Terry Collins has done a “super” job, according to his boss, but that doesn’t mean the Mets are rushing to the manager with a contract extension.
“That’s something we’ll not even think about until the end of this season,” general manager Sandy Alderson told The Post before the Mets’ 11-7 victory over the NL East rival Braves.
Collins signed a two-year contract with the Mets last offseason and would head into 2012 as a lame duck if his deal isn’t extended. The 62-year-old Collins has said he isn’t concerned with the length of his contract or the prospect of becoming a lame duck.
The Mets began last night’s play 55-56 and nine games behind Atlanta in the wild-card race. Collins has received much of the credit for keeping the team competitive, despite injuries to David Wright and Ike Davis, and the Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez trades.
“[Collins] has been great,” Alderson said. “I think he’s done a super job.”
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Prospective minority investor David Einhorn watched batting practice with principal owner Fred Wilpon, Alderson and Collins before last night’s game. Einhorn is expected to officially be named a minority partner in the team at some point this month.
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Though Jose Reyes entered last night in an 8-for-43 (.186) skid over his previous 10 games, Collins said the All-Star shortstop is fine physically.
Reyes, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases last night, spent 2½ weeks on the disabled list last month with a strained left hamstring.
“He was so hot for so long, and then the two weeks he was down probably affected him a little bit,” Collins said.
“He’s trying to get back on track, but I’ve seen him have good at-bats, work the count. What we’ve got to do is [eliminate] the routine fly balls and have those balls be more line drives and ground balls that he can certainly leg out.”
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Nick Evans arrived from Triple-A Buffalo to take Mike Nickeas‘ roster spot. It is Evans’ third stint with the Mets this season.
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Wright’s 2-for-4 performance in Friday’s 4-1 loss to the Braves gave him nine multi-hit games since returning from the disabled list on July 22. Over those 13 games, entering last night, Wright was batting .400 with two home runs and 14 RBIs.
Wright went 1-for-4 last night with an RBI and a run scored.