Coleman: Matt Harvey And Terry Collins Form A Special Combination
By Ed Coleman
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Matt Harvey stole the show in Arizona on Thursday night. That's what happens when phenoms fulfill their promise. Harvey's 5 1/3 innings of shutout ball with 11 strikeouts was the biggest reason that the Mets snapped their six-game losing skid and downward spiral, which had seen them drop 12 of their prior 13 games.
But don't forget about manager Terry Collins. He's the biggest reason that this collection of overachievers still floats rather than sinks, and he proved it again on Wednesday and Thursday.
Last season, the Mets got out of the gate horribly, sitting at 5-13 after 18 games on April 20. Collins exploded that day, letting his team have it with both barrels. The team then went out and won six in a row, playing good baseball before eventually collapsing under the weight of the Carlos Beltran trade and a brutal bullpen later in the season.
On Wednesday, after Stephen Strasburg had shut down his team to complete an 0-6 homestand, Collins erupted again. When he was asked what the mindset of his squad was in the midst of the losing -- and with a daunting 11-game, 11-day West Coast road trip on the horizon -- Collins answered thusly.
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When things are unraveling, Collins goes back to the basics, and he said that he would take his team back to square one.
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Collins insisted that his players would play the way that he taught them -- the only way he knows how to approach the game.
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On Thursday in Arizona before Harvey's debut, Collins was much calmer, but no less intense.
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When I asked him whether the squabbling was over -- and hopefully along with it the losing -- this was his response.
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There's the door, pal, if you're not willing to play by my rules.
Then Harvey went out and did what he did, and the losing stopped, and we'll see if the winning continues. After the game, Collins reflected on Harvey's performance and placed him in some rare company.
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Special indeed. And the Mets have a manager that's pretty special as well.
C U soon
Eddie C.
Mets fans, from what you saw on Thursday night, does Harvey have the makeup and the stuff of a future ace? Sound off with your thoughts and comments below...