The rumor has been confirmed: The dismal New York Mets announced today that their next skipper will be Terry Collins, who formerly managed the Houston Astros and the Anaheim Angels. WFAN's John Heyman reports that he's been offered a two-year deal. The appointment will be officially announced in a news conference at 11 AM tomorrow morning.
Mets brass are hoping that Collins' "intense and fiery" personality can reignite the struggling franchise, which was plagued by injuries last year in a season that saw Citi Field attendance plummet. The New York Times says that the hiring "shatters the notion that Sandy Alderson, the new general manager, would hire only a puppet type to manage the team according to the strict direction of the front office."
Collins, who hasn't managed in the Majors for 11 years but spent last season as the Mets' minor league field coordinator, reportedly beat out 10 other candidates (including Brooklyn Cyclones manager Wally Backman and third-base coach Chip Hale) because of his "experience and fire," and will take over for Jerry Manuel at the helm of a struggling franchise that's been overhauling their entire staff this off-season.
We'll keep our fingers crossed, but with a bloated payroll and superstars like Beltran and Santana not pulling their weight, there's only so much a new manager can really do (though the young players supposedly like the 61-year-old!). Let's hope his tenure here doesn't end like it did in Anaheim in 1999, where players reportedly petitioned for him to be fired.
