Questioning Decisions: Argenis Reyes?

A few days ago, I found myself wondering why the Mets got rid of Wilson Valdez and called up Argenis Reyes. They both provide similar talents, but Valdez is more polished.

We all know about Argenis Reyes the hitter—there isn’t much to know, and yet, for some reason, Jerry Manuel decided to put him up last night in the game’s most important at-bat for the Mets.

Frankly, I would’ve rather seen Pelfrey just stay in the game and hit for himself.

The Mets were beginning to build some momentum, as Gary Sheffield hit a long homer to trim the lead to 4-1. The crowd was back into it, and Tatis followed with a hit. The Mets had two on and one out when Omir Santos failed to make contact with a pitch in the dirt. The ball skipped away, and the runners advanced, but why were they sent back?

It turns out the ball hit Santos after he swung and missed. Therefore, the ball is dead and the runners must retreat. Rules are rules.

Daniel Murphy, Fernando Martinez, and Jeremy Reed were all sitting idly on the bench, and for some reason, Jerry Manuel decides to play an anemic right-handed bat in Argenis Reyes. The guy was batting .225 against lefties in Triple A. Anyone else see a problem with the decision?

I know what the rationale is, but I disagree with it. Manuel didn’t want to use his guns early, but it turned out later that he would turn to Daniel Murphy when the game was completely out of reach.

In games like this, momentum is everything. Mets’ fans were having high hopes thanks to the fact that they beat the Cardinals in three out of four games. They held Albert Pujols homerless in four straight games, and the pitching has been good.

The Mets had the chance to build some new momentum, but Jerry went with the wrong option. It’s that simple. He saved Daniel Murphy for a late-game situation, had no faith in Fernando Martinez, and he probably wanted to keep Jeremy Reed around in case he was needed as a defensive replacement.

I get it, but I just don't agree. It was the wrong move, especially in a game of this magnitude.

Today, I hope Manuel plays this game like it's huge. The rest of the division lost last night, so we didn’t lose any ground. There's still a chance that the Mets could be in first place by the time the game is over.

Keep your chins up, Mets’ fans, because it is going to be a bumpy ride from here on out.