So for whatever reason I’ve found myself listening to the Mets on the radio a bunch the last few days, and Howie Rose and Wayne Hagin seem to maintain that Jerry Manuel is intentionally limiting and manipulating Ruben Tejada’s at-bats to make sure the 20-year-old infielder finishes the season with a batting average above .200.

I have no idea if it’s true, but they’ve said it a few times, and I’ve really got no reason to doubt them.

Didn’t the same thing happen with Ted Williams once? I think so. Except that was aimed at finishing over .400 instead of .200, and it was only on the last day of the season, and Williams refused to sit and wound up hitting .406. So this is just like that, except like a billion times sadder.

Also, honestly: Who decided that whatever mental advantage Tejada gains heading into the offseason with a .200+ batting average will outweigh the benefits he might gain from a few dozen extra Major League at-bats?

I mean, I can’t imagine it matters much one way or another since Tejada’s playing a lot now. But seriously, who makes that call? Is it lame-duck Manuel or lame-duck Omar Minaya? John Ricco? The marketing department?

To me — and this is totally uninformed — it seems like if the Mets were looking to shake the whole “rudderless-ship” perception, they’d at least have someone on board making baseball decisions that had some investment in the team’s future. But then I was basically saying the same thing last year.

After an 0-for-1 day yesterday, Ruben Tejada sits at .199 for the season. The chase continues!

I’m off to Connecticut to talk to some college kids about the Internet. Vendys writeup coming later.