$ 23.25 million dollar body, five cent head...

Last night, AGAIN, Jose Reyes showed his lack of maturity and baseball intelligence. After singling as the first hitter of the Jerry Manuel regime, he felt a tweak in his hamstring, while Luis Castillo was batting. He asked for time, and after it was granted, he grabbed his hamstring in front of new first base coach, Ken Oberkfell, and started telling him what was wrong.

Head trainer, Ray Ramirez, and interim manager, Jerry Manuel, came out of the dugout, and spoke to Reyes. Manuel decided Reyes was coming out of the game, to be replaced by Damion Easley. Reyes walked away from Manuel, and threw his helmet towards home plate, before entering the dugout, walking past his teammates, and entering the clubhouse, to complete his tantrum.

Reyes has made many mental mistakes, and errors this season. It's not the first time his behavior has been immature and unprofessional. Reyes needs to realize that Manuel is in the same situation Randolph was in. Manuel is the "interim" manager, being judged on wins and losses for the rest of this season, before the Mets' hierarchy decides if they want Manuel to be next year's manager.

Physically, Reyes is Manuel's best option at SS, and with Manuel, AT THAT POINT, managing a 34-35 team, with 93 remaining chances to retain his job, Manuel decided to replace Reyes with an inferior physical talent, Damion Easley, at SS. I give Manuel a lot of credit for that decision. It shows he is thinking long-term, realizing that he needs to keep Reyes healthy for the long haul.

During Manuel's 5:00 P.M. E.S.T. press conference, yesterday, Manuel mentioned that one of his concerns is resting Beltran, Wright, and Reyes, who he knows are physically tired. Manuel now has 92 more chances to keep his job, yet, is thinking about the long-term health of his star players, knowing that the Mets' organization needs them healthy for the long-term. Manuel shows an understanding and maturity that Reyes is nowhere near displaying.