The revolving door that is second base has always been a position for the Mets that lacks consistency. Last year, this spot passed through the hands of Kaz Matsui, Anderson Hernandez, and eventually an everyday player in Jose Valentin. Valentin performed well above expectations; providing solid defense and a consistent bat at the bottom of the order.

This season has followed much of the same course. Until Jose Valentin was sidelined with a knee injury, it was anticipated he would receive majority of the time at second. His absence opened the door for Damion Easley and Ruben Gotay. Even since Valentin's return from the DL, he has not been able to repeat his 2006. At times, Easley has provided some clutch hits, but due to his own nagging ailments, has not been able to step-up as a regular. With this, Ruben Gotay has emerged as a bright spot on the infield.

Gotay came to the Mets from Kansas City in a trade that many did not see the value in. Omar Minaya made the move to swap two Triple-A infielders; Jeff Keppinger for Ruben Gotay. Keppinger is now with the Reds, while Gotay has been doing the little things with the big club here in NY. Gotay has found himself in the middle of a number of rallies, while racking up quality at-bats, and providing adequate defense. He seems comfortable in the 2-hole in the lineup and also provides some speed on the base paths.

Let's crunch the numbers to find the best option at second:
- Valentin, Easley, and Gotay yield a .978 fielding percentage; taking into account Gotay has logged half as many innings as the other two and Easley has fielded other positions this season.
- Although it is a small sample size, Gotay's numbers at the plate are significantly better with less at-bats than both Easley and Valentin. Rather than bog up the blog with numbers, a hitting comparison can be found here.

Will Gotay continue to put up these kind of numbers as the season wears on? Does this team owe anything to an aging Valentin? Who do you personally like better at second? Would it really be beneficial for the Mets to seek a second baseman for the remainder of this season? The Mets could go out and acquire a 2nd baseman, but if Gotay can continue to give the Mets quality AB's and get on base, I think he fits quite well into the "mold" of this squad. I don't think Gotay will turn into any type of star player and his potential will most likely max out. That being said, he is still fairly young and could turn a typical Omar move into a new mainstay at second for now. Where do you stand?