Terry Collins in an article by Adam Rubin talked about what he told the players. In it he mentions Jose Reyes saying, “I told the players, Jose Reyes, I love Jose Reyes. He’s not in there anymore. I can’t worry about him,” but my favorite quote was the following,
“I don’t want these guys ever to come in that clubhouse where they’re not expected to win the game,” Collins said. “I don’t ever want to hear that. Yeah, we’re aware of what we’re facing. But I don’t want to have a bad game and have someone say, ‘We’re not supposed to win, so who cares? We had a bad game. Well, we’re not supposed to play good.’ I’m sorry, I’m not built like that. That’s probably why this is my third job. I’m not built like that. There are things that I expect to get done and we’re certainly going to work at getting those things done.”
Check out the rest of the article to read what else Collins had to say.
15 comments
gategem
2/27/2012-7:02pm at 7:02 pm (UTC -4)
What scares me about Collins is if the players are giving 100% and their attitude is fine but the team is constantly losing he, Collins, will go over the top. He has to remember that he is not an alchemist.
darknova306
2/27/2012-7:46pm at 7:46 pm (UTC -4)
Don’t worry, apparently the cool thing to do now is to declare the Mets will surprise people and will be awesome. So it’s all gonna be good and this won’t be an issue. Everything is great cause the Mets are gonna be awesome and win 85-90 games.
See, delusions are fun!
Mr North Jersey
2/27/2012-8:35pm at 8:35 pm (UTC -4)
I don’t know Nova, management saying they believe the team is going to be better than expected to mean they are going to be awesome seems like a leap on your part.
The alternative would be to have management say they’re just not that good as everyone already expects I suppose?
Delusion may be one word for it. Another word could be belief. Like believing in oneself even when no one else does. Something most Pro athletes and managers possess I think.
darknova306
2/27/2012-10:43pm at 10:43 pm (UTC -4)
I’m talking more about the fans. Management has to say positive things, otherwise they kill any potential momentum before it starts. It’s becoming the thing to do amongst fans I see online to say “I think they’ll surprise some people”, then go on to explain their own ludicrous scenario for how this team will score a thousand runs, the fences will make Bay and Wright great again while not detracting from the pitching staff, how the pitchers will all take a great step forward or go back to career year performances, etc etc. I’ve read serious arguments that this is an 85 win team that will win 90 if a couple things go their way. Oy.
kingman 26
2/27/2012-10:54pm at 10:54 pm (UTC -4)
Dark, it is the same thing every year–Ceetar thinks the offense will make the Big Red Machine look like the Bad News Bears, and others think that Niese and Gee—who have been totally mediocre their entire pro careers–and the mediocre Pelfrey—are going to all of a sudden be Seaver, Koosman, and Matlack.
And of course, the Phils will lose 100 because of their age (never mind that they’ve increased their win total all five years that they have won the division), the Braves are of course chokers, and the Marlins, well Met fans KNOW that Hanley’s a malcontent and they will be a disaster.
It’s just silly.
Wright has not been the same since the beaning, Bay is nothing, Murph is good at hitting singles and doubles and nothing else, and exchanging Reyes for Torres at the top of the order is going to be pretty sad.
The pen replaced KRod and Izzy with two guys from a bad Toronto pen.
Sure, they have some talent, and a lot of average players, so no, they are not going to lose 100. But winning more than 81 is going to be a serious struggle.
And one little footnote—HALF of the schedule–81 games–is with PHIL, ATL, MIA, WASH, NYY, and TB.
NJstuckinTX
2/27/2012-11:07pm at 11:07 pm (UTC -4)
1/2… Now that is flipping scary.
darknova306
2/28/2012-12:12am at 12:12 am (UTC -4)
Yeah, and the first two months are particularly brutal. They could be buried by mid-May
NJstuckinTX
2/28/2012-9:21am at 9:21 am (UTC -4)
Long live water, yeast, malt and hops.
Ceetar
2/28/2012-9:06am at 9:06 am (UTC -4)
Mets scored the most runs in the NL East last year and will again this year. (Got a post coming up this week about that)
No, no one scores 1000 runs, but 700-750 is a lot.
The Mets may actually be better than last year but people are predicting them to win like 65-70 games, and it’s just not going to happen. That shouldn’t be a surprise, but clearly it’s going to be for many.
Collins will not be going ‘over the top’ trying to work magic. He’s just not going to accept anything less than maximum effort and trying to win every game. Down 6-2 in the ninth against the to-be World Champions with the Mets eliminated they rallied back to nearly knock the Cardinals out entirely. _That_ is the attitude Collins is demanding.
kingman 26
2/27/2012-10:55pm at 10:55 pm (UTC -4)
And I love baseball and I love the Mets and I will be watching, but pretending this is a good team is just childish and kooky.
NJstuckinTX
2/27/2012-11:11pm at 11:11 pm (UTC -4)
Hope springs eternal! And I am certainly hopeful this year, but I point specifically to the SP as why this team will falter. Francisco is no Krod but overall I think the BP is much stronger than previous. The offense will be decent. The defense will have some issues. But the SP, with the question marks, health and lack of depth is going to tax both the revamped BP and our patience for sure.
Mr North Jersey
2/27/2012-11:42pm at 11:42 pm (UTC -4)
Oh my bad Nova. I thought you was referring to management.
When it comes to fans and their opinions they come in all shapes, sizes and colors. If you feel some fans are as you say delusional I won’t debate you on that.
I will say speaking for myself I can’t get too bothered for a fan believing in his or her team despite what the odds say about their team on paper. I rather see that than a fan that has little hope before a game is played.
But that’s me. I get that others may feel different.
darknova306
2/27/2012-11:49pm at 11:49 pm (UTC -4)
I think the offseason is starting to get to me. I need the games to start as quickly as possible so there’s something tangible to talk about instead of prognosticating and whining about rich folks riding helicopters to sports games
Mr North Jersey
2/27/2012-11:49pm at 11:49 pm (UTC -4)
LoL
MetsFan4Decades
2/28/2012-7:32am at 7:32 am (UTC -4)
LOL….what you said.
Most of what I’m reading is the same arguments – from both sides – over and over again.
Bottom line is none of us can say for sure what this season will bring.
I’m a realist and there’s a reason the Mets are predicted to finish last. All you have to do is compare our starting rotation to the rest of NL east. Add in the fact that the only top 10 player for each position we have is Wright at 3rd, and on paper it’s not looking good.
However, it’s baseball and it’s my Mets so I’m still looking forward to the season.