NEW YORK (AP) -Jerry Manuel is already putting his personal stamp on the New York Mets. Now, he just needs to decorate his new office.
After replacing Willie Randolph during last week’s road trip, Manuel made his home debut as manager of the Mets on Monday night against the struggling Seattle Mariners.
Promoted from bench coach to interim manager for the rest of the season, Manuel said he arrived at Shea Stadium about 1:30 p.m. on Monday and moved into the same space Randolph cleaned out after he was fired.
“Empty. Nothing on the walls. But that’s OK. I don’t expect to spend much time in there,” Manuel said. “I hope to spend most of my time on the field.”
Manuel met with dozens of reporters in a packed room down the hall from the Mets clubhouse, the same corridor Randolph walked through, wheeling his suitcase, as he headed for the team bus following New York’s previous homestand.
That was Sunday night, June 15. Randolph flew to California with the Mets, then was fired by general manager Omar Minaya after Monday night’s victory over the Los Angeles Angels.
New York won three of its next five games under Manuel to reach .500, and fans behind the Mets dugout chanted his name during batting practice Monday.
“The Met fan, if you follow our games, they will boo a performance, not necessarily a person. We have to understand that,” Manuel said. “Once we embrace our fans, it can become such an advantageous place to play.”
Still, he knows he’ll have to get used to the New York media.
“I’m learning as I go. I have to be me,” Manuel said. “We’ll be fine. This is going to be a great experience.
“I think this part of it is probably the most nervous part of it,” he added. “The attention sometimes is a little much.”
The AL Manager of the Year in 2000 with the Chicago White Sox, the 54-year-old Manuel has detailed some of the changes he wants to make with the Mets.
“The potential is definitely there for the style that I envision,” he said. “I think you do have to feel uncomfortable with losing. I like to use the lineup card. That’s the power that I feel I have as manager. If we’re not winning, then you’re going to see different people playing.”
Manuel said he often plans to rest banged-up second baseman Luis Castillo the day after he plays, hoping that will help keep Castillo fresh.
The manager also wants to see certain players be more aggressive. He said Carlos Delgado might even be called on to run, and the manager would like Carlos Beltran to try stealing more bases.
“That’s going to be addressed,” said Manuel, who likes to read anything by Ghandi or books from Martin Luther King Jr.’s library. “I would hope Carlos would run into a couple of outs just to get that percentage thing out of his mind.
“What I have to do is keep in mind what it’s going to take this year to get to the postseason and plan accordingly.”
Mets players sounded pleased with Manuel, who joined Randolph’s staff in 2005 as first base coach.
“We’re going to go out there and play hard for Jerry. We tried to play hard for Willie, it just didn’t work,” third baseman David Wright said. “Willie is old school. Businesslike. Cut to the chase. Jerry likes to joke around, have a good time. It’s just different philosophies. Is one better than the other? I don’t know.”
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