Ike Davis Benched Tonight Despite .571 BA Against Southpaws

Gary Matthews Jr. who is batting .156 and slugging .219 in 16 games is starting in centerfield and worse yet leading off tonight. Even if you could make a case for batting GMJ over Angel Pagan, why would you bat him first?

Ike Davis is also riding the pine tonight against left hander Jamie Moyer, even though he is batting .571 against southpaws. Fernando Tatis will be playing first base tonight instead. Does Jerry Manuel look at the statistical matchups before deciding on his starting lineup?

Also, if you are gonna put a right handed bat behind David Wright anyway, why is Fernando Tatis batting ahead of Jeff Francoeur (.421 against LHP)?

Here’s the lineup for tonight’s game

1. Gary Matthews Jr. – CF
2. Luis Castillo – 2B
3. Jose Reyes – SS
4. Jason Bay – LF
5. David Wright – 3B
6. Fernando Tatis – 1B
7. Jeff Francoeur – RF
8. Rod Barajas – C
9. Johan Santana – LHP

LGM!