“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…

Speaking about the catcher’s position, Manuel told reporters that a defensive-oriented catcher is the team’s priority with an emphasis on the philosophy of pitching.

…the market going into the off season for catchers is definitely thin, and while i don’t want to see glass hands behind the plate or someone who struggles throwing to second base, i would like to see the best of both worlds – a catcher who can play the position well enough but provide more offensive output than what the team has had the past two seasons…

Asked whether or not Omir Santos could be their number 1 catcher, Manuel told reporters that while he feels he is capable, it depends on the makeup of the team, and while defense and the pitching staff is a priority as they evaluate a catcher, the lack of run production has to be taken into consideration.

Manuel then discussed the progress of both Angel Pagan and Daniel Murphy, and when asked whether or not both could be everyday players, Manuel told reporters that he feels they are good complimentary players but their ability to start will depend on what happens in the off season.

…as has been discussed about Pagan, I worry a lot about his instincts and his ‘baseball sharpness’…he is a good hitter, but anything goes after he drops that bat it seems…

…with regards to Murphy, as I said yesterday, he does have a future at the plate, but finding a position for him to play is going to be a challenge, and part of being an everyday player in the National League is being able to at least adequately field your position…

On his own job evaluation, Manuel feels as though he put forth the effort, but ultimately it depends on wins and losses.

Manuel did feel comfortable with the strategy he had, but it just didn’t work out.

On possibly eliminating the Marlins from postseason contention this weekend and whether or not that would provide extra satisfaction, Manuel told reporters that the team will not have any champagne over it.

…not that the Marlins are going to take it down to the wire or anything, but it would certainly be in the back of my mind, after what they have done to the Mets over the past two seasons at the end…

…that said, the Marlins have definitely taken steps forward and exceeded my expectations this season, and are going to finish ahead of the Mets, so I don’t know that there is any place for satisfaction…

On starting pitching, Manuel said that there were people placed in the starting role that could be used as spot starters, but he didn’t see any consistency from the pitchers who filled in for the injured.

Speaking about Francisco Rodriguez, Manuel is disappointed that he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to close out games, but had an excellent opportunity to adjust to New York.

Despite the losing, Manuel feels as though there has been growth as he has learned about the depth of his team and has had the opportunity to evaluate.

…i think we have certainly learned about what players are capable of and what they aren’t capable of…such as Bobby Parnell as a starter, the depth of the pitchers on all levels of the organization, as well as depth at certain positions such as shortstop…but assuming Jose Reyes is healthy, I am not so sure the Mets would focus on developing a first tier shortstop…

About Daniel Murphy, Manuel thinks that he is “stubborn”, but feels that he will be what he thought he would be, which is a 20+ home run type hitter.

…i do think that the raw skill is there and he basically has one full season under his belt…i do feel at times his offensive output was inconsistent and he certainly did not approach the numbers that one would expect from a full time first baseman…but he is young and while i do feel that they need to shop for a first baseman, Murphy does have a future at least with the bat…

“I had good stuff, you know, but if you look at the box score, I made some bad pitches… I gave up a home run, and when I made a mistake, they hit it.  So, I don’t view this as any good outing.  I had good stuff, but I didn’t get the results.  So it’s not a positive outing.”

…despite the box score, it was one of his better outings of late considering he only threw 90 pitches and lasted seven innings which indicates efficiency, something he has lacked for the most part…

…that said, when you watch him, the stuff just isn’t there…the velocity is but the action on the pitches is absent, and it is resulting in too many bad strikes…

Jeff Francoeur also spoke to the media, and talked about his good night at the plate, to which he said:

“I told Jerry, ‘I’m going to win this thing tonight.’… I felt great at the plate tonight.  I had great swings all night.  I guess I’ve got to stop hitting the ball up the middle… every time I hit up the middle something (bad) happens.’”

…he does seem to run into some tough luck up the middle, given he also ended a game a few weeks ago hitting into a triple play…

Jerry Manuel seemed to appreciate the effort put forth by his team, despite their daily results and position in the standings, telling reporters:

“They’re fighting.  They’re putting forth a tremendous effort, with energy… you can’t say that about many clubs that are in the position that we’re in, that are putting forth that type of effort to come back, to try to get into a game, try to win a game, those type of things.  But at the same time, we’re still falling short.”

Although Pedro is having as much fun as he had in 2004, when he was a part of the Red Sox first World Championship since 1918, he does feel bad for the Mets, telling Brian Costa of the Star Ledger:

“I feel horrible for the guys, the players…I feel bad for the city, I feel bad for the fans. Everybody has ups and downs. The Mets had three pretty good years. We had a lot of talent, a lot of support, we let them down, and now this year, the health hasn’t been there. This year I thought they had everything they needed.”

…i feel horrible too, Peety…

Despite Pedro’s success with the Phillies, Jerry Manuel still stands by the Mets’ decision not to sign him, telling Costa:

“I thought we did all we could do. We just got hit so quickly by those injuries. Then we still had some people in place. We had Nieve who came in and pitched very well. We had a lot of things we thought were in place. We didn’t realize we were going to get hit at the degree that we got hit. You could never foresee that type of thing.”

…i personally didn’t think that any point the Mets should have signed Martinez in 2009, but I have to question what Manuel is saying here only because when Nieve went down, Perez and Maine were already down, Pelfrey was under performing, and Santana was not exactly Santana…so how can one argue not to sign any pitcher to help…i know Pedro is a risk and probably did not fit into the Mets plans, but it’s hard for me to stand by that…

…i guess in other words, the Mets simply didn’t want Pedro…

After the game, Parnell told reporters:

“It was a good feeling out there.”

…i’d have to agree…i have to say i was charged up for the first time in a long time when he was able to induce that comebacker to end the inning…

Despite the positive performance, David Wright wants Parnell to be able to find some consistency, telling reporters:

“He’s got to find that middle ground…where the highs aren’t so high and the lows aren’t so low.”

Jerry Manuel praised Parnell’s ability to get out of that bases loaded jam in the seventh inning, saying:

“I thought he had a pretty good chance because I thought he was still throwing the ball pretty well…That’s part of his maturation process. That was huge for us.”

In addition, Manuel had this to say about Parnell in general:

“He’s a guy that has a tremendous, tremendous arm…And they’re very rare.”

…he does have a great arm and it was really exciting to see him strikeout Kosuke Fukudome on a 97 mph fastball in the seventh inning, as he was around the 100-pitch mark…

…what i think the club needs to determine is whether or not he has the ability to mature, and that comes down to his mental makeup…i don’t think anyone has ever questioned the physical talent, but like a lot of players, what’s going on in his head and therefore would he be part of the solution…

Marchand writes, “Minaya could be reassigned so Ricco is the face of the front office, while Minaya still plays a vital role in player personell.”

…i talked with someone close to the team today, who basically said ownership knows a change is needed, as they’re not happy with what has transpired since 2006, and they do not like the direction things are going… i have no idea what that specifically means, but, if i had to guess, it would mean something like marchand is writing about…

Marchand also writes about what he calls the The Bobby Valentine Brigade, i.e., the New York media.

“He was OK, but nothing great… I would say when you see his stuff you still get excited, but there has to come a time of maturation or development where there has to be some consistently – and we’re just not getting that from him… He is a product of being inconsistent.  The inconsistently is a concern, the stuff is not.  We feel very confident that what he has is good enough to compete, but we need to see it on a more consistent basis, and we’re not seeing that.”

The thing is, the same can essentially be said for John Maine and Oliver Perez, as well… and, that would be OK, if Maine, Pelfrey and Perez didn’t make up the majority of what will likely be next season’s rotation.

The Mets have question marks in that rotation, let’s be honest.  I think it’s unrealistic at this point to expect one of those three to magically figure it out during the off season, so to be relied upon to be a consistent, number two starter to team up with Johan Santana.  Jon Niese was going to give one of those guys a run, as might even Bobby Parnell.  That, however, does nothing to give Santana a legit partner in crime – in fact, it does the opposite.

The Mets cannot go in to next season again with Santana, a fifth starter like Livan Hernandez, two rookies and three guys named Hope, Potential and Someday.

Last off season, I suggested the Mets get a reliable, consistent, top-of-the-rotation starter, like Derek Lowe.  Instead, they re-acquired the absolute opposite.

I believe Santana is the best pitcher in baseball.  The Mets need to give him a true partner, a proven number two, who can be counted on every fifth day, anwho together will stop any looming losing streaks.

Yes, I too would love to believe Maine, Pelfrey and Perez will mature in to that type of pitcher, but the Mets can’t keep building their rotation around hope.

…like i have said before, manuel’s fate is tied to omar… if omar stays, i suspect manuel will stay too… however, if omar is replaced, manuel’s fate is totally up in the air – as it should be… i do believe he’s done a good job, to date, considering the number of injuries he has had to deal with… that said, a lot will depend on how the team finishes… if the team quits on him, i bet he’s toast, as will be omar… also, players should be in the crosshairs too, in that scenario, because it will technically be the third year in a row this group of players went flat at the end of the year, there will need to be more than just a shake-up from above… i mean, maybe the late-season laziness is coaching, maybe it’s the players, but either way it’s unacceptable and way too frequent…

…anyway, if manuel is fired, i think it’s quite clear i hope for the return of Bobby Valentine… here’s the reality: if the Mets are going to have a limited budget this off season, and do not plan to make any major, big-name acquisitions, either because of money or a lack of supply, or a lack of talent to trade in return, Bobby V could be more than enough, on his own, to inspire and excite fans in the off season, because we’ll know 2010 will be entertaining if nothing else…

Livan Hernandez, who allowed seven runs in five innings:

“When he doesn’t command that side of the plate things are gonna be difficult for him.  Everything was out over the plate, and they put pretty good swings on those pitches… I think, for him, he has to command both sides.”

The Bullpen, which tossed four innings tonight, but will also likely be needed the next two days, with Oliver Perez and Bobby Parnell getting starts:

“I tried to stay as long as I could (with Livan Hernandez).  We almost had to bite a bullet there, for a couple innings, just to get through.  Historically, I don’t like spilling my bullpen on the first game of a four-game series, I don’t like you to see everything I got down there.  But, you know, yeah, we would have liked to at least got six, but we’re OK in that area.”

The offense, which had been scoring of late, but which struggled last night and scored just three runs:

“Well, I think when you miss that Sheffield bat in the middle there it puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the offense.  I would have thought coming in, with him in there, we’d have done better.”