The Mets swept the Marlins this past weekend, winning Friday, Saturday and Sunday, to move four losses up on Miami, who remains in last place in the NL East.
This past Saturday, RA Dickey locked in win 19. He looks for 20 on Thursday at home against the Pirates. He will get another shot at 20 in his final start of the season in Miami, on what wil be the second to last game of the season.
After Saturday's game, Terry Collins told reporters that Frank Francisco experienced soreness once again in his elbow, and was unavailable for the game. He will be shut down for at least the next few days' and he could be shut down the rest of the year.
In regards to coming Hot Stove season, free-agent OF BJ Upton could earn a five-year, $60 million this winter, according to an American League executive, Jon Heyman reported for CBS Sports. The executive also believes free-agent OF Shane Victorino can expect a two-year deal, with the Mets, Nationals, Braves and Phillies all likely to show interest.
Last Thursday, after losing 16-1, Collins acknowledged being embarrassed and said, if you want to know if this team has quit, 'You've got to ask them. I have my own opinion, but I'm not going to express it publicly.'
Late Friday, he told reporters he regrets those comments, adding, 'I probably did it the wrong way.' He said he talked to each player the following day and, 'I know they care. ' I don't want to ever challenge anyone's integrity. That's wrong,'
Nevertheless, in a post to Twitter, SNY's Kevin Burkhardt said, 'The damage is done though,' 'His remarks didn't sit well in that clubhouse.'
Friday night, Lucas Duda hit a bloop single to left field, but jogged to first base instead of hustling out of the box, preventing him from taking an extra base for a double. Terry Collins removed Duda from the game for not hustling after the bottom of the second inning.
'We've made a statement here that we're not going to play the game like that, especially right now,' Collins explained after the game. 'Had we won 10 of the last 12, or 15 of the last 20, you can kind of turn your head, but I couldn't turn my head tonight.'
Matthew Cerrone, MetsBlog.com
I get the feeling this season can't end soon enough for everyone involved, from Terry (who is coming off very inconsistent) to the players to every fan'
I actually liked the way Collins initially handled the question about quitting. It looked to me like he was implying that players had given up a bit, and he put the responsibility of addressing it on those men. However, to go back, apologize and back down, to me, shows weakness and puts the players in charge again, which is something I thought this organization was trying to avoid. Again, it's inconsistent'
Frankly, it doesn't really matter, though, at least as it pertains to next season. The bigger issue is the actual baseball talent, not their attitude. I'd be far more concerned about all of the above had the Mets broke camp with an All-Star team, appeared to quit and won just 69 games. This is not the case. In March we said (if everything, EVERYTHING went perfect, everyone had career years) this team could win 90 games, but the odds of that were very weak. Instead, a high 70's win total was more realistic' and if they got lucky (like in the first half when they got an unprecedented number of two-out hits) maybe they could sneak in to a playoff race. The luck was unsustainable, and if they win a few more games this year (of their remaining seven) they'll fall in line with what most fans and experts expected. It is what it is.
The best way to be better has little to do with pushing these guys to care more or hope they pump their fists harder. That stuff is important, but it's not going to make a bad baseball player be better. The best way to be better is to cut loose the dead weight on this roster and replace them with better baseball players, which, by the way, would also reestablish Terry's power and message of accountability (since he'd be staying and they'd be going). As I said Friday, I'm totally fine keeping Collins through at least next summer and retaining some of these players, but the 'I'm just happy to be here crowd,' as one person close to the team described them to me, all have to be replaced by better talent. It's not that complicated.
The Mets open their final home series this season tonight against the Pirates at 7:10 pm. Jenrry Mejia (0-1, 9.00 ERA) will oppose Kyle McPherson (0-1, 2.25 ERA).
