When Jose Bautista landed at LaGuardia Airport on Tuesday less than an hour before first pitch and was promptly placed into the Mets’ lineup by 6:45 p.m., it came at Jay Bruce’s expense.
Bruce said the staff gave him “as much [of a heads up] as they could,” but that didn’t make it any easier for the veteran outfielder, who is trying to get his bat back on track.
“Obviously it wasn’t the most ideal situation for me, but the team makes the decisions. I’m an employee,” said Bruce, who was batting cleanup for Wednesday’s series finale against the Marlins despite hitting just .