Fernando Tatis will start at first base tonight and hit sixth.
Luis Castillo will bat leadoff, followed in order by Alex Cora at second, then Carlos Beltran, Gary Sheffield, David Wright, Tatis, Ryan Church, Omir Santos and Johan Santana.
Update, 4:08 pm:
Jerry Manuel told reporters that he will essentially go with the hot hand when deciding who to play at first base and the corner outfield positions.
Update, 4:11 pm:
Jose Reyes is here with the team, he recieved a cortisone shot and did a light workout, and will remain with the club through the weekend.
Update, 4:14 pm:
Manuel said the team is set up in a way that is not geared towards hitting home runs, and so he seems to reject the notion that his players are struggling to hit the long ball.
In other words, if he had a lineup of power hitters and they were not hitting home runs, he’d understand: but this is not the case.
As such, he needs the team to pitch well and play strong defense.
Update, 4:26 pm:
According to the Star-Ledger’s Brian Costa, in a post to Twitter, Wright stood in front of his locker, talked to reporters, and said he doesn’t hate Citi Field.
{ 18 comments }
Matt,
I think this is a fair question to ask Jerry manuel: Does you feel that platooning Daniel Murphy at 1B with Tatis is hurting Murphy’s development?”
If I’m asking, I guess it is because I think it is.
Thanks
That’s the same question I asked. I don’t understand how when a guy is slumping so bad..that he sits him the game after he has a great game.
It happened with the 5 RBI game, he sat the next game. And the other day he went 2-3, now he sits. how is he going to break out like that?
Murphy has been hitting better against lefties than righties this year. I would have kept him in.
Plus, Tatis sucks now.
ANd murphy even is playing better D. And is coming off a couple of hit game, so of course he needs to be sat right down.
Jerry can’t be bothered with those pesky stats about hitting vs. left and RH pitchers. As long as the guy hits opposite the pitcher, his gut tells him it’s the way to go.
Sort of like how he brings in takahashi to face lefties even though they are batting something like .800 off him.
As the team stands, this actually looks like the best possible lineup we can send to the plate. Tatis is servicable at 1B and can knock one out, Sheff definatley has power, and Church is always nice to have healthy.
Not to mention Johan is picthing!! I am very confident in tonights game.
But how many teams win with a platoon at a power position?
You mean a platoon at three power positions…
The 86 team platooned at LF, 3B, CF, 2B and closer.
facing 3 lefties, you need to make the decision on which game to play murphy. personally, I would rather have murphy in tomorrow than tonight. santana is a fly ball and strikeout pitcher. pelfrey is a ground ball pitcher. put your better defensive 1B in when pelfrey starts.
the counter argument is that murphy should be playing everyday. jerry has said all along that they will platoon. agree or disagree, he is sticking to his plans.
wasn’t there supposed to be an update on reyes today? possibly in the pre-game?
matt is on top of it. he posted the update as I was typing my message. thanks.
the only platoon that should exist is Sheff and Martinez. Its terrible that Jerry refuses to give Murphy and Church a shot. Hes finally almost forced to do that with Church now because the lineup has no pop, but this guy has single handedly ruined both Daniel Murphy and Ryan Church by not getting them in the lineup consistently and hes paying for it now
heyman on WFAN said hes pretty sure the only reason the mets are starting Church vs the phils lefties is to showcase him for a trade..he said jerry didnt like castro and he went…now its church’s turn
I know that Manual wants to platoon some players. I think that it is best to have F-Mart play everyday with Sheff not totally healthy and for his development. Second, Murphy needs to play to have the a rhythm. I know that Manual wanted this position platoon but this might be the best for the Mets with Tatis slumping.
Jerry has ruined Ryan Church? Please, Church is not that good and it has nothing to do with Jerry. He’s never been a consistent player and he’s had plenty of chances. I’m so sick of people acting like this guy is some great player. Are you watching the same guy that I am? The guy that swings at bad pitches in the dirt, can’t get a clutch hit for his life and struggles against lefties? Nice arm, nice glove, see you later. I hope we trade him!
Here is the problem with Jerry using the hot hand logic…as of Sunday afternoon…Daniel Murphy IS the HOT HAND, and he is not playing tonight.
I have come to accept Jerry but I am finding this with both he and his predecessor.
They managed better without security. Now I am not naive, you can’t have year to year contracts with managers. But they have got to have some sort of open dialogue with the managment, DO what got you the extension, don’t manage to NOT lose your job.
Randolph was bit by this in 2007 and it carried in and never left in 2008, Manuel managed this team superbly last year despite not having ANY bullpen, this year he has a ton of injuries but has rejected the things that made him click last year.
Murphy ABSOLUTELY should have started today. JA Happ has a “reverse split.” He’s MUCH better against righties than he is lefties.
Ok Murphy is hitting .247 with 4 homers. It isn’t like we have a young Lou Gehrig on the bench here. Murphy is not good enough to be playing everyday and he is a bigger asset to this team as a pinch hitter (which he is very good at doing).
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