Mets no shocker to Bruce
CLEVELAND — Not many players have enjoyed a standings upgrade quite like Jay Bruce did this season.
Imagine being traded by the dysfunctional Mets on Aug. 9 and winding up on a divisional champion that won 33 of its final 37 games, including 22 in a row at one point.
Bruce will start for the Indians in right field against the Yankees in Game 1 of the AL division series on Thursday, but he also looked back to say he hardly was shocked that Terry Collins was forced out as manager with the Mets following a disastrous, injury-riddled season in Queens.
“I don’t think it was hard to see,” Bruce said before the Indians worked out at Progressive Field. “I think that a lot of times in sports they feel like a shakeup needs to happen. The old saying is you can’t fire 25 guys, so a lot of times managerial changes happen. I wish Terry the best in whatever he does next.”
He added he was displeased by unattributed quotes by some former teammates taking shots at Collins in the final days of the regular season.
“Terry and I had a great relationship,” Bruce said. “It’s one of those deals where you hate to see that.… You would like to see people, if they do have a problem, approach him about it, talk to him about it, and not let it out through the media.
“But losing causes a lot of that stuff. If they’re back in the playoffs this year, have a good season, no one’s talking about any of it. It’s an unfortunate situation, but the reality of it is it’s sports and it’s kind of part of the game. It sounds like he’s going to stay with the team in the front office and help guys prepare as far as the minor leaguers go, so I wish him the best with that.”
Bruce, who hit seven homers (for a season total of 36) and drove in 26 runs in 43 appearances with the Indians since the trade, believed at the start of the season that the Mets would return to the postseason.
“Absolutely. If you had asked anyone at the beginning of the year, they would have expected them to be a World Series favorite,” Bruce said. “Honestly. Because of the pitching. But it didn’t go that way.”