METS SIGN NEW MANAGER KERRY COLLINS ... NO WAIT, MAKE THAT TERRY COLLINS.

Sorry for that ooopppsss fellow Mets fans. When I first heard the news all those months ago, I did a double take at the radio and almost got into an accident at the same time. There I was heading east on the Long Island Expressway when the news was announced on that faithful day in late-November 2010. My first reaction was, what the heck are they doing now, then further on it was made clear who they had actually hired.

It is sometimes difficult being a NY Mets fan over the past few seasons. Each time you hear news concerning the team, you cannot help but think of how this is going to be the next bone-headed move. At moments it feels like while the rest of MLB is playing chess, the NY Mets management is playing checkers, or maybe Chutes and Ladders. I did what I have learned to do over decades as a fan, digest the information and wait to see how it plays out. This would be no exception.

I have have to admit that I did not know who Terry Collins was. Even when many of the local sports talk stations were debating amongst themselves and with callers as to who should fill the now vacant position. My first thought, it always is my first thought, would be to re-hire Bobby Valentine, but his brilliance is lost on this organization and always will be. But I digress ... that is a debate for another time, another article. Here, we are talking of Terry Collins, the 20th manager in New York Mets history, so here goes.

Since there was not much that I knew about Collins, I decided to do a little research on the man who would be the one to take me out of my self imposed exile from investing any emotion into this team. After reading a bit, I still do not know what to think about our new manager, but this is what I've got to work with:

Collins spent ten years (1981-1991) managing in the Minor League. By the mid 1990s he had a brief stint in the Majors. First for the Houston Astros (1994-96) and then the California "what shall we call ourselves this season" Angels (1997-99). Collins left the Angels with 29 games left to play during the 1999 season ending his run in the Majors with a .500 record. This however does not concern me. What does is that his departure was attributed to infighting that divided the clubhouse. Guess the California "we're no" Angels had problems and this would grow to be a concern. There were problems and Collins was at the center of it.

He went to the Los Angeles Dodgers and worked under General Manager Paul DePodesta as director of player development from 2005-06. DePdesta was recently hired by Alderson as the Mets director of player development and amateur scouting. Under DePodesta, Collins would spend two years managing in Japan and would manage the China Team during the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

After his foreign exploits, Terry Collins returned to the Minor League in 2010 as the New York Mets Minor League field coordinator before being selected as the New York Mets 2011 manager and signing a two year deal with a third year option. Collins does admit that he brings an intensity in managerial style, but he believes that with the lacking of passion by the prior laid-back coaching staff. He is best known for player development, and that is something that this team, this organization has needed for a very, very long time.

This is not everything ... because as New York Mets fans, we know that how anyone performs before signing with this team, is not conducive to how they will perform once they get here. With that said, I am getting a good vibe from the pairing of both Alderson and Collins. There is a confidence that even though opening days is weeks away, there is promise in the air.

Do us proud Mr. Collins. Do us proud.