Was that an actual, honest-to-goodness late inning comeback Wednesday night by the Mets? No, this is not a joke — a two-out RBI single from David Wright (pictured) in the ninth and Damion Easley’s homer in the 10th gave the Amazin’s a 5-4 comeback win over the Angels. It was also Jerry Manuel’s first victory since succeeding Willie Randolph on Tuesday. Speaking of Manuel, friends of Willie Randolph say the ex-manager feels his successor stabbed him in the back by lobbying for the job during a lengthy, on-field meeting with Mets VP Tony Bernazard at Shea Stadium last week.
A jovial Randolph also spoke with reporters in from of his New Jersey home on Wednesday and disputed much of what GM Omar Minaya said in his news conference the day before.
Colleague Mike Vaccaro, meanwhile, takes a closer look at the relationship between Manuel and Jose Reyes after Reyes’ on-field tantrum Tuesday night in Anaheim.
In the notebook, Manuel talks about his admiration of new pitching coach Dan Warthen. There are also items on Minaya and Manuel’s new policy on resting players.