Editorials

NLDS News: Terry Collins Believes Chase Utley’s Slide Will Fuel Mets

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

UPDATE (Oct. 11, 1:10 p.m. PT): When asked about retaliation for Chase Utley’s slide, New York Mets manager Terry Collins said Sunday it’s a matter players police themselves, via Jared Diamond of The Wall Street Journal:

Additionally, Collins added he’s hopeful umpires will not issue warnings prior to Game 3, in part so his club can pitch inside, according to ESPN’s Adam Rubin:

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Facing another of the New York Mets’ young, hard-throwing right-hander’s, the Los Angeles Dodgers appeared on the verge of falling behind 2-0 in their best-of-five National League Division Series matchup.

Rookie Noah Syndergaard sat in the high 90s, if not triple digits, early on, and was spotted a 2-0 lead behind solo home runs Yoenis Cespedes and Michael Confort in the second inning. The Dodgers scored a run in the fourth, then exploded for four more in the seventh, though not without controversy.

After looping a pinch-hit single into right field that left runners on the corners with none out, Chase Utley broke up a potential double play with a hard slide into second base. Unfortunately, Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada’s right fibula was fractured in the process.

“It broke my shortstop’s leg. That’s all I know,” said a terse Terry Collins. The Mets manager didn’t want to comment much further, refusing to call the slide clean or dirty. “It’s over. It’s done,” he said.

Adding insult to injury for New York, Dodgers manager Don Mattingly successfully challenged the out call at second base, after first checking with the umpires if it was a neighborhood play. Since it wasn’t, Utley was placed on second base as replay showed Tejada’s foot never touched the bag.

Collins said the manner in which the umpires handled the situation was “great.” However, the 66-year-old manager went on to say his club was upset over the series of events. “I believe it will help,” Collins answered when asked if he expected the slide to serve as an emotional boost for his club.

“You’ve got to take the emotion and keep your focus. You can’t lose control.” Games 3 and 4 will be the first postseason action Citi Field has seen since serving as the Mets’ home at the start of the 2009 season. Collins said prior to Game 2 he was expecting a raucous environment.

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4 Comments

  1. If anything, I believe that play fueled the Dodgers and they will hopefully carry that momentum going forward. This would all be a non-issue if Tejada was not injured on that play. For the record, I feel badly that he was but it was not dirty by any means.

    1. Wow really. Not dirty? How is a play not dirty when it’s in clear violation of the rules. It’s just like a receiver getting hit in a defenseless position. Might be no intention to hurt but nonetheless, it happened and he has to pay for it. Is that how you want to teach kids to ‘tackle’ players? He may be applauded in the dugout but doesn’t change the fact that it’s illegal. Your coward manager doesn’t realize that either with his mature comments he made. And for the fans, nice job applauding when tejada was carted off, looks real good for you guys celebrating injury and supporting a scumbag player like Utley.

  2. Its obvious by Collins interview yesterday that he has already given his team the green light for his players to retaliate imo.

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