Why Terry Collins Won’t Be Fired

So, when we were told that Terry Collins was “Sandy’s choice” for manager after the 2010 season, we weren’t being lied to — we had wrongly assumed that “Sandy” referred to “Alderson” rather than “Koufax.”

As the Mets’ season slips away, some assume Collins’ seat is sizzling. But if there’s heat, Terry’s not feeling it.

Kristie Ackert of The Daily News checked with her sources, and found that the Mets brass has no intention of holding Collins responsible for the team’s current misfortunes. Mike Puma of The New York Post reported the same thing.

Though, two things about that Post article jump out. First, there wasn’t much of an endorsement from The Captain David Wright. From the story:

But Wright also only gave Collins a lukewarm endorsement when asked if the manager is doing a good job.

“What he’s done with our minor league system, he knows a lot of these guys,” Wright said. “And it’s the same thing when we were talking about [Hudgens]: He is not up there with a bat in his hands and making pitches and there is only so much a manager can do to help the outcome of games.”

Diplomatic, and Jeteresque. But not exactly supportive. Nothing like, “I’d run through a wall for Terry Collins,” for example — though, I wouldn’t expect that, either. It would have been nice to get something in between, though.

Perhaps more striking was this part of Puma’s piece:

Alderson would almost certainly need the blessing of the Wilpon family to fire Collins. Not only is Collins well-liked by the Wilpons for his no-nonsense approach to the job, but he is tight with Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax. An industry source indicated that firing Collins could create an uncomfortable situation for owner Fred Wilpon, who is tight with Koufax from their days growing up together in Brooklyn.

Wait, what? If that’s true, then it stands to reason that the Collins hiring in the first place was influenced more by Sandy Koufax than Sandy Alderson — wouldn’t you think? If Koufax recommended Collins to his longtime pal Fred Wilpon, then the charade of considering and/or interviewing Clint Hurdle, DeMarlo Hale, Wally Backman, Bob Melvin, Chip Hale, Don Wakamatsu, Ken Oberkfell, Lee Mazzilli, Tim Teufel, etc., was just that — a charade. That the decision was made prior to the interviews my partially explain why Hurdle removed his hat from the table and jumped at the chance to manage the Pirates — even though the Pirates were in the midst of a nearly two-decade streak of losing seasons, with no end in sight. We were told that former Dodgers GM Paul DePodesta was the main guy in Collins’ corner, but it was also mildly suggested that Koufax had something to do with the decision as well.

So there you have it — Terry Collins may have become the Mets manager because he was Sandy’s (Koufax) choice, and he likely will remain on board, through thick and thin, so that the kinship between Koufax and Fred Wilpon is not tarnished. Fred already was forced to cut ties with dear friend Bernie Madoff a few years ago — does he want to lose another valued comrade?