Here we go again. According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Terry Collins is once again toying with the idea of batting the pitcher eighth.
When you first here it you’re like, “what, huh, so what…” Until you realize it means batting Juan Lagares ninth and then you’ve like, “what the fuck is he crazy!?!?!?”
This lame brained scheme is coming as Lagares, who was challenged to prove he can bat leadoff by Collins in February, is smoking the ball in Mets camp.
Lagares, who led off Wednesday and went 2-for3, with a double, a home run, and a stolen base, is batting .395 this Spring with a .489 on-base and a 1.102 OPS. He’s literally having the most productive spring in camp. And yet Collins sees this and his gut reaction is to minimize his at-bats. You really have to wonder about this man’s judgement and mental makeup.
“It is something we are thinking about,” Collins said.
Who is we I wonder? Sock puppets don’t count. Sock puppets shouldn’t have a say in this.
Collins toyed with such lunacy before, fancying himself as a Tony LaRissa clone at times. He batted his starting pitcher in the eighth spot 10 times last year. And yes, INCLUDING Colon.
The thought process behind this, if you want to call it that, is to get your third-place hitter more RBI chances after the first time through the lineup.
Collins also says he’s got the great hitting pitchers to pull this off. Yes, Terry, the same ones who set a new MLB record in futility by going 0-for-gazillion last season.
“I know in our market it’s a big issue. It’ll be a headline, back-page story,” Collins told ESPN’s Adam Rubin. “But I’ll just to do it to see what it looks like. Nothing more than that.”
Oh God, please don’t let this maniac ruin our season.
