Just Mets

Terry Collins has gotten the good start he needed to avoid the proverbial hot seat among baseball managers. He is in the midst of a 10-3 start with the Mets in 2015, which is tied for the best start in club history (2006 and 1986).

The 65-year-old manager has enjoyed his second life with the Mets. He has been with the organization since 2010 when he started as a minor league field coordinator, and was hired just a year later by Sandy Alderson to lead the Mets through what was going to be several very lean years as they rebuilt the organization from the ground up.

Now that the rebuilt is complete and there are certain expectations for the Mets, Collins has informed his bosses he would like to continue managing beyond 2015, according to Steve Marcus of Newsday.

“They know I want to be here,” Collins told Marcus. “They know I like it here. But I also understand the business as good as anybody. Hey, look, my job is to go out [and help them] do the best we can do to have a big year. If we do, the rest of it takes care of itself.”

Collins has only a club option in his contract for next year, and no guarantees it will ever be exercised. Despite the semi-lame duck status, Collins is not worried about what happens beyond this season.

“If I was 46 and doing it, this would be a tough thing to handle right now,” Collinsexplained. “It’s easier for me now.”

He had often been criticized in the past for how he handled the bullpen in terms of playing match-ups and overusing certain pitchers, as well as some in-game strategy which has been questionable at times.

But, those decisions were made with evaluation in mind and with incomplete rosters. Often times, he just didn’t have reliable flexibility at his disposal, and that left him making weird and awkward decisions in-game.

Now, Collins has a more complete roster, which is the fairest way to evaluate him for the future of the franchise.

As I wrote on Saturday, it seems Collins is now managing with a purpose and with more aggressiveness. He’s done whatever he can to give his team the best advantage possible. For instance, he decided to play Ruben Tejada last Wednesday with Jon Niese on the mound, as Niese is a groundball pitcher and Tejada is simply the superior defender to Wilmer Flores right now. It’s also been evident with how he’s managed the bullpen (which has been great so far).

The changes in Collins’ style have been quite refreshing.

Even so, it’s just 13 games. There’s 92 percent of the season left, and now he’s tasked with keeping his club sturdy as they deal with two more major injuries as well as continuing to win games. A lot can happen between now and the end of the year, some of which is not likely to be good. How Collins’ manages the continuing adversity and how he manages the team when they hit a wall might go a long way in determining whether or not he comes back next year.

Still, he’s put up with a lot, been through a lot of difficult days with this team, and has had to find ways to pull rabbits out of his hat when none were there to pull. He’s a survivor if you will and, so far at least, he’s reaping the rewards for his patience.