Man in the Mirror

TERRY COLLINS - MANAGER
Overall record - 521 W, 519 L
Mets record - 77 W, 85 L

Entering his second season with the club, manager Terry Collins will again have a ball club with a number of questions and uncertainty over its head.  Last season, it was the matter bad contracts for bad players, a thin bullpen, potential trades of All-Star players, and the overall black cloud of Mets baseball.

Some issues remain, while some new ones have formed for the 2012 season and Collins will have some magic to work if the club is to remain competitive throughout the year.  He does not need to worry about the constant questions of Jose Reyes, but instead he will get a steady stream of what will happen to David Wright.  The bullpen was solidified this off-season but the starting rotation has no depth should something happen to the first five.  Collins will also have to work with two rookies,  Lucas Duda and Ruben Tejada, and two players coming back from long term injuries, Ike Davis and Johan Santana.

And as always, he'll have to deal with the pressure of New York, the headache that is the Mets franchise, the large shadow of playing in the same city as the Yankees, and the preconceived notion that the Mets will finish last in their division this season.

Collins gets a good amount of credit for keeping everything together last season.  The club was in the running for the Wild Card for most of the year and showed itself as a very respectful club.  The season finally fell apart in late August when the injuries were to much to overcome and they could not keep up with the big boys.  Collins gets a pass for last season, his first year.  It was a lot of give and take between him and his players as well as him and upper management.  

This year, it won't be the same.  He will not have the good graces of the fans should the team get off to a rocky start.  He also needs to show who is boss and not take a lot from his players.  Collins needs to demand the most and the best from his players and hold them accountable.  This is not the season to coddle players.  This is the season to overachieve and win.  And win early.  If the Mets are playing well and have the record to show it in mid-July, Collins needs to force upper management to make an acquisition to make the club better down the stretch.

Collins is only signed through 2013 and for a baseball manager, that is not a comfortable feeling.  With their yearly salaries not that high, owners are more likely to let a manager go with one season remaining on the contract if the results are not seen this year.  Youth, inexperience, stacked against odds, none of those are excuses that should be used this season.  Just win.  And it begins with the manager.