Not taking credit for the turnaround, Mets manager Willie Randolph admitted he gave Eli Manning a peptalk at a last year according to Dave Lennon of Newsday.

“I met Eli [Manning] right when they were on that run,” Randolph said today. “Not that I want to take credit for it, but I guess it sounds like that, I gave him a nice little pep talk. I saw him at a jewelry store. He got hot after that and never stopped, so that was kind of a cool. He’s a nice kid.”

As for today’s visit by Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, Randolph was thrilled to have some of that Lombardi Trophy magic in camp.

More on Lennon’s blog at Newsday.