Major League Baseball

Stop worrying about the tabloids, Terry

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:00 p.m. ET

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Back when Davey Johnson was managing the Orioles, there was a cold night in Chicago when his choice of closers backfired – whether it was Randy Myers over Armando Benitez or Benitez over Myers, I can’t recall.

Anyway, Johnson was still shivering afterward when the media shuffled quietly into his cramped office at New Comiskey Park. But before anyone could question his decision, he made a loud, pre-emptive announcement.

“I’m the manager,” he said. “I’m the one making all the f------ money.”

Translation: I don’t care what reporters think. I don’t care what anyone thinks. I’ll make the decisions that I believe are best for the club.

Which brings us to Mets manager Terry Collins, who shuffled his infield Thursday night, yet declined to move Wilmer Flores off shortstop, telling reporters, “We’re trying to play baseball here and stay off the back pages.”

WHAT?

Now, I like Collins, admire his fighting spirit, marvel at his baseball intellect. He in many ways is in a thankless position, managing big-market expectations but not a big-market payroll while in the final year of his contract.

Still, the best managers think of one thing and one thing only: putting the best team on the field. Many believe that without injured third baseman David Wright, the Mets’ best defensive infield is Flores at second, Ruben Tejada at short and Daniel Murphy at third.

Collins flip-flopped the latter two Thursday, moving Tejada to second and Murphy to third. But while the manager did not rule out eventually shifting Flores to second, why delay the move a second longer? Why are the Mets acting as if Flores is Cal Ripken in the middle of his consecutive-games streak at short?

The team’s reluctance to move Flores was understandable when his play was under heavy scrutiny earlier in the season. But Flores withstood the storm, and if anything, the Mets have been proven correct in their decision to play him at short, or at least correct enough.

Flores, batting .250 with a .692 OPS, is tied for the major-league lead for most home runs at shortstop with eight. He ranks ninth among all shortstops in Fangraphs’ version of Wins Above Replacement (WAR).

If moving Flores off short creates a “firestorm” – the word Collins used when speaking with reporters – so be it.

Stop worrying about the tabloids, Terry. You’re the manager. You’re the one making all the f----- money.

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