New York Mets

As the 20th manager in New York Mets history, Terry Collins gave the impression during his introductory press conference that he wanted to start from scratch with his newly inherited team and go back to the basics.

He said that as the game changes, players are spending less time learning and developing at the minor league level, and now the major league level is where players need to be taught the fundamentals of the game. 

After the long overdue firing of skipper Jerry Manuel, the New York Mets owners announced the two-year signing of Terry Collins to be the franchises 20^th skipper.

COLLINS BACKGROUND:

Collins started his pro career as a shortstop drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1971.

The MLB Winter Meetings take place next Monday through Thursday and with a new regime in place, you'd figure a big trade will be made or at least attempted. After all, it's long overdue that the Mets part ways with a member or two of their "core." Why it's called that is confusing since the Mets have never won a pennant with those players.

According to ESPN and the New York Post, the New York Mets are deep in talks with hurler Chris Young.

When the New York Mets take the field to open the 2011 season, their roster will be relatively unchanged from 2010. They let Hisanori Takahashi leave for free agency, showed interest in SP Chris Young, and had Pedro Feliciano close to declining arbitration, but other than that the Mets don't have much going on.

So if the Mets aren't going to do much this offseason, what could make the difference for them in 2011?

According to MLB Trade Rumors the Mets are are pursuing starting pitcher Chris Young (formerly of the San Diego Padres).  The deal will in all likelihood be for one year, laden with incentives. The Mets are looking to add depth to a rotation which will not feature Johan Santana for a good chunk of the year.  Right now the Mets starting rotation features R.A. Dickey, Mike Pelfrey and Jon Niese.  

It's not often you will read an article that's primary focus is on utility player who has never been an All-Star, has one season of 30-plus home runs, and has seen his playing time consistently dwindle.  This, however, is one of those articles.

If Sandy Alderson and the rest of the New York Mets' brass are reading this, I suggest they pay close attention. 

I proclaim that Bill Hall would be a perfect fit for the 2011 New York Mets.

How can the New York Mets expect fans to pay more money to attend games to see a team with the fifth highest payroll in baseball, yet have finished in fourth place two seasons in a row?

They can't.

Thus, the Mets have announced that ticket prices for the 2011 season will be lowered.

The Mets announced on Tuesday that the average cost of a ticket will be reduced by 14 percent. Overall, 62 percent of tickets at Citi Field have been reduced.

On December 29, 2009, the Mets and free agent outfielder Jason Bay agreed to a four-year, $66 million deal with a fifth year vesting option that could bring the deal over the $80 million plateau.

He was coming off an All-Star year in Boston, and even won a Silver Slugger award. He finally earned the contract he deserved after some great years being buried in Pittsburgh.

The Mets hired their new manager on Tuesday, as Terry Collins was named the 20th skipper in franchise history. The Mets fired Jerry Manuel immediately following the season after two-and-a-half years in the dugout.

There were options for the Mets other than Collins, as they interviewed 10 candidates, but they went with the least known name, not giving the fans Wally Backman or Bob Melvin.

It just doesn't seem like this is the right fit for the Mets after years of struggles. There are five reasons the Mets shouldn't have hired Collins, and here they are.