Collins wants to see new faces do well

The cavalry cannot save them. So for now, they must save themselves.

With David Wright expected to join Angel Pagan and Ike Davis on the disabled list later Wednesday, manager Terry Collins has no choice but to rely on a patchwork lineup composed of young faces and little experience.

As of right now, Carlos Beltran's only protection in the lineup is a struggling Jason Bay, who is hitting in the cleanup spot, followed by a hodgepodge of newbies such as Justin Turner, Jason Pridie, Ruben Tejada, Fernando Martinez and Nick Evans.

It'll be weeks before help, in the form of either Wright or Davis, shows up. But despite the potentially rocky road that lies ahead, Collins wouldn't offer excuses for his team or the newest additions to his roster. Though two-out hits and clutch RBIs hardly were standard practices among his healthy lineup, he nevertheless is harping on the importance of execution.

"What we're going to ask these guys, be it Fernando, be it Ruben, Nick Evans: 'Hey look, go play the game right. Just execute,' " Collins said hours before Tuesday night's game against Florida was postponed because of the threat of heavy rain. "If we've got to drive the ball to the right side, be patient enough to get a pitch you can hit over there and put the correct swing on it. It's easy to say, it's hard to do. This is not an easy game. Looks easy from the stands. I've sat in the stands before. I know how hard it is to really execute it. But that's what we're going to ask everybody on this team to do right now."

Including Bay.

The leftfielder is hitting just .171 (6-for-35) in the team's last 10 games and just .218 overall with two home runs and six RBIs. His approach at the plate has been so bad of late that Collins had his No. 4 hitter bunt -- yes, bunt -- in the 10th inning of Monday night's 2-1 loss to Florida.

"It's not about egos, it's about winning ballgames," said Bay, who has just eight home runs in his 116-game Mets career after hitting 45 in 200 games with Boston.

"I'm not going to base my entire year on the [78] at-bats that I have. Obviously, I'd like it to be better and it should be better, but I'm not going to sit here and tell you that my whole season hinges on the first three weeks that I've been here."

Thanks to a rash of injuries, the Mets' unsettled lineup isn't Collins' only concern. Their depleted roster forces the manager to play certain guys out of position in order to plug holes. Turner, who primarily has been used at second base since Davis' calf and ankle injuries, will shoulder Wright's third- base responsibilities.

Tejada, whom Collins would prefer to see at shortstop, now will be at second, a position he played in 50 of 78 games last season.

Collins said Evans, who "brings some power, some sock to our lineup," can play both first and third, and even some corner outfield if need be.

The plan for these newcomers is simple: Play hard. Play smart. And, most importantly, don't do too much.

"You can only do what you're capable of doing," Collins said.

"Hey look, what got you here is going to keep you here . . . And the minute you try to go outside those boundaries is when you're going to run into problems."