What's will be special about Terry?

THE PROS

- There will be fire! According to Mike Puma of the New York Post "The Mets are believed to have valued Collins’ fiery, old-school approach to the game over Melvin’s more laid-back style. After experiencing the laid back, ultra-lame attitude of Jerry Manuel, who failed to get the Mets adequately fired up and refused to argue many close calls, this change can be big for the Mets, especially playing in New York where the fans respond especially well to anger on the field.

- He will know what changes to make! Collins will be in prime position to implement players from the minor leagues that he evaluated last season as a manager of a minor league team.

- Experience is not an issue. Collins previously managed the Astros and Angels, but has not been a major league manager since 1999. He spent last year as the Mets’ minor league field coordinator, giving him an overview of the entire farm system. Collins had a strong ally in the Mets’ new head of player development and scouting, Paul DePodesta, who tried to hire him as manager when DePodesta was Dodgers GM in 2005. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt fired DePodesta before Collins could be hired. Mets GM Sandy Alderson started with a list of 10 initial candidates for the job. Collins was viewed a front runner from the start because of his relationship with DePodesta. "I was the minor league director and the field coordinator over there," Collins recalled last week. "I knew the young players, and they were starting to go young. So I thought I had a real good chance there. Certainly when Paul got let go, I was probably as disappointed as anybody."

- He's recommended. DePodesta recently heaped praise on Collins, calling him an "absolute star in player development," and suggesting Collins' experience in Houston and Anaheim would be an asset in his third stint as a major league manager."I think any of us who have been in these jobs in various organizations learn a lot every step of the way," DePodesta said. "I've been through four organizations now. I'm hopeful some of the things I've been exposed to over that time will be helpful to the Mets, and I think the same could be said for Terry. He's been a major league manager a couple of different times. You learn an awful lot from that. He's been in the Far East. I think, again, he's had a lot of success in player development. So I think there are a lot of things about his experiences that are worthwhile. Everyone likes different personalities. I really like Terry's intensity. I think he's a tremendous organizational guy."

THE CONS

Just days, ago, Ash Marshall of Bleacher Report slammed the Mets for considering Terry Collins as a candidate for manager. His article made many anti-Collins claims. The full articule is below:

Sandy Alderson and the New York Mets interviewed Terry Collins for the second time on Thursday as the club forges ahead in looking for Jerry Manuel's successor.

While I find it a little unnerving that all four of the final candidates called back for the final round of interviews are in-house candidates, I just don't feel comfortable with Collins.

It's as intangible as anything else, but I just don't believe he has the makeup needed to guide the Mets back to relevance.

Yes, he has six years of Major League experience under his belt, but how much does that really count for?

Considering he hasn't managed in the bigs in more than a decade, does his experience really make him any more suitable than Chip Hale of Wally Backman?

I don't think Backman is right for the job either, but I would consider Collins' change on a par with Backman's. Hale, despite no Major League experience, has a more hands-on knowledge of the challenges facing the current roster and I think that a degree of continuity is important.

With that in mind, I think Hale's familiarity with the Major League club holds more weight than the work Collins has done in the past year as Minor League field coordinator.

Even if you do consider that Collins' experience with the Houston Astos and the California Angels is invaluable, look at his tenure with these teams where he spent three years each.

Collins managed the Astros to a 224-197 record in three seasons between 1993 and 1996. Despite having the highest winning percentage of any manager at the time, he was fired under a veil of needing to "change dynamics" at the club.

Rumors had it that he was an unpopular manager, and the fact that he was replaced by the team's broadcaster Larry Dierker—a man with no managerial experience but described as "fan friendly" by the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel—must tell you something.

Apparently the organization had so little faith in Collins' ability to lead the team in the right direction that they kicked him to the curb in favor of a play-by-play guy.

Collins stayed in the business by landing a job with the Angels, but his fierce regime had some people thinking that it led to a number of late-season collapses.

Then towards the end of the 1999 season, players' complaints began criticizing his passive managerial style. Others were apparently unhappy at his inability to manage a diverse group of players in the clubhouse.

Team leader Mo Vaughn, Randy Velarde and Todd Greene were so upset with Collins that they met with then-Angel General Manager Bill Bavasi to urge him not to offer Collins an extension.

Bavasi tried to save face by backing up his manager, although when it came down to putting his money where his mouth was, he never tried to talk Collins out of his resignation near the end of the 1999 season.

It's sad, because there are things that would fit almost perfectly with Alderson's ideals. There's just not the right ones.

At his introduction to the press at Citi Field, Alderson said he continues to believe that on-base percentage and slugging and power and so forth are important. He is known for his fondness for sabermetric analytical tools, much like Collins who shares his affinity for things like OBP.

Alderson also wants someone who is fiery and who isn't afraid to stand up to umpires. Again, if Collins' reputation precedes him, he seems a good fit.

Unfortunately, Alderson also said leadership is key, and that is where I think Collins is lacking. When it comes down to managing a big market team under the scrutiny of New York's media, leadership trumps a potential manager's analytical skills or intuition.