Terry Collins revealed his reasoning for trying to get R.A. Dickey his no-hitter -- and why he has no regrets after Joe Torre denied the team's request.

"We didn't win," Collins said. "We didn't expect to win it. We gave it a try. If we had won it, we would have had another no-hitter and we wouldn't have to wait another 50 years."

Collins added that trying to put a negative stat on David Wright'swas actually a compliment to Wright, not a slight.

"It was no slam at David," Collins said. "I guess, as a matter of fact, it should've been taken the other way. He is so good at what he does that when he doesn't make a play, you think, 'Maybe it was an error.'"

How was his conversation with Wright about the appeal?

"It wasn't awkward at all," Collins said. "You know the guy pitched a great game, you look up in the ninth inning, he has one hit. You review it and you say, 'David makes that play. He normally makes that play.'"

Finally, Collins said it was all about the process.

"Hey look, I had a shot at a no-hitter," Collins said. "My pitcher has never had a no-hitter so you give it a shot. That is the process. Somebody said, 'Well, the Cardinals didn't ask for a review of Johan's no-hitter?' Well, that is not the process. The process says that you can now appeal if it is a hit or an error. It is not an appeal if a ball is fair or foul. You don't do that. So we took advantage of the process, just like anyone else does in a process."