PORT ST. LUCIE — Jerry Manuel‘s sense of humor is firmly intact, judging from the lineup he posted for today’s Grapefruit League game here against the Marlins. Not only is pitcher Oliver Perez batting second, which is comical enough, but Carlos Beltran is all the way down in the No. 6 hole. I suspect Manuel wants a chance to see Perez bunt live, but maybe the manager is sending Beltran a message like he has seemingly everybody else this spring. You never know with Jerry.
Anyway, here is the Mets’ order for the 1:10 p.m. game, which is being telecast live on SNY:
Luis Castillo 2B
Oliver Perez LHP
Jose Reyes SS
Carlos Delgado 1B
David Wright 3B
Carlos Beltran CF
Ryan Church RF
Daniel Murphy LF
Brian Schneider C
Other pitchers scheduled to throw in the game: RHP Dillon Gee, LHP Jon Switzer, RHP Kyle Snyder, LHP Heriberto Ruelas, RHP Nelson Figueroa and RHP Carlos Muniz.
3:55 P.M. UPDATE: Looking very comfortable in the No. 3 hole, Jose Reyes hit two homers and drove in six runs overall to power the Mets to a 9-0 shutout. Six pitchers combined to blank the Marlins.