Terry Collins will find out Tuesday night if he's NL Manager of the Year

Terry Collins could have cracked. Back in June and July, when he admitted "our pieces were thin" and the lineup sputtered on a nightly basis, the Mets' manager could have lost his patience.

Instead, he delivered his best work in what became a banner season, helping to keep the Mets afloat. For that, Collins, 66, became a finalist for the NL Manager of the Year award, which will be announced Tuesday night. No Mets manager has ever won the award.

"We were asking certain guys who weren't ready to do certain jobs to do those jobs," Collins said. "My job was to make sure they believed in themselves."

That belief helped the Mets win their first pennant since 2000. At the end of the season, Collins was rewarded with a two-year contract extension. Now he could be recognized as the best among his peers.

The Cubs' Joe Maddon and the Cardinals' Mike Matheny are the other finalists for the award, which has never been won by a Mets manager.

Collins took over in 2011 and guided the rebuilding Mets to four straight losing seasons. At various points, even early this season, his job status appeared shaky.

But Collins led the Mets to a 90-72 mark and an appearance in the World Series, his first as a manager. Collins also managed the Astros and Angels from 1994-99 and had never finished better than second place.

At those stops, his intensity led to problems with players. With the Mets, however, Collins has earned raves from general manager Sandy Alderson for his management of the clubhouse and his communication with players, particularly veteran leaders such as David Wright.

"I used to take everything real personal, like it was an attack at me," Collins said. "When I managed the first two times, we'd have a bad game and I thought it was my fault. I was [angry] and I showed it. The players thought I was mad at them. I wasn't mad at them. I was mad at me."Despite innings restrictions that loomed all season, Collins coordinated with pitching coach Dan Warthen to work around those limits. Once the postseason arrived, the Mets were able to use their young starters with few restrictions.

"I'm doing what I love," Collins said. "How many people really get to do that? I get up every day and do what I enjoy the most."

Yanks' coaches back. The Yankees announced that pitching coach Larry Rothschild, bench coach Rob Thomson, third-base coach Joe Espada and first-base coach Tony Peña will return in the same roles. Peña also will serve as catching instructor. The bullpen coach job will go to Mike Harkey. Several weeks ago, the team announced that Alan Cockrell had been promoted to hitting coach. Marcus Thames, a former Yankee and a respected coach in the organization, was named as his assistant.