PORT ST. LUCIE The Luis Castillo leadoff experiment is all but dead now that manager Jerry Manuel appears to have let Jose Reyes reclaim the top spot in the order.
Reyes hit leadoff and Castillo batted second once again yesterday in the Mets’ 7-4 Grapefruit League loss here to the Braves.
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Manuel blamed the World Baseball Classic for the likely end to his controversial experiment this spring of Castillo hitting leadoff and Reyes batting third.
“[The experiment] is not over, but I think with Jose not being as active as I would have liked him to be [in the WBC], I’ve got to slowly get him back going,” Manuel said. “To get him back going, I have to put him where he’s comfortable. And I think that [leadoff spot] is where he’s comfortable.”
Manuel already might have accomplished his original goal of reviving Castillo this spring, considering the second baseman is hitting a robust .321 after a 1-for-3 outing yesterday.
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Replays of David Wright’s game-winning hit Tuesday night for Team USA in the WBC were shown endlessly in the Mets’ clubhouse yesterday morning, and nobody could have been prouder than Manuel.
That’s because Wright’s clutch double to beat Puerto Rico was to the opposite field, which is something Manuel has preached all spring with his 80-pitch hitting drill.
“I didn’t see it, but I do know it was to right field and that’s good,” Manuel said.
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Oliver Perez returned from the WBC and admitted he felt tired in his surprisingly lengthy last start for Team Mexico.
In a move that didn’t go over well with the Mets, Mexico manager Vinny Castilla left in Perez for a whopping 85 pitches last Sunday in an eventual 8-2 loss to Korea.
“When I was throwing 75 [pitches], I was feeling good,” Perez said. “After that, I was feeling a little more tired because I was trying to use my strength and make pitches to get out of the inning the best I can.”
Perez’s first start back with the Mets is scheduled for tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale against the Orioles.
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The Mets’ five-man Puerto Rican contingent from the WBC also started filtering back, with Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, Nelson Figueroa, Alex Cora and Pedro Feliciano dropping off their equipment.
Manuel said Beltran and Delgado can count on plenty of rest after the high-intensity WBC and might not play in a Grapefruit League game until the middle of next week.
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Catcher Brian Schneider (knee) was scratched yesterday but is day-to-day.