The New York Post is Horse Manure

We all know that the New York Post is a rag with no journalistic standards, but the way they tried to sabotage Jerry Manuel before his first home game as manager of the Mets was low, even by their subterranean standards.

The back cover blasted that Manuel called Mets fans "fertilizer." And the Post referred to us as "dung-ho Met fans."

According to the responsible Adam Rubin of the Daily News, here was the exact pregame sequence:

"Question: Jerry, the first few months of the season there’s been a lot of booing at Shea. Sometimes it’s been really vicious. How much does that drain a team?

Manuel: That’s a good question. I don’t know if it drains a team as much as it affects that individual. I think it does have an effect on the individual more so than the team. But, in saying that, we have to get to the point to where when they boo one, they’re booing all of us. And we have to understand and stay that close knit and be able to deal with that as we go forward.

Question: One guy who has been really hammered is Aaron Heilman …

Manuel: He seems to have done very well. He has responded very well. Again, it’s difficult. It’s painful. But it’s also growth. It’s growth for him. It’s very, very – I’m going to say this, and I hope y’all don’t take this wrong. I know you’re going to run out of here with something crazy on this. It’s very, very fertile ground for growth at Shea Stadium. It’s fertile ground for a team’s growth and development. Sometimes fertile ground has fertilizer. (Laughter in room.) Fertilizer is a good thing. It’s a good thing. You get the greatest results, you get the most beautiful plants, when you put it in that type of fertile soil. That’s what we have the opportunity to do. Don’t y’all take that wrong because I know what you’re going to do with it."