Its still very much the honeymoon period of Jerry Manuel’s managing career with the Mets, but the early returns are quite impressive. How much credit does Jerry Manuel actually deserve for how well the Mets have played since he took the reigns? How much of a difference from Willie Randolph’s style of managing to Manuel’s has had an effect on the team?

Its hard to determine how much influence the change has had, other than the results themselves. But are the results simply indicative of the team playing better? Could it be that they simply feel more comfortable not having to deal with the constant barrage of questions regarding the job status of their manager, even if it was their own poor play that caused those questions to be asked in the first place.

I’m willing to concede that my assessment that a manager has little influence over how a team performs was misguided. I was of the school of thought that the players have far more control over how the team wins or loses. I believed that a manager has far more a hand in the success or failure of a team when it is mostly comprised of young, impressionable players. I overlooked the fact that a calming presence, someone who allows the players to simply have fun and play hard can have such a positive influence on a club that it can put them in an enviorment that encourages winning.

Billy Wagner can usually be counted on to give you the straight truth, whether its good or bad. He gave Manuel positive reviews for his change in approach.

“I don’t want to bash Willie, because I liked him,” Billy Wagner said. “But before, it was more of The Yankee Way. It wasn’t The Mets Way. There was no facial hair. You could never have music in the clubhouse. You couldn’t have kids around. Believe it or not, some of us in here actually like kids.”

Manuel told them to “play hard, play fearless and have fun,” Wagner said, and to stop worrying about results. “You know what?” Wagner said. “We’ve found out it’s pretty easy to play when you stop playing for stats and just go out and play hard and play to have fun”

The Mets are finally having fun, but everyone has fun while their winning. What will show if Manuel’s way is what the Mets needed will come when they’re losing, which they inevitably will at some point in the second half. How Manuel is able to deal with adversity will be the true test.