METS FANS: Patience is Key

This week, the new General Manager of the New York Mets, Sandy Alderson, named Terry Collins the new manager of the team. Terry's resume includes managing the Houston Astros from 1994-1996 and the Anaheim Angels from 1997-1999. He served on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' coaching staff in 2001 and recently served as the minor league coordinator for the New York Mets.

My initial reaction to the hiring was disappointment. I know very little about Terry Collins, though I've heard that he has never led a team to the playoffs and resigned from his last managerial position in 1999 when the team petitioned to the GM to get rid of him. The last bit of information did little to change my initial perception of Terry. Combine that with the fact that he hasn't managed in over 11 years, and I'm beginning to worry about the New York Mets.

But all of that doesn't matter. The Mets will not win in 2011. They probably won't even win in 2012. The Mets are rebuilding, and as frustrating as that can be, it's something Mets fans have to accept. Terry received a two-year deal which tells me that unless Terry Collins miraculously leads the Mets to the playoffs, this is the end of the road for him. I could be wrong of course, and all this is mere speculation. However, the Mets seem to like both Wally Backman and Chip Hale and are keeping them close by in case they need them to take the reigns. This will most likely come in the 2013 season.

But for now, Terry Collins is our manager. Love him or hate him, he's here for the next two years (at least) and, barring another player revolt, we will have to deal with him. Mets fans wanted a fiery disciplinarian, and we got him, which makes Mets fans hating him even more baffling. His job appears to entail instilling a level of discipline in the team that has lacked over the past three and a half seasons. Terry may be perfect for that. The Mets are laying down a blueprint for the team, so that when they're ready to seriously contend, they won't trip themselves up down the stretch. That's not to say the Mets won't try to contend in 2011 and 2012, but with only $5 million available to spend this year, I can't imagine the team will look much better than it did in 2010. It's all about shedding the heavy contracts held by Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran, and Francisco Rodriguez after 2011.

The point is, this is what we have, and we need to be patient. Mets fans are already criticizing Collins and chastising him for something that he hasn't even done. He hasn't failed yet, and we don't know if he will fail. We shouldn't root for his demise because we wanted Wally Backman or Bobby Valentine. Believe me, no Mets fan wanted Bobby V more than I did. The fact of the matter is, he would have clashed with Sandy Alderson, based on how Sandy described his ideal manager/GM relationship, and if anything that would have hurt us even more.

Mets fans have to get behind Terry Collins. It's not going to be easy for him, to say the least. He will be taking over a team whose last four seasons has contained two late September collapses and two under .500 records. In addition to that, the team will have no money to make any moves, will have a new General Manager, and has a fan base that already doesn't like him because his name is not Wally Backman. This attitude is not healthy for the team nor for the fans.

I'm frustrated with the team and I am realistic about the team's prospects for the near future, but I'm not going to let that lead to snap judgments. One thing I hope not to see, but fear I will, is the blame game being passed around if the Mets have a bad first month. I don't want to see people calling for Terry's head if the Mets have an under .500 April. Would Mets fans have done the same to Wally Backman or Bobby Valentine? I'm not sure they would, so I hope they won't do that to Terry Collins. It's unfair to him and it is unrealistic to expect success right away from him or Sandy Alderson.

Let's be patient, for once. Let's shed our New York attitude and give this team a chance. We need to search for the subtle improvements on a game-to-game basis or else we're going to hate this team. The organization has shown a commitment to a youth movement, which means we will be seeing a lot of Josh Thole, Ruben Tejada, Fernando Martinez, Jenrry Mejia, and an assortment of other prospects.

2011 will be a success if we see improvements from these players and a cohesion that begins to make the Mets appear like a real team. We need to see hustle: No more jogging on fly balls, no more one-handing pop-ups, no more bad defensive plays late in games. While wins and losses will always be important, it may be over before it's begun for the 2011 Mets, but there's still a lot to look forward to. For once, our farm system is full of ripe young prospects who have real potential to become major players on this team. We also have a front office all-star team comprised of three of the game's brightest minds who are committed to using the "Moneyball" philosophy to build this team on the right ideas and players. I really am excited that for once, this team may actually know where it is going. Whether or not that translates into winning, both now and in the distant future, remains to be seen.