Master Manipulator

I think Jerry Manuel's best gift that he brought to the team was his ability to manipulate a situation. Now most hear the term manipulate and have a negative connotation, but all it means to me is that he has the talent to get the most from those around him. It's actually a compliment to the man for his understanding of the intricacies in a given situation and competency at communicating. Jerry already has fans saying he deserves to stay and the media praising his virtues.

But the most important part of Manuel's short tenure has been his impact on the team. He has cleverly found ways to get the most from players who before he took over were considered to be underachieving.

Jose Reyes resistance to coming out of Manuel's first game is well documented and a player who has been alleged to pout could have easily ruined his tenure, but Manuel handled the situation in a manner that sparked Reyes into a hot streak. In fact the entire club seems to respond to his sometimes brutally honest approach that rewards productive performance.

Shortly after taking over he discussed using Fernando Tatis as a defensive replacement late in games for Carlos Delgado. Most have noticed that Delgado has been hitting the cover off the ball but what has gone unnoticed is his defense. No, he's not going to win a gold glove but nobodies complaining that he isn't bending over anymore.

Next came the idea of moving a starter into the bullpen due to several meltdowns. Suddenly Show is calling for a pen meeting and not only do relievers look determined on the mound instead of shell shocked but starters are pushing themselves to go deeper into games.

Manuel has found a way to get the most from three rookies, a 38 y/o coming off a major ankle injury, a journeyman who was out of the league since '06' and a guy known mostly as a weak hitting defensive replacement while three starters were out.

His most recent incident involved Luis Castillo, I'm in the minority on Louie I believe a healthy Castillo has a lot to contribute to this team and is getting a bad rap from fans. But to demote Evans or Reyes goes against Manuel's philosophy of rewarding performance and would make it difficult to put them on a playoff roster. The best situation would be for both players to remain on the roster through the 1st while keeping Castillo on the DL. The very proud Castillo is already dealing with the possibility of losing his starting position and by all accounts felt he was ready to comeback. Somehow in a last minute decision Manuel talked him into remaining on the DL for a few more days, not only does this help with the roster but could be a very good PR move for Castillo who now looks like a big time team player. The only way the Mets could have delayed Castillo any further is if he agreed to it and suddenly Louie volunteered to stay on the DL. But even before the decision Manuel had already gotten to Castillo with his comments about the second base situation, apparently Castillo came to camp over weight which is believed to have contribute to his slow healing knees but he returned from his rehab stint in very good shape....

Luis Castillo is not going to be activated today. He volunteered to wait a few days. Argenis Reyes will start at second base. source Daily News