Mets and manager Terry Collins reportedly in contract talks

A 71-84 record and a massive 21-game deficit in the division wouldn’t normally elicit positivity around a Major League Baseball team, but somehow, it appears that the New York Mets are set to reward that performance from their manager.

To be honest, it isn’t a surprise that the Mets and Collins are engaging in contract talks, but it is a very interesting case study. On the one hand, the Mets’ record is fairly dreadful, and they’ve been out of (reasonable) playoff discussions for months now. On the other hand, however, the Mets are nearly void of talent, and even their superstar players (Matt Harvey and David Wright) have been sidelined by injuries for significant periods of time.

For me, Collins has been a productive manager despite the record, and I would ask anyone what he was supposed to do differently. If I was a Mets fan who followed the team closely, it would be tough to knock Collins for anything on the field, and until the aforementioned Sandy Alderson can build him a competitive roster, Collins can’t take the Mets much further.

It seems that Terry Collins will be back with the Mets for 2014, and that proves that the win-loss record isn’t the only measure of managerial competence.