NEW YORK - When the Mets hired him as their manager in the fall of 2010, Terry Collins couldn't see anything but the team that was right in front of his face. The roster was loaded with players whose past performance suggested that, at its best, that Mets team could challenge the club that back then owned the National League East: the Phillies. That Mets team had David Wright and Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes and Jason Bay. That Mets team had a promising outfielder, Angel Pagan, and a promising starting pitcher, Mike Pelfrey, coming off career seasons.
"I didn't look down the road," Collins said Friday afternoon here at Citi Field before Game 3 of the World Series.