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Terry Collins expects a conversation with Curtis Granderson to be “the easiest one” if he has to reduce outfielders’ playing time when Yoenis Cespedes returns.
But Collins manages human beings, and he manages in New York, and he manages for the Mets, which means he has had to deal with injury upon injury and controversy upon controversy. And the one player with whom he has dealt with neither is Granderson, who has defined durability and dependability as a Met.
“He is as low a maintenance player as I’ve ever had,” said Collins, who is in his 13th season as a major league manager. “He is the easiest player I have ever had. He shows up ready to play every day. He is a lifesaver for a manager.”
That is why it is going to be difficult for this manager to banish Granderson to the bench, even if the NL’s worst batting average (.166), on-base percentage (.231) and OPS (.562) makes the choice obvious. Cespedes and Conforto need to play Byron Scott Womens Jersey every day, and Bruce just about every day and Lagares needs to get mixed in against some lefties and play defense late.
Which would leave Granderson, well, as a $13 million reserve. To which he — as you might expect — said, “If you look at these guys and you don’t play, I get it. If it wasn’t in the same category [of talent], then you might have questions you would ask.”
Of course, this assumes Cespedes fully heals and gets back in the next week and Bruce — unavailable Wednesday night due to back tightness — doesn’t miss extended time. And as we have learned with the Mets, assuming health is like assuming warm weather at the North Pole.
Collins, normally the most open and helpful managers with the media, was vague and terse in providing injury updates on Bruce, Cespedes, Travis d’Arnaud, Asdrubal Cabrera, Seth Lugo and Steven http://www.officiallakersshoponline.com/ Matz in his pregame press conference Wednesday. It was so out of character it is safe to assume upper management has told him to stop providing information considering how Keystone Kops the organization has looked over the years in dealing with injuries.
Since the beginning of the 2014 season, the Mets had used the DL 70 times and lost 3,936 days. Zero belong to Granderson, who is in the final season of a four-year, $60 million pact. He has played 150-plus games each of those three years, one of 18 players to do so. But the only others in his mid-30s age range to also do this — Nelson Cruz and Albert Pujols — served roughly half their time as DHs.
Even with his struggles, Granderson was tied for the team lead in games this year, at age 36. Besides “listening to my body” and staying hydrated, he said he has no magical advice on how to avoid the DL.
And he says, yes, it matters to him to be a reliable, helpful employee, but that it “doesn’t cross my mind a lot. … I feel we, as players, should follow [the manager’s wishes] regardless of how much money you make or old I am.”
So, if Collins says hit leadoff, he leads off. If it is cleanup, so be it. Last year, when Cespedes no Charles Barkley Youth Jersey longer wanted to play center, Granderson went there without complaint on 35-year-old legs and without having played the position regularly since 2012. It helped the Mets earn a wild card.
Plus, on a team that is constantly dealing with issues such as Matt Harvey being AWOL, Noah Syndergaard refusing an MRI exam and Cespedes’ golf obsession, Granderson is controversy free. No, that is too simplistic. He is a leader. He is among the majors’ most involved players in charity (the winner of the Roberto Clemente Award last year). He finds a way to balance being active in the Players Association and an advocate http://www.official76erstore.com/Darryl_Dawkins_Jersey for player rights without being a problem whatsoever for his team.
So what will happen if Collins tells Granderson he has to sit?
“He will do what he always does when he doesn’t play,” Collins said, “he’ll tell me he’ll be ready in the seventh inning when I need him. … He just gets it.”
It would be that player Collins would have to send to the bench upon Cespedes’ return. He said he would do what is right for the team, even if it is among the toughest things he has ever done as a manager. You see the low average, while Collins — constantly amid the Mets storm — appreciates the high character.