Friday, July 01, 2005

Met Moves and What They Mean To You

Item: Victor Diaz down, Miguel Cairo activated, wither Marlon Anderson?

With Cairo back at second base, Marlon Anderson returns to his role as pinch hitter extraordinare...which strengthens the club. But it will not be soon forgotten how Anderson held the fort down in Cairo's abscence. Between his great defense, his hustle down the line to beat out double plays and ground balls, his adequate hitting, and his baseball IQ (check out a replay of his slide from Thursday afternoon which turned a sure out at the plate into a run), Anderson proved more than capable.

What this also means is that the Mets have a lot of the same type of player...backup infielders who are versatile. Chris Woodward is a shortstop who can play first, left and right; Anderson is a second baseman who can play right field; Cairo will start at second but he can also play first and third; Jose Offerman is a shortstop (albeit in name only) who can play first, and then there's also Brian Daubach. The Mets will have a ton of versatility on the bench, but when Mientkiewicz returns, there's going to be some playing time being spread thin (as if there's not already). One thing is for sure: Marlon Anderson has proven that he derserves to have an important role with this club.

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