New York Mets First Day Of Camp

Jerry Manuel met with reporters this afternoon for the first time this season. He mentioned that he would like to bat Jose Reyes third. I don't know about anyone else but I don't think this is a good idea. He is a good leadoff hitter that sparks the lineup. I think if you hit him third he may change his approach and it wouldn't be for the better, he would try to hit more homeruns in my opinion plus you take away his stealing game. I think you have to keep him as the leadoff hitter. To Reyes credit he said it doesn't matter to him, he just wants to be playing and helping his team win games. He said that Jerry Manuel just mentioned it yesterday and even if he does it, it will only be until Carlos Beltran returns. He said he is the boss so whatever he decides he will go along with it. Jerry said that Jon Niese can be the fifth starter if he pitches the way he did last summer. He said Daniel Murphy is the starting first baseman, I assumed that but now it is confirmed. He wants a power bat off the bench like the Phillies had with Matt Stairs even if the player isn't able to play multiple positions like Mike Jacobs. Henry Blanco is the backup catcher and Alex Cora is the backup shortstop. You can see a video of Jerry Manuels press conference at http://metsblog.com/category/video Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News spoke with Kelvim Escobar who expressed little concern about being ready for opening day and the rigors of pitching everyday out of the bullpen.