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          New York Mets

          Terry Collins: Some fill-ins 'perhaps aren't ready' for game speed in MLB

          • Adam Rubin, ESPN Staff WriterJun 21, 2015, 03:38 AM
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              Adam Rubin has covered the Mets since 2003. He's a graduate of Mepham High School on Long Island and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined ESPNNewYork after spending 10 years at the New York Daily News.
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          ATLANTA -- Maybe Terry Collins was stating the obvious. But after the New York Mets' latest loss, a 6-4 defeat to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday night that included more sloppiness, the manager acknowledged the lack of major-league readiness of some of the call-ups who have replaced injured starters.

          In a week littered with infield miscues, Saturday's transgressions included second baseman Dilson Herrera not covering the bag on a steal attempt and third baseman Eric Campbell not throwing home to cut down what became Atlanta's sixth run.

          Collins said Herrera had a miscommunication with shortstop Ruben Tejada on who was responsible for covering second base.

          Campbell said he settled for an out at third base because he had to leap for the chopper and would have had to make an off-balance throw to the plate. He feared an imperfect throw home could have opened the door for a big inning.

          "I truly believe we've got a good team, but we've got to keep them on the field," Collins said, referring to the team's injuries. "When you're calling up guys from Triple-A all the time, or you've got young players out there, that's asking an awful lot of people who perhaps aren't ready to do all the things you're asking. Yeah, it gets a little frustrating. I'm like everybody else."

          Since a 13-3 start to the season, the Mets are 23-30. The Amazins have lost four straight games.

          Asked about the importance of salvaging Sunday's series finale with Matt Harvey on the mound after Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard suffered losses, Collins said: "It's huge for us. We've got Harv going. We like that scenario. We just have to come out tomorrow ready to play. I don't think we need to panic. We've just got to go out and play better than we did today. We can't make the mental mistakes. We can't make the physical mistakes."

          Collins said he accepts that young players might be prone to mistakes.

          "You've got to certainly understand that it's part of the growing process," Collins said. "There's a lot of action. The game is fast. The action is fast here. It's one of the things we try to teach -- the speed of the game up here. And, as you're learning it, as you're trying to focus and everything else, there's a lot of things going on in your mind. You've got to learn how to take a second and get it organized."