Edwin Encarnacion

enth inning on Sunday in Cincinnati.  Argenis Reyes eventually followed with the grounder that Edwin Encarnacion threw into right field to score Cancel and give the Mets the lead.

    But even with Cancel's timely hitting, his real value is in his presence as a third catcher, because it allows Jerry Manuel to utilize Ramon Castro more often as a pinch hitter.  Just how spectacular has Castro been this year?  His .290 batting average with runners in scoring position is very good, but is dwarfed beside his .462 mark with RISP and two outs.  Castro always seems to come through with a big hit, and he has been a monumental part of this team as a dependable back-up catcher and spot-starter for the last four years.

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uestionable move last night when he chose to have Aaron Heilman intentionally walk Joey Votto after Edwin Encarnacion's two-out double in the seventh.  Putting the potential go-ahead run on base intentionally is clearly a move that goes against the book, and it is often difficult for a reliever to find his rhythm again after issuing an intentional pass.  Case in point:  Heilman walked the next batter on five pitches to load the bases.  Then, also questionable was Manuel's decision to pull Heilman in favor of Schoenweis.  I rarely think it's a good idea to bring a pitcher in with the bases loaded, but it made sense because Javier Valentin, the would-be pinch hitter, is not as productive from the right side of the plate.  The moves ended up not working out, as Valentin delivered the three-run double, but they didn't get much scrutiny because the Mets won the game.  These are the types of situations that get managers fired; if this type of move didn't work out for Willie Randolph and the team ended up losing the game, he would have been one step closer to the unemployment line, whereas if it worked out for Jerry Manuel, he would be venerated as the next John McGraw.

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