SAN FRANCISCO — Firing Terry Collins is the easy way out for this disaster of a Mets season. And it would be the wrong thing to do.
Sandy Alderson has been consistent over the last week, saying no managerial changes are planned.
The Mets general manager, though, is maverick enough to leave himself wiggle room.
The plan can change instantly, and Friday night’s 8-1 loss to the Giants at AT&T Park didn’t help. This was ugly.
Also, after the season, it would be easy for Alderson and ownership to make Collins the scapegoat and not bring him back for the final year of his contract.
That also would be wrong.
The reason for the injury-wracked Mets’ 60-62 record the season after going to the World Series is because of organizational failure, not managerial failure.
The Mets, 1-4 on this trip so far, do not have the depth needed to survive their injuries, and young players who were supposed to fill holes did not develop. They are 5 ¹/₂ games out of the second wild card … going, going, gone.
Collins has made mistakes setting Twitter ablaze, and Bud Black’s name is out there as a replacement. On a night of baserunning and fielding blunders, Collins opted to walk Joe Panik intentionally, which set the stage for pinch hitter Ehire Adrianza’s RBI single in the seventh that snapped a 1-1 tie.
Then the wheels flew off.
Collins is appreciative of the Mets sticking with him through the lean years and went into the night believing the Mets still had life.
“We are never going to use injuries as an excuse,” Collins told The Post. “Sure it’s been frustrating, but I will tell you what, it is still fun to come here and try to get these guys to play as good as they can play.
Collins said he is not worried about his job.
“I’m 67 years old. I’ve been doing this for 45 years,” he said. “I’ve had a stinkin’ ball, and when it’s over, it’s over. I’m going to do it my way. But if anybody thinks for one second we fly by the seat of our pants around here, they’re sadly mistaken. We are calculated. There are decisions that are made that are calculated, and yeah, once in a while, you pull a gut move.
“I know the manager takes the s–t. That’s what I signed up for. If I didn’t want that I’d still be the field coordinator, what a great job that was, peace of mind, watching the kids get better, but it’s the thrill of competing. I’m not done.”
“The one thing I want them to understand is they are big leaguers and if you are a big leaguer there are responsibilities and expectations of being a big league player, and that means going out every night and prepare yourself, play the game right.
“Now if the energy is not there or you are tentative about how you are going about the job because you don’t want to make a mistake, that’s a problem, and that’s on me,’’ Collins said, “and that’s why I had the meeting [Aug. 11]. I didn’t call anybody out, I just said, ‘Hey, there are major league expectations here and we play again tomorrow.’ ’’
Yoenis Cespedes (quadriceps) returned and picked up one hit.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy told me this winter that keeping the Mets’ pitching together a year after the World Series would be The Challenge. Bochy lived that during the seasons after winning the World Series in 2010, 2012 and 2014.
It happened to the Giants after those three championship years, and it is happening to the Mets after their NL pennant season.
Collins has navigated rough terrain with the Mets ranking third in the majors with a 3.62 ERA, but it has been an exhausting experience.
Bochy, generally regarded as the best manager in the game, worked for Alderson for a bit in San Diego. Bochy managed the Padres to consecutive NL West titles for the first time in club history in 2005-06, but wasn’t offered a contract extension beyond 2007.
Bochy was replaced by Bud Black.