Baseball Collins Under Fire, but he is just Part of the Problem with 2016 New York Mets by Jayson Love August 11, 2016 Mets GM Sandy Alderson (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) Losers of 5 of their last six games, these Mets are watching 2016 go by the wayside. While the team is underachieving, and Terry Collins and Kevin Long deserve to be under fire for their rigid adherence to strategy that made sense going into the season, but right now, needs to change given the lineup at hand. But the truth is, it isn’t Collins who is killing this team right now, it is the M.A.S.H. unit that is the New York Mets of which perhaps only Alan Alda could be proud – if only it were that comical. The truth is, Collins is hamstrung. If this was the squad that broke camp in April, there is no doubt, it’s an 85 loss team. Much has been made about the Mets’ over-reliance on the homerun and the critique has been that the team needs to play more small ball. And while that has some merit given what Collins now has to work with, the truth is, there is a difference when you are relying on the homerun with a healthy Cespedes in the lineup, a productive Granderson, Lucas Duda, David Wright, and a productive Michael Conforto. This team has none of those things going for it right now and Collins is left penciling names like Ty Kelly and Rene Rivera into the lineup and is left hamstrung at the ends of games. Should Collins have chosen to pinch run for Bruce with Brandon Nimmo, and for sake of argument, Nimmo slips into home-plate safely, now the Mets are stuck in extra innings with no bench, and no Jay Bruce – a losing proposition. Mets fans don’t want to hear that, and will say “you have to tie the game first”, but the fact is, that lineup in extra innings isn’t getting it done. A lineup that features stars throughout like Detroit’s would most likely get that run over the Mets’ hodge·podge of [lack of] “talent”. Game-changing power is just that: game-changing. Good lineups feature guys that drive the ball, not just for home runs, but for extra base hits as well. The Mets are left with a lineup that scares no one; lefties that can’t hit lefties, and righties that can’t hit righties. Collins’ hands are tied in late game situations. So in assessing the 2016 New York Mets you cannot simply generalize that the organizational philosophy needs to change offensively, you must look at the team as currently constituted. And as constituted, the New York Mets are an average baseball team at best. The approach going into the season wasn’t wrong, but it is now. Post Views: 1,213 The following two tabs change content below.BioLatest Posts Jayson Love Jayson is a Staff Writer for DoubleGSports.com Latest posts by Jayson Love (see all) Red Bulls Forced to Go with Make Shift Lineup Due to International Callups and Injury, Win 3-0 - March 25, 2018 The United States National Team Doesn’t Develop Young Talent? Don’t blame the Red Bulls - March 21, 2018 Red Bulls Make History with Champions League Win at Tijuana, Bradley Wright-Phillips Scores a Brace - March 7, 2018 New York Red Bulls Are New Look Red Bulls as 2018 Season Approaches - February 21, 2018 Related TopicsBruceCespedesLucas DudaSandy AldersonTerry Collins Click to comment You must be logged in to post a comment Login Leave a Reply Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. Newsletter Subscription Can't Miss Posts! Women in Sports: NHL Network Host, Jackie Redmond by Nicholas Durst | posted on March 4, 2019 Lochte, Dressel and Ledecky all Chasing Gold at 2021 Tokyo Olympics by Anthony Paradiso | posted on April 18, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 19, 2021 Michael Jordan Could Change the Future of Nascar for the Better by Inesh Chari | posted on March 30, 2021 You Know I’m Right, Episode 106: Newsday’s Neil Best (Audio/Video) by Nicholas Durst | posted on April 12, 2021 More in Baseball You Know I’m Right, Episode 112: New York Jets’ Insider Brian Costello (Audio/Video) On the 112th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 109: The Athletic’s Marc Carig (Audio/Video) On the 109th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 108: WFAN’s Sweeny Murti (Audio/Video) On the 108th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... You Know I’m Right, Episode 107: New York Post’s Columnist Mike Vaccaro (Audio/Video) On the 107th episode of You Know I’m Right, Nick Durst and Joe Calabrese are joined by... Gary Sanchez Has Break Out Performance in Yankees Win Over Boston Patriots Rally With Four Runs In The Eighth To Win 7-4