As the Mets sit at 18-13 and five games above .500 for the first time in two years, we should all applaud the job Terry Collins has done.
To look forward, we should first look back. Just look back at what Terry Collins inherited when he was hired and assess the job he has done in his one-plus years on the job.
When he was hired in November of 2010, Collins had assumed leadership of a team coming off two straight losing and underachieving seasons. He was left with a team in peril as he had a star shortstop (Jose Reyes) in the last year of his contract; a right fielder (Carlos Beltran), who prior to last season was major question mark because of his balky knees; a left fielder (Jason Bay), who has yet to live up to his contract; a closer (Francisco Rodriguez), who’s contract option had to be carefully monitored in the amount of games he appeared in. Plus, he was down the franchises’ best pitcher in Johan Santana.
What else you may ask? Well, Collins and the Mets also had an unsettled second base position and still had Luis Castillo under contract while also relying on young but still relatively unproven players in Ike Davis and Josh Thole at first and catcher respectively. For good measure, Oliver Perez was still under contract.
While the results of last year (77-85) were not that stellar and the team registered its third straight losing season, Collins laid the groundwork for the success the team is currently enjoying. Sandy Alderson also deserves plenty of credit for the handling of Castillo, Perez and Rodriguez’ contract issues, while also trading Beltran for a top-tier prospect (Zack Wheeler). But it has been the coaching and mentoring of Collins who has kept this ship afloat.
Collins’ old school approach took a while to kick in. Remember, this was a team that started 5-13 last year, but ever since that rocky beginning Collins has navigated through the murky waters and has this team believing in each other. One of the main reasons why the Mets struggled towards the end of last year was because the team traded Beltran (who was carrying the team last year) and Rodriguez thus conceding in the hopes of bolstering the future success of this squad. Not to mention, the team had to work around serious injuries to David Wright, Daniel Murpy and Davis.
With a year under his belt, Collins now knows what he’s truly working with while continuing to push all the right buttons. Now might be an ideal time to reward Collins with a contract extension as it has been proven that his players love playing for him. Collins and his players are enjoying a harmonious time together. Even when things get shaky, this team never quits and that’s a testament to the way Collins coaches.
Collins current contract runs through 2013 (with an option that was picked up last year). It would send a good message if Alderson would go the extra mile and reward Collins with a multi-year deal. A contract extension would signify a good deal of trust in Collins.
Collins is coaching with a team that nobody gave a shot at any success, and I know it’s early, but rewarding him with a contract would go a long way in building more team unity. Collins has had to once again battle the infamous injury bug (with Thole, Ruben Tejada, Bay, Mike Pelfrey all dealing with injuries), but he won’t let that define the team. Collins makes no excuses and won’t allow his players to make any either.
Collins is as hard knocks as they come.
He was the right man for the job at the right time. It’s time to make him the man for the job a little longer. I think he’s earned that much.
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Someone asked me who was the “signature” of this year’s team, either David Wright or R A Dickey.
I told him it was TC.
I was not a Collins backer when the Mets hired him. It’s not that I was a big supporter of Backman, just not a fan of how Collins had done in his previous stints.
Collins has been better than I expected. I think he deserves a lot of credit for keeping the Mets afloat when it looked like they were going to fall apart numerous times last year. From a distance, there seems to be no grumbling about how he runs the ship. People can learn from their mistakes and there’s a good chance that is exactly what happened with Collins.
Yet, I’m not ready to give him an extension. He turns 63 later this month and I’m just not worried about another team hiring him away. As you mentioned, he already had his option picked up so he’s under control through next year. I’d rather wait and see if he still has the team and if he still has the fire to manage. I’d treat him like the Red Sox and Wakefield — keep rolling over a one-year extension for as long as it makes sense.
Since that 5-13 start, the Mets are 90-85. Collins actually brought them home at exactly .500, if you throw out those 1st 18 games.
I like Collins and always have.
I was one of the guys clamoring for Bobby Valentine, but I’ve been happy with Collins. I don’t think manager is a crucial role in terms of a teams overall success and failure but I do think that Collins gets a good effort out of everyone on the team and doesn’t make me groan with his use of the bullpen.
After reading some thoughts over at MetsBlog, I guess the consensus is that Mets’ fans generally seem to like Collins, but we should wait on an extension. I guess just like with Wright, I think we should wait until the summer months to see if the Mets are in the position they are in now before giving out contracts. But if they are in contention late July/early August, these topics have to be addressed.
TC and David both should get extensions. With a lot of baseball to play, there is clearly enough promise that they need to be the “faces” of the franchise.
Warthen on the other hand…
I like TC, and no knock on him at all, but it is too soon for an extension. Let’s see the final results in October. The Mets have him through 2013. Too much could happen between now and the winter of 2012.