Wilpon visits Manuel, but it's status quo

Shortly before Friday's game, Jerry Manuel received a rare visit from Jeff Wilpon, the team's chief operating officer.

By then, Manuel had seen and heard a number of reports implying that he will not be asked back as manager. In addition, Manuel had just spent his entire pregame news conference fielding questions about the supposed end of his tenure with the Mets, without knowing what awaits him once the season is over.

Manuel said he and Wilpon had not spoken in weeks and that their last contact before Friday's chat was a brief handshake in the dugout during Wilpon's last-minute visit to Turner Field on Aug. 30. But Friday's summit meeting resolved nothing with only three games left on the schedule.

"His thing was what he has basically told me the whole time, is that we will talk after the season," Manuel said Saturday before the Mets' 7-2 win over the Nationals. "We pretty much left it at that."

Manuel has been on the hot seat since late July, when the Mets' second-half plunge began with a 2-8 trip through San Francisco, Arizona and Los Angeles. But Jeff Wilpon, along with his father, principal owner Fred Wilpon, did not seriously discuss replacements for Manuel and general manager Omar Minaya until September.

As such, the Mets' ownership group, which includes team president Saul Katz, has been prepared to make changes for the past few weeks. But it wasn't until Friday, when a report first surfaced on SI.com, that Manuel and Minaya each received a strong indication that neither will return in the same role next season.

As of Saturday, however, Manuel said he had not been informed of the Wilpons' decision to replace him, and a person close to Minaya said he had not been told, either. That being the case, Jeff Wilpon's visit with Manuel didn't accomplish much, other than maybe a nod from ownership that Manuel still would be manager for the season's final weekend.

"When that bottom line comes across and your name is on there every five minutes," Manuel said, laughing, "then you hope somebody comes in and tells you something is going on."

Leaving Manuel in the dark for the last few weeks is nothing out of the ordinary for the Mets' organization, which in the past has not handled these transition periods very well. In 2004, word leaked that Art Howe would be fired with 17 games remaining in the season, and he agreed to stay on until the finish. His suffering was eased, however, by the fact that he had two more years and $4.7 million left on his contract.

Two weeks later, Jim Duquette - in only his second year as GM - was stunned to learn that Minaya had been hired to replace him, effective immediately.

In 2008, it was Willie Randolph's turn. The first African-American manager in the history of New York baseball was fired shortly after midnight on the West Coast, or 3:14 a.m. EDT, less than 24 hours after making the 3,000-mile charter flight from New York.

Randolph, who had $3.4 million left on his contract, said he specifically asked Minaya to fire him before the flight if that was his intention. But after Randolph got that assurance, Minaya did it anyway in the team's hotel in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Manuel, who was Randolph's bench coach, has been the Mets' manager since that bizarre night. But now that his contract is set to expire, Manuel was asked Saturday if he would accept a different job with the Mets. That's not likely to be an option, and he did not sound interested anyway.

"I'd like to manage," Manuel said. "That's what I like to do. Not that I wouldn't consider anything else. Baseball is pretty much who I am and what I do, but I like the managing part. I don't think I would do any good as an assistant to this or an assistant to that."