I’m starting to realize that I am more of a fan of Jerry Manuel the person than I am of Jerry Manuel the manager. Most nights win or lose Manuel is usually a cool cat at his press conference as he never gets rattled by questions and he takes his time giving an answer to the tough inquiries. In that, Manuel reminds me of St Joseph of Torre in his handling of the media and that is a major challenge for any manager or head coach in this town.  But some of the tactical moves that Manuel has made on this road trip and in the recent weeks have be befuddled.

Take last night. When Jeremy Reed was obtained in the Putz deal this past winter we were told he was as good as Endy Chavez at bat and in the field. So if Reed is such a good outfielder why was he playing first base last night while the defensively challenged Daniel Murphy  was put in left field. I swear I was in a daze for the first inning trying to figure the logic here and sure enough the first batter for the Hollywood Bums, Juan Pierre hits a ball to left that Murphy botched. Just stunning.

Why not just leave Murphy at first base and tell him it’s all yours until Delgado gets back maybe it would relive a bit of pressure off this kid because this is not the same Daniel Murphy we fell in love with. The Murphy kid I saw last year and early this year does not get picked off first base like an inept little leaguer. How many times have we heard Keith Hernandez say that “someone taught Murphy the right way to play baseball”?

Same with second base. If Ramon Martinez is the best we have to play back up infielder then we’re in trouble. I know that Castillo has sucked at the plate lately so if you’re going to give him the night off the let the Latin Joe McEwing (Fernando Tatis) play second he can’t do any worse than Martinez.

 

   

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