Collins aces sprint; how about marathon?

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.

No standard jog for Terry Collins yesterday morning.

"I got on the stepper," the Mets' new manager said, referring to a StairMaster, "because my legs were real sore."

Understandable. As David Wright and catchers worked on rundown drills Wednesday, trapping and retiring the baserunner between third base and home plate, they found themselves having to tag a particularly elusive target - the 61-year-old Collins, who darted and dashed at a frenetic pace.

Yes, Collins has made a strong first impression at Digital Domain Park, providing a nice burst of vibrancy and turning attention away from ownership woes and toward the eternal hope of spring training.

The question lurks, however: Most new managers ace the first week. Does Collins have the legs to last the marathon of the 162-game season?

"I think his first impression has been indelible and very positive," said general manager Sandy Alderson, the man who hired Collins. "He's described as intense, but I think it's an intensity without an edge because it's so positive, so constructive.

"He works at communication in such a way that it doesn't leave any room for misinterpretation. He talks in groups. He talks to individuals. There's a constant level of communication. And I think it's the kind of approach that I think he'll be able to maintain."

Collins, enjoying his first major-league managing opportunity since he oversaw an Anaheim Angels meltdown in 1999 (and consequently resigned), thinks his time away from this post - he managed the Astros from 1994-1996 and then nearly three full seasons with the Angels - has made him wiser and more likely to go the distance.

"At those times, I had something to prove," Collins said. "I was not a very big name. I had only coached two years at the major-league level before I started managing. . . . When I got to the big leagues, I was bound and determined to show people I could do it.

"I let that kind of dictate the way I went about things instead of just doing my job the way I thought it probably should have been done."

That evoked a natural follow-up: You don't feel you have something to prove now? "I think that my record, the way my teams have played, have shown that I can do the job," said Collins, who is 444-434 lifetime. "I've done the job. My years, ever since I managed in the major leagues, the minor-league player development stuff where we produced good minor-league players, I don't think I have to prove that stuff anymore. . . . I want to win. Don't make any mistake about that. It's not gnawing at me like it was 20 years ago."

In Anaheim, Collins continued, he erred by letting the players police themselves. "Now," he said, "if I have something to prove, it's I now have the ability to do that."

Said Carlos Beltran, "I like him. I think he brings a lot of energy to this ballclub. He has a lot of passion for the game. . . . When you have a manager who's having fun and who's enjoying what he's doing, that's contagious. . . . You're always laughing. And that's great. We need that."

Given Collins' history, if he falters, it'll probably be because of temperament, not game management or roster deployment. "Obviously, if times get tough, we'll find out about Terry," Alderson said. "We'll find out about players. We'll find out about all of us . . . But I think right now, he's set just the right tone."

Times figure to get tough, so we'll get our answer. Until then, Mets fans, you might as well enjoy the honeymoon.