Emotional Terry Collins pleads with players to focus

Following a sloppy 6-2 loss to the Rockies, frustrated Mets manager Terry Collins made a rare, but emotional postgame plea to the team, during which he stressed the need to raise their level of focus and fundamentals.

"The tone? Did I yell and scream? I did not," said Collins, who estimated that he called similar meetings only three times this season. "I don't think you have to address professionals that way. They got the message."

Collins had watched the Mets, who managed just six hits, drop to 57-66, nine games below .500 and suffer their 12th loss at home in 14 games since the All-Star break. He declared that he didn't believe that players had "thrown in the towel, but if you're watching from the outside, that's the perception."

The evening started well, with Chris Young retiring the first 15 Rockies and the Mets leading 1-0 on Daniel Murphy's sacrifice fly in the fourth. But the tide shifted in the top of the sixth. Jonathan Herrera's single in the first base hole moved DJ LeMahieu, who also singled, to third. When pitcher Jhoulys Chacin bunted, Young's throw went wide of Ike Davis and the score was tied. Charlie Blackmon singled to short for the second run and the Rockies scored twice more on Dexter Fowler's single and Hernandez's sacrifice fly to lead 4-1.

"I've got to make that throw to first; I cost us the game," Young said. But the Mets also botched a rundown between third and home with Bobby Parnell on the mound.

Collins, who was tossed in the fifth for arguing a caught-stealing call, said, "I'm not sure it's about lack of effort, it's about lack of execution, it's about lack of thought. "I saw some things tonight where pitchers were standing in the middle of the infield when the ball was being thrown around. That's inexcusable. They weren't ready."