In talking to him in person last week, and listening to his other quotes with reporters and radio, I get the feeling Terry Collins plans to inject a ton of confidence in to his players over the next month or so – as they build up for Opening Day.

For instance, last week at Citi Field, he introduced Jose Reyes to the audience as: “The best player in the National League.” After which he told us he planned to ‘set Reyes loose,’ because he’s still capable of stealing 50 bases, ‘maybe more.’

He told reporters that Mike Pelfrey is ‘his number one guy,’ while saying in January that he’d be the Opening Day starter in April.

I’m not sure if this is a preconceived strategy, or just a coincidence. But, Collins is on record a lot this winter talking about how important confidence can be in creating a successful baseball player. In either case, I like it.  Collins clearly intends to change the way this group prepares and looks at itself. I hear he plans to tell them to ignore the Phillies, ignore the haters, ignore the media, and just focus on this specific task, that specific drill, this project, etc., while pushing the idea that winning is about ‘knowing your role,’ ‘being prepared,’ ‘doing your job’ and’ executing,’ and then ‘letting the chips fall where they may’

And so, I suspect this boosting-up of egos lets specific guys know where they stand in his eyes and what they’ll be counted on to do, all of which will be important as the team transitions in leadership and guys like Pelfrey, Reyes and David Wright are expected to reinforce Terry’s message after the bell rings.