Jerry Manuel Holds Closed-Door Meeting

This oughta be rich. According to Andy Martino of the Daily News, Jerry Manuel called a closed-door meeting with the Mets because, as the skipper put it, "I hadn't had one in a while." Sounds like a good BM. Martino goes on to describe the meeting, per members of the Mets, as "nothing dramatic", and that "[Manuel's] message was, stay together as a team. Keep fighting it out."

Who knows? Maybe something positive comes of it. The Mets finally have a decent lineup to run out there most days, but they've struggled to do much offensively since coming back from the All-Star break. I don't know what the value of "lighting a fire" under your players is, but figuring out how to motivate your team is probably one of the most important non-game contributions a manager can make. If the Mets come out and look great tonight I'm sure Manuel will get a ton of credit for holding his little meeting, and maybe they'll have played great because of it, or maybe it'll be because sometimes decent teams play great sometimes.

Or maybe they'll stink up the joint again and the whole thing'll be moot.