Terry Collins Expects to Win World Series

Terry Collins is no Rex Ryan. He has built a reputation as one not to speak his mind too often in public, and certainly would never try to write blank checks his team can't sign. However earlier this week, Collins was not afraid to speak his mind declaring that now is the time for his New York Mets to finish what they started in 2015, and win the World Series.

“We can do this. We talked last spring about the postseason and we did win. Now what are we going to do to get the ultimate win, to finish this thing off?

"You create your own expectations. How are we going to go about doing that? I’ll tell you exactly how: We’re not changing it up much, but we’ve got to run the bases this much better, we have to strike out this much less, play a little more defense in the World Series.

"You got to have those expectations. If you are afraid of it, you are in the wrong sport. You talk about goals in baseball, there is no bigger goal, and until you get to the World Series, you don’t really understand how much fun it is.’’

There are two ways to look at these comments. For the cynic, this could be interpreted as a blank check that the Mets now have to fill. On the other hand this is a terrific motivational speech that Collins has shared with the rest of us.

Here is the fact, the Mets should expect to be a World Series team. They were just there last year, during a year many thought they would be lucky to win 80 games. They defied the odds, and with the help of Yoenis Cespedes, Daniel Murphy and superb young pitching, the Mets made it to the ultimate series.

The Mets and Collins aren't stupid either. They know that the entire National League is gunning for them in 2016, so why not go right out and welcome the challenge as defending National League Champions and set the bar high that just being good enough to be in the World Series is not enough.

Granted, we all know the NL is going to be tough this year. The Nationals surely won't choke they way they did down the stretch for the second straight year, they are too talented. The Giants and Diamondbacks have playoff expectations out west, and the NL Central's three headed monster of the Cardinals, Cubs and Pirates will be formidable yet again. So the Mets know their work is cut out for them.

But, you know what? They are ready for this challenge. I love the the confidence Collins has in his team. He has earned that right considering the number of years of bad baseball he had to endure as manager prior to 2015. Bring on the new season.