Good call II by Mets on Collins
I'm going to give the Mets props twice in the same day? I must be going soft -- or the Metsies, for once, are using their heads. Bringing ex-Bisons manager Terry Collins on board as field coordinator, a move announced Tuesday night, is a terrific choice on several fronts. Collins has field coordinator/farm director experience with the Dodgers. He knows talent. He's organized. He's passionate. And he's an outside voice who can come in and give the Mets a new view in the wake of the Tony Bernazard fiasco.
Two more angles you shouldn't discount:
---Jerry Manuel's replacement: What if the Mets start poorly next year? There really are no choices on the current staff to replace Manuel. For all the talk about beloved '86 Met Wally Backman, he was just hired to manage the Class A Brooklyn team in the New York-Penn League. Foolish to think the Mets would shoot him to the big leagues. But Collins is now in house with six years under his belt with Houston and Anaheim and two more in Japan. Hmmmm.
---The Buffalo factor: Collins, of course, is revered in Buffalo. Especially by ownership and the front office. I've talked to him a few times in the years since he left and he talks about his time here wistfully. It's widely known he was going to be Bob Rich's choice as manager if the Herd had gotten a 1993 NL expansion team. You would think he would make sure the Bisons are taken care of the right way (Memo to the Mets: A full roster is a requirement every night in Triple-A).
Now that J.P. Ricciardi is gone in Toronto, an affiliation with the Blue Jays in 2011 is certainly plausible if the Mets flame out here next year. Collins can help bridge the gap between the folks at Citi Field and the folks at Coca-Cola Field. Somehow, I doubt he'd sit by idly if the Triple-A team in his system was 2-17.
---Mike Harrington
