So I spent the weekend away, away from the internet and for the most part away from the Mets outside of highlights on the MLB Network in the morning.

Oh, by the way. Personal endorsement. If you have the option to watch MLB Network’s Quick Pitch or MLB Tonight instead of Sportscenter/Baseball Tonight. Do yourself a favor and flip to the MLB Network. Their coverage of the sport far surpasses any agenda ESPN seems to consistently have.

Anyway, back to the Mets.

So, I’m writing asking, no wait, demanding that Jerry Manuel finally be let go. Jerry, nobody dislikes you. I’m sure you’ll make a great bench coach somewhere; in fact I have no doubts. However, you are not a Championship Manager. Not that this team is even to be considered a Championship caliber team, but regardless, it’s time to move on.

There have been plenty of well-documented mistakes and problems that had lead to Manuel being on the “hot seat.” We don’t need to go into all of them. I’m usually not the type of blogger who calls for the big move, the firing or anything like that. Now, I believe it’s time that Jerry Manuel be let go.

I think it was pretty clear to everybody except Jerry Manuel that batting Jose Reyes in the third spot was a good effort, but a failed effort. You cannot take anything away from Jerry for trying. However, the problem with this was his stubbornness to admit defeat.

Reyes never really seemed comfortable in that spot, and for a guy who takes pride in being the leadoff hitter, I think it affected Reyes’ all around attitude. Now, the reason for batting Reyes 3rd at least to my knowledge was Jerry felt it made the middle of the order better, and that Reyes was in fact one of the best hitters the Mets had.

In fact, Jerry believed Reyes was the best option for the Mets at the #3 spot without Beltran.

So then why are you asking him to bunt with Castillo on 2nd with nobody out? He’s your #3 hitter because you said he’s one of your best hitters, so why are you not letting him swing the bat? I don’t know of any 3 hitter who would’ve been asked to bunt there. Not one.

The devil’s advocate argument I guess could be that he’s a #1 hitter in the 3 spot from Jerry. If that is the case then, he’s still wrong because he’s then just admitting Reyes isn’t fit to hit 3rd.

That to me was a huge moment in which I realized Manuel has to go.

The final moment was today.

I’m driving home from the weekend and we finally get WFAN through the airwaves. I flip it on and it’s 7-0. Awesome.

Then I heart Wright, Davis, Pagan due up. I’m thinking “okay, Jose is in the #1 again,” but then I was thinking “Is Bay sitting out? Where’s Francoeur?”

I wait to hear the game play through the lineup and I could’ve sworn Howie Rose had to have mis-spoke when he said Chris Carter was batting 4th?

Okay. Chris Carter wasn’t good enough to make the Mets Opening Day roster, but now, because he’s been in what 5 games as a Met, now he’s hitting FOURTH!?!

You cannot tell me the important of where hitters hit in the lineup, ie Reyes extending the lineup by hitting 3rd, and then bat a backup outfielder in the 4 spot. I don’t care if Carter has been pretty good since he came up. He’s had what? 5 at bats!? FIVE AT BATS JERRY!

What in the WORLD could Chris Carter have shown you in 5 days that lead you to believe he was the best option as your cleanup hitter in an absolute MUST WIN game? So you want to get Bay and Wright going? So what do you do? You put in a 6 year career minor leaguer between them. Yeah, that’s smart.

Proof that it was an absolutely ridiculous move was you didn’t even have confidence in him to hit in the 7th inning with your team down by 1 run with a man in scoring position. How can you or anybody try to tell me he belonged in the 4 hole when you can’t even trust him in a big spot?

Your 4th hitter doesn’t get replaced down 1 run with a runner in scoring position for ANY matchup. He gets a chance to swing the bat, unless he didn’t belong there.

Those two AWFUL lineup decisions to me, finally gave me a clear-minded decision that Jerry Manuel has to be let go as Mets Manager. He has he shown any sensible thought process for decisions he’s made such as a career minor leaguer batting 4th in a must win game!!! He looks to be “guessing” out there on a consistent basis now, and it’s only going to get worse.

I hope Omar Minaya is heading to Atlanta to let Jerry know that when he returns he’ll need to hand his keys to Bob Melvin. Do I know Melvin is the answer? No. However, they have given Manuel plenty of time to prove he can handle managing this team, and he has failed to show me anything and I’ve had enough.