The buzz around the New York Mets is that the club’s new manager will be Terry Collins. All signs are pointing to Collins. It is said that he is the current front runner for the job, and with Clint Hurdle going to the Pirates, it looks like Collins is a lock for the Mets.
This news has caused many Mets fans to get upset with the organization again. Fans hopes were high when Sandy Alderson was hired and when a new Mets’ front office was assembled. Things were going great for the Mets; the next step was to get a manager.
Fans had names like Wally Backman, Bobby Valentine and Joe Torre in mind. They wanted a game changer, someone who would bring instant credibility to a slumping franchise. In a perfect world, the fans would have got who they wanted. But this isn’t a perfect world.
The Mets currently have limited resources, and that means they can’t spend a lot on their next manager. Guys like Bobby Valentine and Joe Torre are fantastic baseball minds, but they would have demanded too much money.
As for Wally Backman, he is still currently in the race. People close to him have said that he is expecting to get called back for a second interview. The Mets fans have voiced their opinions on who they want to be the next manager, and the majority wants Backman.
There’s one problem, though: The fans don’t make the choices. Sandy Alderson does, and Sandy Alderson doesn’t like Backman as much as the fans do. Alderson has made it clear that he envisions a manager to be an extension of himself.
Alderson does not want to put up with huge egos. He wants a quiet manager who will manage the game the way he (Alderson) wants it to be managed.
That leaves us with the final candidates: Terry Collins, Bob Melvin and Chip Hale are reportedly the last three candidates for the job. As mentioned earlier, Collins currently is the front runner of the pack.
None of these three guys are sexy picks, but Sandy Alderson has seen something in each of them. Something that the fans can’t see. Alderson is the man conducting the interviews and he sees first hand what these men intend on doing with the team.
Obviously, Alderson sees potential in these final three candidates. He has a plan for this team and he intends on carrying that plan out. In the recent past, the Mets have not had long term plans to follow. The Mets mindset was that they would just patch up their holes and then move forward.
That plan didn’t work out. Season after season, the Mets plan became more and more flawed. Fans lost confidence in the front office and here we are now. The Mets have a totally new front office and they are doing things different.
Surprisingly, the fans aren’t in favor of what the new front office is doing. This team was in need of a change and it got that change. New men are running the organization now, and they aren’t just any regular people; they are baseball masterminds.
Mets fans haven’t grasped the idea that they should trust in what the organization is doing. The team is now run by very smart baseball minds and they know what they have to do to bring this team back to the playoffs.
It was obvious that things weren’t working out for the Mets. Therefore a change was in need. The organization got the change and the fans are taking that for granted.
The Mets should be doing things differently and they are. Changes are being made and most of them are great changes. I don’t care who the Mets name as their new manager, because I trust the organization will make the right move.
As of now, all Mets fans should believe in this team. It will only become reasonable to lose faith in this team once again if they are performing poorly. That’s not the case right now and every single fan should be behind the team.
The more you think about, the more it seems that Terry Collins is the right man for the job. He worked with the organization last season, so he is already familiar with the team. That eliminates a crucial learning curve. He also is a proven manager. He has experience as a manager in the MLB and out of it.
People say that Collins’ experience isn’t a factor because his last manager job in the MLB was in 1999. They say the game has changed a lot since then, and he isn’t ready to return to managing. That argument is foolish because since 1999, Collins has been managing many teams.
Collins has managed in Japan for a few years and even managed Team China in the World Baseball Classic. Collins must have learned many things in his time managing those teams. This guy is a lot more ready for this job than the fans make him out to be.
He also has some fire, and it’s just the right amount. There’s a fine line between being fiery and being crazy. Collins doesn’t cross that line, he is just fiery enough and Sandy Alderson likes that.
Collins won’t make a fool of himself in post game conferences. He’s not a big ego, and Alderson likes that. Alderson is a smart baseball mind and Collins will be an extension of him. I have no problem with Sandy Alderson’s theories managing the team. Alderson is extremely smart when it comes to baseball.
Lastly, I think I have to mention this. To put all of the managerial candidates on an equal playing field, Collins had a DUI in 2002. Wally Backman also ran into problems with the law, so I felt that it would be foolish of me to leave this information unmentioned.
This part of the story that was in the Augusta Chronicle.
“Former major league manager Terry Collins was arrested early Thursday morning and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, according to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.The 53-year-old Collins, in his first year as minor league field coordinator with the Los Angeles Dodgers, was stopped by police on the 3100 block of Washington Road, a major Augusta thoroughfare, around 2 a.m. Collins, who managed the Astros (1994-96) and Angels (1997-99), was also charged with operating an unsafe vehicle and driving without a license on his person.”
This may seem like making matters worse for an already unlike candidate for the Mets manager job, but this will actually show Mets fans something very important. It will strongly suggest that Sandy Alderson’s opinions are strong about Terry Collins and that his decision is only baseball related.
I would suspect that a guy like Terry Collins wouldn’t be so highly touted, but Sandy Alderson must see something in him. Alderson has made it clear that he believes that Terry Collins might be the right guy for the Mets manager job. He believes in Collins, and that’s a great sign for Mets fans.
The team is in need of change and they are getting it. Mets fans should be encouraged of what is currently going on with this organization. As of now, no Met fan has any reason not to trust in Sandy Alderson. It’s time for Mets fans to rally behind the team and trust that every move made is the right one.
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