Like George Costanza, the New York Mets are doing the opposite these days.
With Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel running the show, the Mets had an undisciplined, laid-back, laissez-faire and for the most part dysfunctional organization.
Now they are doing everything they can to try to find the complete opposite of the things that went on over the past couple of seasons.
First, they hired Sandy Alderson as their GM. Alderson is a well-spoken former Marine who has had a tremendous amount of success running franchises in Major League Baseball. Alderson is also in the process of revamping the Mets’ minor league system and finding the Mets a new manager.
Alderson’s search has led him to Terry Collins.
According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, the Mets have hired Collins to be their next manager. Collins received a two-year deal from the Mets.
Collins is known for being a no-nonsense disciplinarian who runs a tight ship in his locker room—essentially the complete opposite of Manuel.
Collins has previous managerial experience with the Houston Astros and Anaheim Angels. Over six seasons, Collins had a 444-434 win-loss record, and his teams finished second five times.
Collins was fired in 1999 as manager of the Angels after 133 games when Angel players went to management and asked that Collins not be brought back. That has to be a little concerning if you are a Met fan.
Hopefully Collins has changed over the years, but if he hasn’t, he will be two years and out as Mets manager. As I have said many times before, baseball is not so much an X’s and O’s sport as football or basketball. The No. 1 job of a baseball manager is to run the clubhouse and have the respect of the players in that clubhouse.
If Collins can’t do that, he will be toast in New York.
I am not sure if Collins can turn the Mets around with their current roster in just two years, but he is certainly an interesting hire to say the least. I say interesting because why only give him a two-year deal?
Clint Hurdle got a three-year deal from the Pittsburgh Pirates. John Farrell got a three-year deal from the Toronto Blue Jays. Eric Wedge got the similar treatment in Seattle.
Why did Collins get one year less? I wonder if Collins is a stopgap manager.
Based on the Mets’ current roster, the Mets won’t have financial flexibility until 2012 and complete financial flexibility until 2013. That’s when Luis Castillo, Oliver Perez, Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran will be off the books.
Unless Collins gets an extension, he won’t be around to mold a team of his own. I wonder if he is in a Buck Showalter New York Yankees situation. Collins comes in, brings stability to the franchise, his micro-manager act runs a little thin with the organization and then someone else comes in to take the ball and run with it.
I will say Collins manages the team for two years, and Wally Backman will take over in 2013. I think the Mets will give Backman a better job in their minor league system, let him get some more seasoning under his belt and then give him the job after Collins leaves.
Collins beat out Bob Melvin, Backman and Chip Hale for the Mets’ gig.
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