Thinking Outside The Box - Jack Flynn

The problem could not be ignored forever.

Once it became clear that Mets general manager Omar Minaya was not going to sign or trade for a position player of note during the off-season, manager Jerry Manuel was left with a perplexing challenge. How could he possibly employ a balanced starting lineup with so few right-handed batters?

Manuel’s projected starters included four left-handed batters (Carlos Delgado, Ryan Church, Brian Schneider and Daniel Murphy) and three switch-hitters (Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran and Luis Castillo). David Wright was the only right-handed bat that was expected to see regular playing time on Manuel’s watch.

Reyes was going to lead off, of course – it wasn’t hard to see through the smokescreen generated by Manuel’s proclamation earlier this spring that he was considering Jose for the #3 spot in the order.

Castillo was apparently going to be given another chance to bat second – the lineup position he seemed destined for when Minaya inked him to a four-year deal after the 2007 season. Wright and Beltran were going to bat third and fourth, as they had done for the majority of the 2008 campaign.

Link: http://www.flushinguniversity.com/moxie/columns/thinking-outside-the-box.shtml