Who's Batting Eighth?

The Mets have a few problems that have surfaced so far in 2005, but one of them is a good problem. Victor Diaz has played better than the Mets could have hoped, despite a large skid, in place of Mike Cameron and now has been placed on the bench. He has showed Omar that trading Cameron may not have much of an effect on the team and may very well make the team better if he could get good value in return for the gold glove center fielder. However, when Mike Cameron returns to the lineup, Willie will have another problem that is a good one to have. With potentially productive players throughout the lineup, he has the unenviable task of figuring out who takes the number eight spot in the lineup.

The Candidates should be Doug Mientkiewicz and....umm...Doug Mientkiewicz. Doug has put up .222/.317/.378 line so far this year and should have been there while Victor Diaz was still starting on the team. Dougie can be a good offensive player, but right now, he is hurting. Though he should be the only candidate, I have a feeling that Willie will slide David Wright into that spot and waste his production instead of putting him where he can drive in more runs. Last night, he was slid down into the seventh spot with Chris Woodward batting ahead of him yet again and that speaks volumes about what his intentions are today. He is hell bent on Wright earning his chops or someone else hitting rock bottom forcing him to move him up. All in all, it should be interesting to see what Willie does when Cammy returns to the lineup today.