I turned on the Mets game the other night in time to see Jose Reyes storming off the field and into the clubhouse. I figured he’d been tossed by the umpire for something. (Smiling too much, perhaps?

Turned out that Reyes was yanked by Jerry Manuel because his hamstring had started to tighten up. Jose, in turn, resisted. Manuel literally had to push Reyes towards the dugout. This resulted in Reyes throwing a fit and his helmet.

Here’s what Mannuel had to say about it after the game (Via New York Daily News):

“I told him next time he does that I’m going to get my blade out and cut him. I’m a gangster. You go gangster on me, I’m going to have to get you. You do that again, I’m going to cut you right on the field.“

As you will see, I had two reactions:

Serious CRM: Is this really not a big deal? Shouldn’t this be leading SportsCenter tonight? What’s going on here? Aren’t Jemele Hill and Dan Saunghnessy currently taking heat for saying things that aren’t “P.C.”? Isn’t this the kind of crazy talk that you would expect from Ozzie Guillen that would have the parade of gasbags lining up to yell?

I assume Manuel was joking, but this is the kind of thing that gets people in trouble in the real world. If you or I said that to a co-worker or underling in our day jobs wouldn’t we be in a little trouble? At the very least we’d be told that it isn’t proper workplace behavior – Even if it was in jest. So why isn’t anyone making a big deal about these remarks?

No-So-Serious CRM: So… Jerry Manuel carries a knife while he’s managing? I suppose the media would have been more up in arms about this statement, but they just figured Manuel was already drunk. During the conversation with reporters he was holding a brown paper bag with a then-unidentified 40 ounce – Reports that it was Olde English were later confirmed. After the interview, Manuel jumped into his low-rider and drove away at 5 miles-per-hour with N.W.A. (NSFW) blaring.

See, these are the kinds of managerial tricks that Willie Randolph never used to properly motivate his players. I can’t help but think that if Willie had brandished a cutting implement around the clubhouse with a little more disregard for safety, he would still be managing the Mets today.