I love Jerry Manuel but . . . .

Murphy in LF and Jeremy Reed at 1B? Murphy's best position is probably 1B and Reed is only on the team because of his superior defense in the OF. I would have put Sheffield in LF, Murphy at 1B, and Reed in RF. And I would have switched Castillo and Cora in the batting order.

When I saw Cora shaking out his hand on second base after his double, I knew the Mets were in trouble. They have been winning with him playing SS. He's grittier and more a winner than Reyes will ever be.

Jose Reyes reminds me of Alex Rodriguez in that they are the two best examples of physical talent and emotional immaturity/lack of baseball instinct I've ever seen. Not that emotional immaturity and lack of baseball instinct are related in general, but in those two players, it seems unlikely their teams are going to be winning World Championships anytime soon. They make me think of Marbury. I had the feeling when the Knicks picked him up that they weren't going to be winning much while he was their leader.

Emotional immaturity is something you can grow out of, but lack of baseball instinct is another matter. Did you see the incredible play by Joe Mauer yesterday, when he tagged out Brett Gardner at home after a grounder richocheted off the pitcher? He instinctively pump-faked to first, hoping to pick Gardner off third. He had the incredible presence of mind to adjust immediately when he saw that Gardner wasn't going back to third at all, but barreling towards him at full speed. He ran and dove towards home, tagging the runner out to prevent the winning run! Amazing. No-one on the Mets would have been able to do that. That's baseball instinct in a nutshell.

© Judy Kamilhor 2009