Cholly invades New York

After checking the traffic report on an FM station while driving to work yesterday, I flipped back to AM and heard Charlie Manuel talking, which was odd because the tuner was on New York's WFAN.

He was on to promote Nutrisystem and had a really good interview with Mets fans Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton, who pretty much acknowledged that they would love Cholly and the Phillies if they weren't supposed to be enemies. (Kind of like how, in a quiet moment, I admit I respect Mariano Rivera.)

Among the highlights:

Manuel laughed when asked whether the Mets were nothing but choke artists and losers who will never win. "What did you say, 'we're men among men?' I'm not going to answer that."

Carton:

If you played in any other town we'd love you and your team because It's a very likable team. You get dirty, you're gritty. You're as good as a clutch team as any in the last five, 10 years in baseball. Who doesn't like Chase Utley? He's like an old-timer. The only problem is that you're red and you come from Philadelphia. If it weren't for that, we'd love you guys. Sons of bitches is what I say.

Later, when Manuel was asked which Phillie will be a big surprise this year, he listed Danys Baez, Jose Contreras, Placido Polanco and Carlos Ruiz. He was ready to keep going, but Carton objected.

"You can't name the whole team," he said.

"Well, you know he's not lying to us," Boomer said. "He's telling the truth and he's making us miserable."

And, for the record, Charlie said he never went down the drug road that Ron Washington did.