Adios Jose!

He was great. He was loved. He was exciting. He was fast. He played hard. He gave 110% every day. Now, hes gone. In case youve been in a cave or under a rock you know that Jose Reyes is a now a Miami Marlin. Hes now the enemy so i feel like i can say what i want about him. To put things into perspective: The Mets won 77 games in a year when Jose Reyes had a carer year. What are we really losing here? A great player? Of course. But its not like they are losing the guy who took them to the playoffs for the last 10 years. He made one post season with the team in 2006. And really if you think about that team Reyes barely registers. I think of Paul LoDuca, Cliff Floyd, Willie Randolph, David Wright, Endy Chavez, Ollie and John Maine. Thats not to say he wasnt important to that team - he was - but he wasnt the most important part. They should have made it in 2007 and maybe they would have if Reyes had hit better than .205 in September. They should have made it again in 2008 and again maybe they would have if Reyes had hit better than .245 in September. 
For all the adjectives that have been used to describe Jose Reyes the one word that I most associate him with is "injuries"
Where do we begin:

2003: Placed on the 15-day DL on Sept. 5 with a Grade 2 left ankle sprain that ends his season.

2004: Placed on the 15-day DL on March 15 with a strained right hamstring, which keeps him sidelined until June 19.

2009: Playing with a right calf strain, Reyes leaves game on May 21 after aggravating injury. Placed on the 15-day DL, does not return that season. Leaves a minor-league rehab assignment game on June 3 with what is called "discomfort in his right calf."

- The next day, the Mets announce that Reyes has a tear in his right hamstring tendon.

- The Mets announce on Oct. 5 that Reyes will have offseason surgery to clean up scar tissue around the hamstring tendon.

2010: Placed on 15-day DL with hyperactive thyroid, reinstated April 10. On June 30, suffers a injury to right side in batting practice, misses six games.

On July 10, he re-aggravates injury, does not return until July 20. Removed from a game on Aug. 26  after aggravating oblique injury. Does not return until Sept. 10. and on and on and on ....

And thats what ill remember most about Reyes. A great player who should have been even better. It wasnt just the injuries though - it was the fact that you were always waiting for the bad news to turn worse. 


Now dont get me wrong. I loved Reyes when he was here. I cheered him and chanted his name as much as anyone. In fact just this past season I went to a Mets game and it was raining the whole game. As such I had the opportunity to sit in the front row. Between innings I managed to get Joses attention and yelled to him "Jose! You gotta stay this off-season! Please! " to which he responded with a classic Jose Reyes smile "Well see what happens - I hope so". I remember thinking to myself  "Of course hes gonna stay!"   
So why am i so down on Reyes? Simple. 
1) He left to a division rival and as such i now feel the need to root against him. No sentimental feelings here at all. Hes now the enemy. 
2) The fact that he keeps saying that the Mets didnt offer him anything? Give me a break! Lets review shall we? Sandy Alderson offered to negotiate a long term contract with Reyes mid-season and he refused. Then the Mets dont trade him at the deadline - clearly thinking that they will be able to re-sign him after the year. In addition Sandy says that he was in contact with his agents and thought as recently as Friday night that they had a good chance to land him until the Marlins bid against themselves to get him! And he could have made 100 million if he would have stayed healthy with the Mets but he took the guaranteed money from the Marlins. All that is fine. Everyone is entitled to make as much money as they can while they can make it. Good for him. Hes earned it. He deserves every penny.  All i want to hear from his mouth is "The Marlins offered me more money so i took it" Lets face it. The Mets didnt have the money. You can blame the Wilpons for that if you want but the fact remains that they werent willing to give Jose Reyes 100 million. By the way if Omar were here you know Reyes would be a Met but of course then we would all be killing him in two years from now for signing a stupid long term deal without worrying about the consequences. And thats just it isnt it? You cant have it all. The Mets were really in a no-win situation here. I think ultimately they made the right decision. As a Mets fan what else can we hope? We hope that Sandy knows what hes doing and hope that this team can rebuild fast. 
Was Jose Reyes a great player for the Mets? Yes. Did they make the right decision? Who cares!?! Whats done is done and we have to move on. We dont root for the players we root for the team. So lets just hope that we can see some good baseball this year and that the rebuilding process doesnt take too long. 
One other thing ... I cant wait to hear the fans reaction when he comes to Citi Field in April ...... If hes not the DL that is.

Now entering the heavens - #1 - Goerge Steinbrenner - # 1

Thats the email i got from a friend of mine today. The Boss passed away today at the age of 80. As a Mets fan i have always thought that The Boss was a crazy tyrant who would run around and scream all day. (As exaggerated beautifully by Larry David on Seinfeld) But come to think of it who wouldnt went an owner like that. The bottom line is he wanted to win and was willing to do whatever he had to to get the job done. That is not to take anything away from the Wilpons who also seem to want to win and who definitely are willing to spend the money it takes to win. But the boss seemed to be much more hands on. Maybe too much at times. Today baseball lost a legend of the game and he will be missed.

Bob Shepard also passed away this week. That makes two huge losses for the Yankees family in a week.

What does that mean for a Mets fan? Dont watch the All Star game. Its bound to be a Yankees love fest.
Would anyone be surprised if Jeter knocked in the winning run? Im already dreading the headlines.
"A midsummer nights Captain" perhaps? Or maybe "The Captain delivers a victory to the The Boss"

Either way ill be staying away and hoping the Reyes doesnt injure himself congratulating Hanley.

To trade or not to trade - and who to trade

I recieved an email from a friend of mine today titled "make it happen! Roy Oswalt would OK deal to come to the Mets" In it he included a link to a story in the NY Post that said that a player who is friendly with Oswalt said that he would come to the Mets. OK - lets say thats true. Lets say he changed his mind about the Mets because theyre playing great baseball. Here are the questions you need to ask yourself.
1) Do we want him?
2) Do we need him?
3) Who would would we have to give up fro him?/ Who are we willing to give up fro him?
4) How much are we willing to pay him?

Lets break this down one point at a time.
1) Do we want him? - Yes. Of course we do. Hes a great pitcher who is an ace on most teams. A top 3 of Santana Pelfry and Oswalt would be pretty tough for any team to beat in a short series.
2) Do we need him? Well - I guess so. But right now theyre playing so well its hard to see it. As Jerry Manual said - 9 - 2 (combined record of Dickey and Takahashi) is tough to beat. Although you would assume that Tak is going back to the bullpen when Maine comes back. Either way I disagree with Jerrys statement (and i assume he doesnt really believe it either). So i guess the real question is: Do we need him to make the playoffs? I dont know. I would like to think that they can make the playoffs with the team as it is currently constructed or by adding a guy like Jake Westbrook.
3) Who would would we have to give up fro him?/ Who are we willing to give up for him?
Heres the interesting part. It seems like to get Oswalt the Mets wouldnt have to give up as much as you would think because the Astros are looking to dump all 30 Million dollars owed to him through 2011.
But its interesting to think of the hypothetical. I would definitely trade Fernando Martinez to get him. Im pretty much done with him. The guy cant stay on the field. And heres the shocker. I think i would give up Carlos Beltran to get Oswalt! There are some who think Beltran may never play again in a Mets uniform anyway. Clearly hes upset/Boras is upset and wants make sure Beltran is well rested for next year when hes playing for another contract. There are no guarantees with him. Hes still not cleared for baseball activity. Hes not playing in rehab games and his contract is up at the end of next year. Ill give that up to get Oswalt and take my chances with Frenchy and Angel thank you very much!
4) How much are we willing to pay? Well - that i cant answer. But i would imagine that the Mets would loosen the purse-strings to get Oswalt (at least i hope they would)

As for Cliff Lee - it seems as if the Ms want Jon Niese and Omar isnt bugging. Good for him! Lee is a free agent at the end of the year and the Mets risk losing him then.

It should be interesting to see who the Mets pursue. I still believe that the Mets will end up with a Jake Westbrook type of pitcher and not give up a whole lot in terms of prospects and take their chances with the current team. I dont know if its the best move but its the move i feel like they will make.

Either way it should be a fun summer!
Lets Go Mets!!