Mike Puma of the
NY Post writes that while Ruben Tejada does not possess that same skill set as Jose Reyes, he provides the Mets with a viable option at shortstop and/or second base next season.
The 21-year-old doesn't hit or run like the Mets' All-Star shortstop, but infield coach Chip Hale has noticed a few more mph on Tejada's fastball this year, to the point it's not such a sure thing Reyes has the best arm on the team.
"We always say how Jose's arm is one of the top in the league, but Tejada is throwing the ball right up there with him," [Chip] Hale said. "That has impressed me. You can tell he is getting bigger and stronger. He definitely has put some good weight on."
In his first rehab game with Binghamton last night, Jose Reyes went 0-1 with a walk. Following the game,
Reyes said:
"It was nice to get on the field, but I didn’t have any opportunity to take any groundballs and to run to first base. I mean, I ran to first base, but on a fly ball. That doesn’t mean anything. I feel like I didn’t do anything really besides being on the field for five innings."
I hate linking to this writer on my site, but the comment made is so obnoxious, I had to include it. When writing about how the Mets need to keep David Wright and Reyes, a certain writer from the
Daily News, whose name shall not be mentioned on this site, then stated:
The team must find a way to keep the left side of its infield intact in 2012, and beyond. Otherwise, the Mets might as well stop existing for a few years.
Dear writer, in case you haven't noticed,
with these two players the Mets have essentially been non-existent in the National League for a few years. As Pirates general manager Branch Rickey once reportedly told the great Ralph Kiner, "We finished last with you, we can finish last without you."
There are things the writer could have said that would ring true -- without Wright & Reyes the Mets will struggle to fill seats and/or without them the Mets will struggle to not be the worst team in the league. Both of those are incredibly true, I think.
ReplyDeleteWithout adequate replacements, this team will suffer. But that statement about ceasing operations was just dumb. Even a crappy team that no one expects to do well still has a chance. You don't approach Spring Training having the attitude, "We might as well forfeit the season." You go into Spring Training having NOTHING LESS THAN 100% hope that you can somehow pull it together to get into the playoffs, no matter how bad your roster is compared to the Phillies, Braves and others. Collapses happen. Miracles happen. Losing Wright & Reyes and having no one to sufficiently replace them would be unthinkably terrible. But you don't just quit.