New York manager Terry Collins, whose Mets have struggled through devastating injuries to the pitching staff, has been the subject in recent talks of changes in skippers among the thirty teams in Major League Baseball. According to the August 24 column by writer Jon Heyman at bleacherreport.com, some folks close to the team fear that Collins will not be managing the Mets when players open spring training in 2018.
Under Collins the Mets have made the postseason the past two years, including a trip to the World Series after winning the pennant in 2015. Thus, no one could have expected New York to have a record of 55-70 in late August, but that poor showing is currently where Collins and his club find themselves.
Collins has had a lot of misfortune this year, especially injuries that decimated nearly the entire starting rotation. Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz have all suffered stints on the disabled list in 2017, not to mention games missed by regular players such as veteran third baseman David Wright, outfielder Yoenis Cespides, shortstop Asdrubel Cabrera and former second baseman Neal Walker.
Making the situation even worse for Collins, the New York front office began a rebuild before the All-Star break. The Mets traded All-Star outfielder Jay Bruce to the Cleveland Indians in July, and a few weeks later they shipped leadoff hitter Curtis Granderson to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Because of the recent trades, the team’s poor showing in the second half cannot really be blamed solely on Collins. Nevertheless, New York will probably bid adieu to the well-liked skipper.
Collins will not be the only manager who gets dismissed from his duties after 2017, nor the only one who has made the playoffs the past two seasons.
Buck Showalter led the Baltimore Orioles to the postseason in 2015 and 2016, but the Birds are three games under.500 this year. Showalter was already on the hot seat after failing to use All-Star closer Zach Britton in the extra inning loss to Toronto in last year’s American League Wild Card game, but putting together another contender would have certainly erased that memory.
Instead, Baltimore has been looking up at their division rivals in New York and Boston almost the entire season, and even the Tampa Bay Rays are ahead of them in the standings. If the Orioles can somehow earn a Wild Card spot Showalter’s fate could certainly change, but as of now six teams are ahead of them for that opportunity.
Bryan Price and the Cincinnati Reds have no chance of making the playoffs, and it may be time for a change in leadership. After succeeding Dusty Baker and perennial post season appearances, Price oversaw the demise of the Reds.
No one expected them to win the pennant, as they began a rebuild shortly after Price took over in 2014. However, Cincinnati has for some reason gotten worse every year since then, suffering the worst record in the National League in 2016.
They are very unlikely to be pegged with that ignominious designation this year (thanks to the woeful performance of the Phillies), but the Reds are no better than they were 365 days ago. The most troubling area has been their pitching staff, both the rotation and the bullpen.
It was a similar story last year, when the relievers set a record for home runs given up. Price earned the position as manager of the Reds because he was an esteemed pitching coach, and the Cincinnati front office had hoped he would be a great leader for the young pitchers who would be taking the mound at Great American Ball Park.
Now, after four years, Price has been unable to develop even one pitcher that could be deemed a consistent starter. The Reds might choose to try a different path before Spring Training begins in 2018.
