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Mets 1B-OF Nick Evans is 3–for-7 with two extra base hits, four RBI and two runs scored in the three games since being promoted from Double-A.
Jerry Manuel, regarding Evans, said:
“He has that type of bat, that type of life when he’s right… You know, he was very close to making the team out of spring training… I have to play him every day, if he keeps hitting he keeps playing.”
…the Mets need all of the offense they can get… and i feel like, since he played the outfield well in the minor leagues, evans should be starting in left field, with Jeremy Reed in center field, and Ryan Church in right field… and, if manuel has to play Fernando Tatis, put him in a corner and use church in center field, which he talked about doing during spring training when giving Carlos Beltran a day off… Daniel Murphy is finally getting his swing back, and he’s quick and getting better at first base… and so, i’d go with:
Alex Cora batting leadoff, followed in order by Murphy, David Wright, Church, Evans, Omir Santos, Reed and Luis Castillo.
Speaking of Evans, Jeff Roberts of the Bergen Record explains how some lockers in the team’s clubhouse still do not have names over them, like Evans, given the constantly changing roster, due to injuries.
…i was thinking about this the other day…
if i were the equipment manager, given the state of the roster, and the team-first, team-wins mentality, i think i’d rip all last names from the team’s jerseys, and go old school, no names, like in 1999…
…i always liked that look… and, i think it has a relevant meaning for this club…
Since Jerry said, “if he keeps hitting he keeps playing,” I’ll just go ahead and assume Evans will ride the pine for about a week, with some PH ABs thrown in there.
why so negative?
Jerry peed in my corn flakes this morning ;).
Really, I just don’t like how Jerry manages. He misuses the bullpen, plays players who are ice cold (see Tatis for a recent example), sits players who are hitting well (see Church early and Murph throughout)…
No one is perfect, but maybe he should pay more to the stats and rely less on the wonderfully accurate tool that is his gut.
His gut is doing more with less, so let’s give him some credit. Every manager is going to have some shortfalls, and Jerry has done a decent job since taking over. I agree with you on Tatis, but Evans has been here 2 days, why jump the gun on this? It’s hard to play all rookies and expect to win. Murphy, on the other hand, has struggled “throughout”. He’s had a few nice games here and there, but overall, he’s not been that much better than Tatis. And the only reason why everyone is getting on Tatis is because of the double plays. That may be the result of hitting higher in the order than he’s really meant to – but it’s hard to blame anyone for that as there’s a clear lack of options. Let’s see what Jerry will do with this team over the next week or so – hopefully Sheff can come back and Tatis can go back to the bench.
There’s no arguing with the fact that we’ve essentially been playing games with one hand tied behind our backs. It just seems like when a few wins going, Jerry will over-manage us late in the game, we blow the win and end up back at square one.
Your point about Murphy is kind of what I was saying though. He started well and was hitting (but playing some suspect LF), but then was taken out of the regular lineup and began to struggle. Last week it looked like he was getting his stroke back, and the last few games I almost put out a missing persons report for him.
It just seems like Jerry is essentially doing what we talk about a star hitting doing when he’s slumping; he’s pressing. He knows he’s shorthanded, so he’s over-managing to try to make something happen and it often ends up making things worse (see hit-and-run with Livan batting…).
I’d agree that Jerry has done an admirable job given all of the injuries, and I think he’s had a positive effect on the clubhouse, but I have to disagree that Murphy has struggled “throughout”. For the first month of the season, when he was playing every day, he was hitting. He was a liability in the field, but he was producing at the plate. Ultimately, he lost the LF job, but when Delgado went down he was (for some reason) not given the 1B job. When he finally got the 1B job and began seeing consistent time in the lineup again (over the last 2 weeks or so), he started to produce again. To me, that’s not a coincidence. As for Evans, I don’t necessarily want to hand him the LF job after 2 good days, but I would put him out there as long as he’s producing. Tatis could spell either one of them (Evans in LF, or Murphy at 1B), but really (in my opinion), he should only be in the starting lineup once or twice a week.
To: Jerry Manuel
Tatis should come off the bench like he’s meant to! No, I don’t care if he’s” Gansta” sit the man down! STop living in 2008, because clearly Tatis has! Also Murphy needs to start at 1B! Evans in LF, CHurch in Center, Sheff in RF (assuming he’s mobile)……….Make it happen! ………………Sincerely,……The fans!
CC, Omar MInaya
Well, I’m not the biggest Jerry fan, and certainly criticized him for running Tatis out there everyday. The thing is, Tatis was having terrible at bats for a couple of weeks, they’ve been pounding him away and he’s yanking it to the shortstop. But the last couple of games he’s had some hits to center and right. If Tatis can start hitting to right field consistently and gets his bat going, it could be big for our depleted lineup, and you’d have to give Jerry credit for looking long term and playing a guy through an extended slump who could really help us.
I’m all for letting a guy play through it at times, but how many scoring opportunities has Tatis blown with his team leading 10 double plays? I Jerry wants him to work it out at the plate fine, but not in the 4 and 5th spots.
If only Evans had been playing LF a few days before he was used at 1B, they might have another win.
You should give the rest of Jerry’s quote. “If he keeps hitting, he keeps playing. Unless, you know, he really gets into a nice groove, and then he sits and I play Fernando Tatis. ‘Cause I play for the big picture, you know. These kids are gonna get jerked around in the future, so I just want to jerk ‘em around now and try to mess ‘em up to see if they can handle it for later. You know, ’cause I’m gangsta like that.”
Hard to argue with that right now. Manuel is smoking a fun pipe on Tatis right now. He was excellent last year, but he was excellent in a lineup of Reyes, Church, Beltran, Delgado, Wright.
that is true about the lineup…for the people that remember just how good church was…when he was in the lineup they had Reyes Church Wright Delgado Beltran as the 1-5 and that might of been the best 1-5 in the NL last year..so putting tatis 6th or 7th is nothing compared to now because he was just a role player and now hes being asked to be a key bat along with wright and church and yes hes had some RBI hits but any time hes in a DP situation its like he tries so hard to not hit into a DP that he does
Evans was a bit of an adventure in LF last year. Not nearly as bad as Murphy, but still an OF of Evans, Church, and Tatis could be a bad idea… I might try it once with Pelf on the mound though.
With a togh lefty in Sabathia tonight I hope we can get Shef in the lineup.
I’d be good with Evans in Left and Tatis on the bench. Ride the hot hand, and don’t mess with Murphy’s development/contribution at 1st.
Tatis’ role is to come off the bench and fill in when needed. Evans and Murphy, for the moment, make him not needed in a starting role. I do NOT want to see Evans/Church/Tatis, though. Giving up way too much range at Citi, and Reed has been playing very well.
Tatis had a nice season, and might contribute more at some point this year, but he’s not a “we’ve got to keep him in the lineup to keep him going” kind of player, but Murphy is. So, yeah, what Matt said…
I agree with Matt about Evans / Reed / Church in the OF. Reed can’t do any worse offensively than Tatis and at least can field. Regardless, it would be temporary until Pagan comes back.
Murphy should be the starting 1B period. If Jerry is truely playing for the long term then he needs ABs against lefties.
Castillo in the #8 slot is a waste. Jerry should pull a LaRussa and bat either him or Cora 9th and the pitcher 8th.
If Redding has another good outing I’d like to see him stay in the rotation and Maine as the long man – kind of extending his rehab a little longer; then put him in when reality catches up with Redding, Livan, or Nieve. If all 5 spots are hitting why change them? I like Maine, but he’s not a Santana.
Love the idea of the 1999 jerseys. No Names wearing no names…
I agree matt, rip the names and wear the blue hats! i can’t stand that half blue / half black hat… it has no identity, no root…
Nameless jerseys look horrible. Besides, if their names aren’t on the jerseys, how will we know who they are? It’s not like we’ll know their faces.
you’re kidding, right? can’t you tell by the numbers?
Interesting concept on the jerseys, Matt. I think it would definitely send a “team-first” message to everyone. On a team full of mid season call-ups this could work very very well.
I think they should play the movie “Miracle” in the locker-room before each game
It’s a way to get to know them. Either way, it’s nice to see them come through. Their success should pump up the other guys when the get back… We like Cerrone’s lineup, by the way.
You know Manuel is going to keep playing Tatis no matter how much we dont understand it.Assuming Shef is healthy I like him in there against lefties, and if Evans stays this hot he has to stay in the lineup. I think against lefties this should be the met lineup:
Cora SS, Castillo 2B, Wright 3B, Sheffield LF, Church RF, Evans 1B, Reed CF, Santos C
And against righties:
Cora SS, Murphy 1B, Wright 3B, Church RF, Evans LF, Martinez CF, Schneider/Santos C, Castillo 2B
If Evans stays hot this keeps Sheffield fresh and Murphy in the lineup most of the time, if hes going to play Tatis id do what Matt said and put Church in center and Tatis in right, but that severely hurts out OF defense
I rarely agree with Matt, but I do with his line up.
If Jerry refuses to field it … i say out with Jerry and in with Matt!
Of course if Matt was hired I would expect him to change his name to Met Cerrone.