefties consistently; something they have far less concern about with Duda. What worries them with Duda is if he will subtract from his offensive value — which even executives around the league believe is legit — by being such a defensive liability in right. Murphy, meanwhile, has been seriously injured each of the past two seasons turning pivots at second.

Thus, the Mets want to verify their beliefs that Duda and Murphy are above-average hitters. If so, they will at least have the option to consider dealing Wright and/or Davis to continue to deepen the young talent base."

Terry Collins sat down with The Star-Ledger to discuss the 2012 season. He won't let his players feel sorry for themselves or be distracted with off the field issues.

"You know what? Jose’s not here...The first time I hear someone say, 'Oh, Jose would have caught that ball,' we've got problems...So our payroll’s down...How many guys here care what our payroll is?"

David Lennon of Newsday writes of how the trio of Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia, and Zack Wheeler shouldn't be labeled the next Generation K. Also, don't expect to see any of them called up before their time.

"The temptation with those three guys doesn't really exist at the moment," [Sandy] Alderson said. "Obviously, when you bring somebody up -- whenever you do -- they still have to perform. So on the one hand, you're tempted to bring somebody up to fill innings, but on the other hand, they better be ready. Because if they're not, there are obviously consequences to that, too."

Caption This, Mets Fans

Many Mets players have already made the trek down to Florida to begin their workouts. Here is a photo the Mets posted on their Twitter account of Daniel Murphy receiving some infield instruction from Terry Collins and Tim Teufel:



A few thoughts went through my head when I saw this picture. How would you caption this?

New York Mets 2012 Projections: Catcher Josh Thole

Photo by Flickr.com

The 2011 season represented something new for Josh Thole. For the first time in his major league career, the starting job was his to lose.

In the beginning of the season, it did not look like he could handle that responsibility.

For the first two months of the season, Thole struggled in just about every facet of the game. At the plate, Thole hit .227 with a paltry .301 on base percentage, and a SO / BB ratio of 23/15. Expectations were never that high for Thole, but coming off a second half of 2010 where he hit .254 with a .333 OBP and SO / BB ratio a lot closer to 1:1, the Mets their catcher of the future would be improving, not taking steps backwards.

However, when June rolled around, Thole found himself and became the catcher the Mets were looking for.

From June 1^st until the end of the regular season, Thole put up a .292/.372/.387 slugging to go along with a SO / BB ratio of 24:23.

Incredible numbers that would make Thole an all-star candidate every season.

Keep in mind that only one full time catcher posted a higher batting average on the season higher than Thole’s four month average of .292, and that was Yadier Molina's .305. Also consider that only one full-time catcher in all of baseball had a higher on base percentage than Thole’s four month .372, and that was Alex Avila’s .389, in the American League!