Mets have right guy in Collins

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.

Maybe it took this third chance, one that arrived 12 years after the second one ended in controversy, for Terry Collins to find the perfect fit.

Maybe Bernard Madoff's crime, the Mets' questionable baseball moves and the hiring of a general manager who thought he could shine created the precise confluence of events for Collins.

Maybe not. But as the Mets prepare for what could be a trying season, the high-energy Collins, 62, looks to be about as good a fit for this gig as anyone out there.

"We've got a lot of guys in here. It really takes one guy to bring it together," Jason Bay said Tuesdaymorning. "There's a million ways you can do it, or not, or do nothing. Some managers have that luxury. He doesn't. We really need to get the most out of everybody we can."

Said Collins: "This is a situation where I think Fred [Wilpon] is one of the greatest guys I've ever met, and I'm just wishing the best for him. Whatever is the positive, that's what I'm hoping for. But our guys, they don't get caught up. They don't have time."

Just in case, however, Collins addressed the Mets' financial situation and the reduction of payroll during his introductory speech Monday, urging his players not to concern themselves with who isn't here.

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By this point, kicking off Year 2 on the job, Collins knows a major responsibility is to keep his players focused.

"I think in a general sense, we had a pretty good idea what our situation would be," GM Sandy Alderson said, going back to his decision to hire Collins, "and certainly, coming in, one of the things we needed to do was change the perception of the team from one of not caring about their work and reputation to a team that was noted for it."

"I demand work ethic," Collins said. "I demand playing the game right, that kind of stuff. It just rubbed people the wrong way sometimes early in my career. Now I'm doing a better job of controlling my emotions."

Here's another change: Collins' first two opportunities came for franchises in ownership transition, only on the other side of the fence. He became Drayton McLane's first managerial hire for the Astros in 1994, and he led the Angels as they changed their handle from "California" to "Anaheim" in 1997, under Disney ownership, and as founder Gene Autry died in 1998. That ended badly, with Collins resigning with 29 games left in the season after learning that his players had petitioned then-GM Bill Bavasi to fire him.

In a more positive environment, you could see how a younger, less discreet Collins could alienate people. Here with the Mets, though, Collins comes off as a welcome visitor from the past. An old-school guy concerned only about the game.

Alderson, here at Bud Selig's urging to Wilpon, saw that fit. He also envisioned how last year would play out, with the in-season trades of Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez and that Jose Reyes probably wouldn't return for 2012, as the team moved away from the days of Omar Minaya's poor long-term investments.

Last year's Mets did suffer following the two trades, going 22-32 after Aug. 1. If you watched the club play, however, you rarely saw a team in surrender; seven of those losses occurred in the ninth inning or later, as the post-K-Rod bullpen struggled.

Right now, though, as an energetic, communicative caretaker, Collins is proving the third time's the charm.