Prior to last night’s game, Jerry Manuel told reporters that Jose Reyes might have lasting effects from his hamstring injury, saying:

“I still feel very confident, despite maybe even if he’s a step or two slower…I don’t see that hindering him as far as overall offensive production and defense.”

…ok, jerry, part of what makes reyes a great offensive player is his ability to beat out infield hits, his ability to steal both second and third at any point of the game, and leg out triples, which turn into runs, that most players don’t normally do… reyes is a player who can take control of a game in a way not many players can, other than a guy like Carl Crawford… so if he is a ’step or two slower’, how will he not be impacted offensively or defensively…

Yesterday,  Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated said Reyes has been advised to have surgery on his torn hamstring tendon and is awaiting a second opinion, but the Mets did not confirm any course of action yesterday, which you can read here.

Manuel did speak of the size of the ballpark and the franchise itself making adjustments to maximize the benefits of Citi Field, to which he said:

“I do think we need to make some adjustments, but for me the field is not that big of an issue. I like the ballpark; I like that it’s different…I like that it’s large…I like speed. I do think that if we adjust to it as a franchise…as an organization, that it would be very beneficial for us.”

Manuel said the only player they have really been able to evaluate at Citi Field from a home-run perspective is David Wright, and he wonders whether or not Wright will be able to make the necessary adjustments to increase his power, saying:

“How does that affect him going forward, or was there some mechanical, fundamental thing that he could have done differently to hit more home runs or on the road…I don’t think we’ll make any adjustments as far as the ballpark goes, but as individuals and hitting programs go, there’s a possibility of some adjustments being made.”

…i think it really is a good idea to build a program of player acquisition and development that caters to Citi Field... if they are successful, they have the possibility of creating a team like none other in baseball in that they would have very strong pitching, and players up and down the lineup capable of stealing 30 bases a piece, including wright, who has 27 on the year by the way…

…the need to hit for power and better situational hitting is still there, even though the idea is to build a team primarily around pitching, defense and speed, but the team cannot depend on having to get three singles to score one run, which, including base running gaffes and poor judgment this season, has been a major challenge for this club… but none of that will matter if this team doesn’t have the starting pitching to support the offense…

Lastly, Manuel said the emphasis for the team’s pitchers next Spring will be to throw first pitch strikes.

…i’d like the emphasis to be on just throwing strikes, pitching efficiently and consistently being ahead in the count…this team has allowed 612 walks which is a close second to Washington’s 619…