According to the New York Post, Luis Hernandez – who has played a whopping 22 career games at second base, is set to be named the starting second baseman for manager Terry Collins, and the New York Mets.
Hernandez has a lifetime batting average of .245, with four career home runs(including one on a brokern foot), and the Mets were his third team in his first four season of the majors.
Let's assume for a second that this is actually true. I suppose there are two things at play here. For one, I will give Terry Collins some guts for going outside the box, if nothing else. Now, if this doesn't work, Collins will be second guessed, until the cows come home. However, he at least took a stand for something he believed in. Either that, or he just doesn't know the pressure cooker he's walked into. Welcome to New York, Mr. Collins.
As for the second thing, Collins and staff were evidently not overly impressed by any of the other four candidates' performances, which includes Daniel Murphy, Brad Emaus, Justin Turner, and of course, Luis Castillo.
Castillo has the most soap opera-ish story here. Reportedly, if Castillo is not named the starter, he has requested to be let go. I'm sure there are a lot of Mets fans who will oblige him.
Now, the other thing I will say that the Mets' season will not make or break with Hernandez being the second basemen. That will be up to the big boys, and we all know who they are.
One final thought – it's a long shot, but could this move actually be a sparkplug that this team desperately needs to shake things up, before the season begins? Probably not, but the question is worth asking.
Feel free to pass along your thoughts, either here, or at my Bleacher Report column. Until next time...
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