Collins Muses About Dickey's All-Star Options Terry Collins will travel to Kansas City next week as a member of Tony La Russa's All-Star Game coaching staff, and two of his Mets players will be there with him. That does not mean he has been chirping advice into La Russa's ear. "I'm certainly not going to talk to Tony La Russa about strategy," Collins said. He's one of the best in the game, if not the best in the game. Before the Mets played the Philadelphia Phillies at Citi Field on Thursday, Collins was asked about how La Russa might use the knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, whose 12-1 record and favorable rest schedule (Thursday was his last start before the break) made him a candidate to start the game for the National League. La Russa said earlier Thursday that he believed Dickey had the credentials to start, but that he had some concerns about who would catch him. Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants was voted the team's starter, and the roster also includes Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals and Carlos Ruiz of the Philadelphia Phillies.La Russa said he needed to keep the best interests of the team, rather than any individual, in his mind. "I read today what Tony had to say, and there's some validity to it," Collins said. As we know, it's not an easy pitch to catch. It's got to be the right combination. Collins said Dickey was adaptable and perfectly capable of coming out of the bullpen for the Mets and would thus have no problem doing it for the All-Star team. "He can pitch whenever Tony needs him to pitch," Collins said, "whether it's to start the game or pitch him in the middle or the ninth or against the middle of the lineup sometime, if it's the middle of the game and they've got three, four and five coming up, and he wants to change the pace." Though Collins said he will not be chiming in with advice unless he is asked for it, he did say that he felt the game should be played to be won, not only as a showcase for players. Collins never explicitly mentioned David Wright, who was outvoted by Pablo Sandoval of the Giants to be the team's starting third baseman, but seemed to acknowledge the situation in his comments. "I understand, I appreciate the fan vote, and I think it's great," Collins said. But at the same token, the game means something. So the best players should be out there, the people who are having the best years. He continued, "But popularity contest now is - you don't want to lose the game because somebody who shouldn't be there is there." Collins made sure to add that he was not referring to anyone specifically. "Believe me, they're all good players," he said.