CHICAGO — The strange thing is this: Every day, before he fills out his lineup card, Terry Collins has to spread out names in his mind like Scrabble letters. The narrative is this: He has too many players he wants to use, and too few places in the lineup to use them. In baseball, that is supposed to be a “good problem.”
With these Mets, there is nothing good about it.
It is simply a problem.
Before the Mets absorbed a thorough 5-1 pounding from the Cubs at Wrigley Field Monday night, Collins talked about his crowded outfield, and he sounded just as flummoxed as he did a few weeks ago when Jose Reyes arrived and crowded up his infield.