Collins builds Mets on shifting sand

Terry Collins isn't supposed to worry about where Carlos Beltran will be traded or if the Mets can afford to re-sign Jose Reyes. It's above his pay grade, yet it is thrust in his face every day, as he's the one sitting in front of a microphone before each game to answer those same questions.

Collins has spent the past five months trying to build these Mets into a team, working hard to earn the trust of his players while squeezing every last ounce of talent from this patchwork roster like it was a blue-and-orange toothpaste tube.

Getting this group to the high-water mark of three games over .500, as Collins did Friday in San Francisco, was an impressive feat. It's not quite on par with the magic Clint Hurdle is performing in Pittsburgh, but Collins is doing his own nightly smoke-and-mirrors act in the ultracompetitive National League East.

The show, however, could be nearing its end. For everything Collins has done to keep these Mets together, Sandy Alderson is busy trying to dismantle them -- or at least find buyers for their most valuable parts.

"It is what it is," Collins said before Monday night's 4-1 loss to the Marlins. "It's just part of the business."

That must be difficult for Collins to swallow. The manager has waited months for Reyes, Beltran and David Wright to finally be on the field together. Now that they are expected to do so -- Reyes and Beltran should return Tuesday, Wright on Friday -- the reunion may last for only another week beyond that.

Alderson already has traded away Collins' closer, and now he's aiming to move Beltran, the team's only dangerous deep threat. Collins had to know this day was coming, even when he signed on for the job last November. But when it comes to big picture, managers don't look much beyond the next inning, and certainly don't think of themselves as just another hardhat in a rebuilding project. On top of that, Collins has been forced to deal with a number of injuries that evolved from minor to disastrous in a shockingly short period of time.

"It's one of those things you start to get numb to," Collins said. "I think I learned a valuable lesson when I was in Anaheim and lost all the guys that year we were supposed to win -- and supposed to win big. You can't let it get to you."

That injury-marred season with the Angels was 12 years ago. Not only has Collins taken that lesson to heart, he's determined not to repeat the most costly mistakes of his career.

Collins has made it his mission to take the pulse of his clubhouse on a regular basis, and despite the changing faces, he's maintained a solid connection. Spending too much time thinking about who might be back and when is not a productive exercise. Ask Jerry Manuel.

"Your focus has to be those guys in there," Collins said, referring to the clubhouse. "Because the minute I lose them, I'm in big trouble. I know that's something I did in the past that I will not let happen again."

Collins has succeeded in that sense, regardless of where the Mets finish in the standings. Alderson went as far as to say that Collins has "done a great job," which may be a first for a New York team that trailed a division leader by double-digits. But Alderson is a realist.

Think the Phillies could have survived the concurrent losses of Cliff Lee, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco? How about if the Yankees were docked CC Sabathia, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez?

As Jason Bay said the other day, there's no point playing the "what if" game for this season. But you can bet Collins daydreams of writing a lineup that includes Reyes, Wright, Beltran and Ike Davis -- with Johan Santana on the mound.

It's too bad that lineup card -- given the Mets' plight this season -- will be posted only on the walls of his imagination.