Highly criticized by Mets fans and the media for how he manages his bullpen, Jerry Manuel has never felt shy about giving one of his position players a day off. At the start of tonight’s game, Manuel decided it would be best to give Jose Reyes a breather.
Coming off a twenty-inning marathon on Saturday and an excruciating loss on Sunday night, Manuel felt that tonight was as good a time as any to give his All-Star shortstop a little downtime.
Since returning to the Mets back on April 10th, Reyes has shown significant rust at the plate. In 39 at-bats so far this season, he is hitting just .154. In Reyes’ defense, prior to his first game back, he had not participated in a big league game since the middle of last season.
In eight games as the Mets lead-off hitter, he has an on-base percentage of .209 which means limited chances to steal a base. Reyes has just two stolen bases to go along with six hits and two walks.
With the understanding that Reyes may require more face time in order to get himself back into the groove, I hope that his recent struggles are more mental than physical.
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