First confirmed by Ken Rosenthal, the Mets will soon announce that Terry Collins will be their next manager. Our long national nightmare is over: the Mets finally have a skipper, and he's probably no better or worse than anyone else they interviewed.

For more on Collins, check out:

* Rob's profile
* Matthew's "Destroyer of Worlds" column
* Adam Rubin's 10 Collins tidbits from ESPN.

Wally Backman's belly fire will likely be asked to coach a Mets A-ball team. Bob Melvin is not expected to take another job with the organization. Chip Hale is expected to be part of the 2011 field staff.

Update: Jon Heyman is reporting that Collins will be inked to a two-year deal.