Darling On WFAN

Ron Darling visited with Boomer and Carton on WFAN this morning. Some interesting points from Darling:

Regarding Manuel calling players out (Castillo #1 hitter, Church and Tatis platoon) Darling said, "Jerry is throwing shot across the bow makes players uncomfortable", and he is putting players on notice. Darling believes this is a good thing.

Darling thinks Manuel handles the media like a pro.

Darling's assessment on what Oliver Perez needs to do succeed: Follow Johan Santana around and have Santana's professionalism and the way he handles pressure and prepares for the game. He also says that Ollie has to develop a pitch to get right handed batters out.

About the little coverage this pre-season of last years collapse: believes this is in part due to the way General Manuel handles the press and that the Mets have addressed some glaring needs, most notably the bull-pen - with the acquisition of Rodriguez and Putz.

When talking about the heat David Wright received at the end of last season, Darling said that Wright and Reyes are the face of the franchise, and that is why they take a lot of heat. They have to learn how to handle situations, and he believes that is why Wright had chased some bad pitches in key situations coming down the stretch.

Darling believes that Reyes will be the lead-off hitter and Castillo will bat #2. If Castillo falters, we might see Murphy bat second.

When asked about his forthcoming book, The Complete Game: Reflections on Baseball, Pitching, and Life on the Mound, Darling said it is all about baseball, "nothing solacious."

The Mets play the Marlins today at 12:30 and will be broadcast on SNY.

For the complete interview log onto: Ron Darling On Boomer & Carton WFAN