Valentin's View

There is an interesting article on the decision to bat Jose Reyes #3 this spring. Thursday Jerry Manuel was with Mike Francesa on WFAN, and said that Jose will more than likely be his #1 hitter, he just wants him to show better discipline at the plate.

John Harper (NY Daily News) says he likes that Manuel is showing his players that it is about team and not individuals, but Jose Valentin does have some concerns:

Valentin has been a mentor to Reyes, and understands Reyes mindset well. Says where you need to be careful is if Reyes gets frustrated, "When he's not doing well offensively, he tends to change defensively," said Valentin. "He's not the same guy. He has a tendency to lay down when he's not doing well at the plate, and you don't want that." We saw this from Jose when you were able to tell how unhappy he was playing for Willie Randolph.

Valentin says when Reyes sulks, which he is prone to do, it affects his play on both sides of the ball, and he doesn't have the quality at-bats, doesn't steal as much, etc.

Valentin continues, "He doesn't need to get three hits, but if he gets caught stealing, that's when he looks like he's frustrated. He cares the most about stealing bases, and if he's hitting third and he gets on base with two outs, you might not want him to run because you want your No.4 hitter swinging the bat.

"Jose might take off, and even if he steals the base, they may walk the No.4 hitter when you want the big guy swinging the bat. Those are the kinds of things you would need to talk to Jose about, because he doesn't always understand the situation."

For more of Valentin's insight, read John Harper - NY Daily News. With this sort of wisdom, Metsfan73 thinks it might be wise to have Valentin on the pro roster. He could be the manager in the line-up, to complement the manager in the dugout.