Palladino: Mets World Series Repeat? Let's Deal With Spring Training First
By Ernie Palladino
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These are heady days for the Mets.
As their pitchers and catchers head for their Feb. 17 report date in Port St. Lucie, it seems the whole world has made them the choice to repeat as National League champions. Only now, for many, a mere repeat World Series appearance won't satisfy them.
One sports-talk radio host this week said straight out -- stupidly -- that anything less than a world title will equal a failed season.
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No less a luminary than the Braves' legendary Mets-killer Chipper Jones, all but a first-ballot lock for Cooperstown, picked the Mets to go all the way on the MLB Radio Network.
The Mets haven't heard preseason endorsements like that since the mid-to-late 1980s, when Doc Gooden, Ron Darling, Keith Hernandez, Gary Carter, and Lenny Dykstra peopled the roster. Back then, The Fan was a cooling device one used on hot summer days and ESPN was only beginning to mean more than four disjointed letters of the alphabet. So those thoughts were softened by an element of perspective that simply doesn't exist in today's knee-jerk world.
The lofty chatter should convey something to followers of the cult of Terry Collins.
Tread carefully.
A lot happens during a baseball season. Just ask Zack Wheeler or Matt Harvey, whose Tommy John surgeries cost each of them one of the last two seasons. Just ask the San Francisco Giants, who followed World Series wins in 2010, 2012, and 2014 with non-playoff seasons.
One season's success doesn't necessarily translate to the next.
The Mets should be good, with should being the operative word. But an injury here, a subpar individual performance there, and the whole thing could crumble.
Also consider that the teams around the Mets have improved. Within the NL East, the Nationals look ready to mount a major challenge with a new, old-school manager in Dusty Baker and lineup additions Daniel Murphy and Ben Revere to go along with NL MVP Bryce Harper.
Out of the division, St. Louis, Los Angeles, and Chicago haven't exactly gotten weaker.
So for anyone to even hint that falling short of a world title would equal failure is ridiculous. The road to the Series is long enough. The immediate objective is the playoffs.
For that to happen, Collins must figure some things out starting next Wednesday.
Jacob deGrom, Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz, the heart of easily the best rotation in baseball, won't have to worry about innings limits. But they are still young arms, still with a lot of work ahead of them before people can seriously equate them with the Hall of Fame rotation of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and John Smoltz that Jones played behind. Collins must choreograph their spring training innings accordingly to ensure season-long health.
Though his hitting is not a worry, Yoenis Cespedes will need extra attention on the defensive end if Collins expects him to play a standout center field. And a new double play combination of Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker will have to get their timing down to avoid the weaknesses the Wilmer Flores-Daniel Murphy pairing exhibited last year.
Defining a role for the hard-hitting Michael Conforto, advancing catcher Travis d'Arnaud to the next level, and priming the lineup for a more productive start than last season's will only increase the heat on Collins.
In essence, anyone who thinks Collins need only throw the gloves and bats on the field and watch the Mets cruise to the playoffs needs to seriously rethink their position.
For all the good things general manager Sandy Alderson did this offseason, Collins will have much to accomplish between Wednesday and the April 3 opener in Kansas City.
Best that the pundits see how spring training goes before they put Collins' gang in the World Series.
Follow Ernie on Twitter at @ErniePalladino
