I get the feeling that the Mets are waiting for 2014 to be competitive. Their young pitching will be more established, Bay and Santana will be off the books so the Mets will finally have some money to spend. I think they'll keep Collins until 2013 and then get a new guy. It'll feel like a new start for the franchise. Obviously, any plan that depends on young pitching is risky but that's what I think the plan is.

Collins has been a good solider for the franchise but he hasn't really done anything that makes me feel he deserves to keep the job. Sure, the team wasn't supposed to be that good but they haven't been better than expected either. He isn't part of the problem but he really isn't part of the solution.

Managers who largely live up to low expectations are never the first guys to go, and the Mets have been mired in low expectations for the past couple years. I gotta say, it's been hilarious watching this franchise fall apart after the 2006 squad that went to the NLCS and showed so much promise.* Well, except for the Wilpon/Madoff fiasco, that sordid affair tested the depths of even my twisted heard and pulled out a drop of sympathy for Mets fans.

*Ever hear announcers say of the LCS losers after a tough series: "well, these guys will be here again"? That was said a lot of those Mets and I also remember it being thrown around when the 2007 Indians lost to the Red Sox. Needless to say, neither of those teams has made a playoff appearance since.

Collins has been a good solider for the franchise but he hasn't really done anything that makes me feel he deserves to keep the job. Sure, the team wasn't supposed to be that good but they haven't been better than expected either. He isn't part of the problem but he really isn't part of the solution.

Right or wrong, I think he's probably getting more credit for the first half than blame for the second half.