After the Marlins filed a grievance, MLB has fined Manuel an undisclosed amount for his actions during the ninth inning of Wednesday's 4-3 loss to Florida. On Friday, the Mets manager tried to explain why it took so long to get Omir Santos in from the bullpen to pinch hit for Ramon Castro in the ninth inning.

?In coming out, [Santos] didnt want to cross the field, Manuel said. ?So he took the route behind, not knowing that was all cement. Instead of hurrying, he had to walk gingerly, thats what made it appear as though a lot of time lapsed. There was no real strategy there to keep the guy on the mound.?

Newstex ID: 34607628