Watching David Wright at points this season has been painful. Wright has struck out ten times in the past ten games, and now has 32 strike outs through 28 games. With every game counting right now, the Mets need to put themselves in a position to win. Wright is not getting the big hits when his team needs it and he strikes out way too much to be a number three hitter. I think it's time to drop Wright down in the order, to the five or six spot. 

When Angel Pagan comes back, my line-up would look something like this:

1. Jose Reyes – SS
2. Angel Pagan – CF
3. Carlos Beltran – RF
4. Jason Bay – LF
5. Ike Davis – 1B
6. David Wright – 3B
7. Daniel Murphy – 2B
8. Josh Thole – C

I like Carlos Beltran in the third spot because he doesn't strike out as much as Jason Bay, Ike Davis, and Wright, plus he is a switch hitter, which gives the Mets three switch hitters at the top of the line-up. 

I don't think this should be a permanent spot of Wright, but right now he is not the team's best number three hitter.

Wright might see worse pitches with Murphy behind him instead of Beltran, but right now I don't think it really matters. Pitchers know they can get Wright to swing at pitches out of the strike zone, being down in the order he might see more of them, and learn to lay off of them.  

I've heard a lot of negative reaction from many Mets fans and even baseball fans of other MLB Teams, and the main reason is they don't know who he is due to length of time since he managed in the MLB. 

Now, I myself had to do a ton of research on Collins and there just wasn't much there, but what I found that makes me ok to give him a chance is that he's tough-skinned, and that's what this team needs. They don't need a fiery manager, they don't need somebody who likes to be aggressive on the bases, they don't need someone with smarts, however they need somebody who has a little bit of each quality, but summed up with a no-nonsense attitude. 

It's time for this team, and the players, to get serious. He's not going to care if you cry, and won't hesitate to bench you if you're slumping. 

Overall, I don't view Collins as the "Next Big Manager." I don't even expect him to last 3 years. What I do view him as, is somebody who knows who is coming up through the Minor League System, understands them, teaches them right off the bat that the pro's is a time to be serious and unselfish. I think he's a 2-3 year manager, who will turn this team around, force them to take things serious, get everything straightened out, and then once this team is on the right track and has the necessary pieces in place that are also well disciplined, the Mets will bring in a new Manager who has the ability to take this team to a much higher level, but that manager however wouldn't even be interested or capable of having turned this team around as early as 2010. 

The changes will not happen overnight, nor in just one year. It's going to be a strenuous 1-2 years turnaround, so why hire the "right" manager to try to turn these guys around, struggle as the club goes through all these changes over the next 1-2 years, and suddenly loses that fire and determination that the Mets will need as a Manager in 2012 or 2013.

I wouldn't want to see Backman or Melvin, better long-term options as Manager, get beat around for 2 years while the organization undergoes drastic changes to the roster and coaching staff, trying to put together a competitive team down the road — and then have Backman or Melvin blamed for 2 more years of "struggling", even though common sense would show that they have no chance in competing during that period — and then end up being replaced at Manager.

That's why I'm okay with this move. 

Mets new manager Terry Collins, was just on ESPN Radio, with Michael Kay.  A couple of things to note: 

• Josh Thole is going to be the Mets catcher, Collins likes how he worked with the pitchers last season
• As of now Carlos Beltran is still the Center Fielder, Collins is going to speak to him
• Fernando Martinez could compete for a job in Spring Training
• Collins is going down to the Dominican to speak with Luis Castillo and Daniel Murphy to figure out the Second Base situation
• Collins is confident Jason Bay will NOT have another season as he did last season

So far, I like Collins' attitude. I like how he is confident, Jason Bay's season was just a fluke. I also like how he is  giving Fernando Martinez a second chance, although if he gets a job, he will be sitting on the bench. I have to agree with his take on the Second Base scenario. I think another year for Tejada in the minor leagues, would do wonders for him offensively. 

If I told you that I felt joy and excitement when I read the news that Terry Collins would be the next Mes manager, I'd be lying. Between him, Wally Backman, Bob Melvin and Chip Hale, Collins was my least favorite.

After the Pittsburgh Pirates signed Clint Hurdle, I thought the best choice for the Mets would be Melvin. Then news broke that Melvin was likely to be named the manager and I thought this was a smart move. As it turned out, these were just rumors, and yesterday the Mets announced that Collins would be their manager.

There were a few reasons I didn’t like Collins. For one, he wasn’t a manager last year. He spent the 2010 season as the minor-league field coordinator. I wasn’t even sure what this position did, so I had to look it up. A minor-league field coordinator is a person who oversees the training for individual players within the minor league system. I don’t think it happens very often when the minor-league field coordinator gets promoted to the major league head coach.

The one thing I do like about Collins is the experience he has. Ultimately, I think this is the reason he was given the job.

This is a chart I found this on Wikipedia of all the coaching jobs Collins has had at the major league level:

In the end I have complete faith in Sandy Alderson. He took his time with this interview process and he had a lot of names to pick from. Collins obviously showed him something that made him feel he was the best person for this job and would manage the team that he built around him well.

I know there are a lot of fans out there that aren't happy with this decision, but it is really unfair to hate on Collins before he has had a chance to even say anything, let alone manager a game. Alderson thinks he is the best man for the job, so we as fans should think he's the best man for the job.

Another important thing to keep in mind is to keep everything in prospective. Right now, the Mets aren't a playoff team. That is the sad realization. They need to make some serious improvements before they can become a team that can compete with the Braves and the Phillies. Collins (and Alderson for that matter) won't make the Mets the best team in baseball overnight. It's going to be a process which could take a while. And yes, that means the 2011 might be a rebuilding time for the Mets.

Collins is a very smart guy and hopefully he has learned from his mistakes in the past, making him a better manager today.

The New York Mets have announced that they will hire Terry Collins to be the team's manager. Jon Heyman reports that Collins will get a two year deal from the Mets.

Heyman, along with others, originally reported that the Mets were going to sign Bob Melvin to be the manager. He apologized via Twitter.

So it seemed no one really had a clue on who was going to be hired. It looks like the Mets did a good job of not leaking any information to media and reporters were just making things up with the Melvin report.

Tyler Kepner writes a nice article for the New York Times about Collins. He talks about his past, managing for the Angels and Astros, and how he thinks he's a great fit for the Mets.

Paul DePodesta, who worked with Collins when he was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, had this to say about him:

“Terry was an absolute star in player development and a huge help to the Dodgers. He was really helpful in the development of a lot of the young kids who are the core of their major league club right now. He’s done it before.”

Bill Bavasi, the former GM of the Angels who hired Collins to manage the team, had nothing but great things to say about him. Here are some quotes from him:

“I believe with Terry’s intellect, his organization, his ability to recognize problems and not be afraid to deal with them — guys like that tend to turn things around real quick. They just do. There’s an intensity about him and it can’t be ignored.”

“I know New York is tough, and New York is not for the faint of heart. But this guy is not faint of heart — at all.”

“Sandy (Alderson) is not going to be influenced by foolish issues. He’s going to be influenced by what gets the Mets to the vision that Sandy and the Wilpons have. He’s not there to satisfy public opinion on a short-term basis.”