| Newsday, Melville, N.Y. Oct. 3--The Mets announced Omar Minaya's contract extension yesterday, as expected. Then Minaya said he intends to pick up the option year on Carlos Delgado's contract, too. Which makes it only natural to ask what's taking the Mets so long to lock up the one guy who had an even better second half than Delgado, interim manager Jerry Manuel. SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS Are the Mets lowballing Manuel with their opening contract offers, same as they did with Willie Randolph? Are the Mets insisting on only two guaranteed years for Manuel even though Minaya got a three-year extension with club options that could take him through 2014? Could the two sides be snagged now, too, on Manuel's control over his coaching staff, another thing Randolph didn't get when it came to, say, choosing his own hitting coaches? During yesterday's conference call with reporters, Minaya said: "Right now we are in discussions with Jerry. We probably will continue to talk with him." Probably? Minaya added that he wants Manuel to return, and you still have to believe this deal will get done. Especially because Manuel can reasonably expect to be courted by other teams after the way he revived the Mets. Bringing back Manuel looks even more important given Minaya's continued insistence yesterday that he's committed to the same "core group" of players -- Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Delgado -- that flopped in September for two straight years (three if you want to be really cruel and count their Game 7 loss to the underdog Cardinals in the 2006 NLCS). Having Manuel in charge for a full season is one area in which the Mets could expect to improve their won-lost record without making the enormous financial outlay it could cost to fill their other pressing needs. The Mets need pitching -- starters, bullpen help, a closer. None of that comes cheaply. Already, there's sentiment to go after Arizona free agent Orlando Hudson, a .300 hitter and Gold Glove second baseman with the sort of dynamic personality the Mets could use. But even if Hudson did want to come here, how much money could the Mets sink into second base if they have to eat a lot of Luis Castillo's bad contract to trade him and still lure Hudson? Even with a new ballpark on the way, it's hard to see it happening. And the same goes for chasing Francisco Rodriguez or Manny Ramirez. You could make an argument that what killed the Mets down the stretch was pitching and injuries. Minaya and COO Jeff Wilpon don't seem to look a whole lot further than that. But even Wilpon (who called the '08 Mets' "overachievers") didn't disagree with a suggestion that whatever intangible the Mets lacked the past two years isn't to be found in that "core" group they're bringing back. " has to strengthen that suspicion", Wilpon said. "As Omar has said, there might be some addition from subtraction." Wilpon presumably was talking about the expectation that the Mets will move relievers Scott Schoeneweis and Aaron Heilman and jettison Castillo. They also should let Pedro Martinez walk and bring in some inning-eating starters. They need someone to concentrate on helping Reyes make the transition from prodigious talent to true professional. They need to recognize that when it comes to leadership, Wright might have a lot of Derek Jeter in him: He's terrific on the field, but he'll never be a guy who calls out teammates, stirs things up, demands accountability. Manuel showed he'll do all of that in his 55-38 run as manager. In the heat of the division race, he rolled the dice and started nobodies Robinson Cancel and Ramon Martinez. He motivated the holdovers to play for him, especially Delgado. He was firm with Reyes when he tested him on his first day as manager, and he was brutally frank about how Wright, so long a sacred cow, struggled with pressure down the stretch. Manuel also buried Castillo deep in his doghouse, though he had to know it wouldn't make Minaya look good. Having no contract past this season himself, Manuel acted like a manager who put winning ahead of self-interest. Given the overheated atmosphere, that took guts. Now Manuel seems to be turning those guts and willingness to tell it like it is into his contract talks with the Mets. But deep down, his bosses should like the way he's pushing back. That's the kind of core guy the Mets should want to keep around.
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