That’s right, I’m dropping a Bush reference from 1994…after reading this article from newyorkmets.com, I’ve been trying to distance myself from reality as much as possible. As far as I’m concerned, I’m still a freshman in high-school, and I expect to see the OJ car chase on TV:

In a scenario Manuel has contemplated, Castillo would bat leadoff, a position not unfamiliar to him, and Reyes, who has no career plate appearances as a No. 3 hitter, would bat third. Beltran could then bat second, a slot in which he has prospered in the past.

Luis Castillo leading off for a playoff-hopeful team is what I was expecting to complain about when I clicked on that article…little did I know that an ambush on my baseball-loving sensibilities was lurking Jeff Gillooly style.

After preaching a team-first mantra, Jerry Manuel turns into a bit of a basket case (#1 on the US Rock Charts).

The manager even went so far as to suggest a player who goes hitless in four at-bats but does the “little things” to help the team in one game might be rewarded the following day and have a better chance to play than a teammate who had two hits in four at-bats but did nothing to enhance the greater good.

What exactly will these hypothetical players be doing that will be more valuable than getting two hits? Is a catcher going to be throwing out 8 runners in the same game? Is a player going to be getting walks in 6 consecutive plate appearance? Is he going to make three home-run-robbing catches over the wall?  Will the guy who gets two hits also make four errors?

Manuel called it “kind of a ticklish situation”and noted, “We have to applaud and celebrate the little things.”

Ladies and gentlemen, major league baseball’s first ticklish situation! It’s like that good natured man with special needs always says, “stupid is as stupid does.”

Let’s just sign David Eckstein and get it over with.