Bay's return will move Pagan to 2 hole

Jason Bay's impending arrival is expected to shake up an already shaky Mets' lineup, with manager Terry Collins likely to slot the leftfielder into his customary No. 5 spot and re-insert Angel Pagan into the No. 2 hole.

At the very least, that move will lengthen the lineup and allow for Pagan -- who entered Tuesday night hitting .169 -- to see more fastballs and, hopefully for the Mets, be more productive.

"That's where I'd ultimately like him to be, no question about it," Collins said when asked about moving Pagan up. "But I'm going to talk to Angel when the time comes to make sure he's comfortable with it.

"He's trying way too hard. He's trying to do all the things he did all last season in the first two weeks. I've been trying to just get him to play, do the little things, slap the ball around, use that God-given speed he's got, create havoc like he can."

Despite the poor numbers, Pagan's work ethic and team-first attitude has impressed Collins. "I'll tell you one thing," Collins said. "He's worked very, very hard at it. On Sunday he put two bunts down because he's not swinging good and he felt that's the best way to try help this ballclub. That ultimately is what we want, but we have to get him back on track offensively for sure."

But until Thursday -- Bay's season debut -- Josh Thole will remain in the No. 2 hole.

The catcher may not have blinding speed or much power. But the one thing he does possess is patience, a virtue sorely lacking up and down the Mets' lineup.

In an attempt to generate more offense, Collins moved Thole from the eighth spot to second for the first time on Sunday against Atlanta. And Thole came through, tying his careerhigh with two RBIs in a 3-2 win over the Braves.

"I like hitting in the two-hole," Thole said. "I did a little last year and it's fun with Jose [Reyes] hitting in front of me."

He takes more pitches, giving Reyes more of a chance to steal and Collins the ability to utilize the hit-and-run. Entering yesterday, the Mets shortstop was tied for sixth in the majors with six stolen bases.

"You can do a lot of things with him -- he can hit and run, handle the bat, get a runner over," Collins said of his catcher before Sunday's game in Atlanta.

"I just thought it spread the lineup out a little bit, to try to give a little change of pace. See if we can get some guys to take a deep breath and relax a little bit."