I was only 14-years-old when Jose Reyes made his major league debut. I feel old (I'm only 21), but what scares me more is that Jose Reyes was only 19. On June 10, 2003, the promising young shortstop made his major league debut at Texas just a day shy of his 20th birthday. The hype machine around this kid was startling, and just a few days later (on June 15, 2003), he had his first big major league moment, launching a grand slam into the left field stands at Anaheim for his first career home run.
We all knew the deal with Reyes: The kid had talent and speed but also came with the injury cloud hovering over him. Over his minor league career, he was hampered over and over with leg injuries that attacked his biggest strength. During spring training one year, the Mets even tried to change the way Jose ran.
But Jose Reyes persevered, and began making his mark on the Mets over the next seven years. Next to Pedro Feliciano, he is the longest tenured Met. He has provided many highlight reel moments in the field, with his bat, and on the base paths. He is one of the marquee stars that brings excitement to this team, and he has been paired with David Wright as the face of the Mets youthful core. Both Wright and Reyes came up through the Mets farm system and have been the face of the team in the past few years but also presumably in the foreseeable future.
This might soon change. Jose Reyes has one year left on his contract with the Mets, and trade talks have surrounded him in the early parts of this off-season. While the Mets acknowledge that they will need a deal that will basically knock them out, the talks over trading Reyes are all too real. The thought of breaking up the core has never appealed to me, because I have never seen a reason to trade a player who has never been responsible for the failures of this team. At this point, a better option at short stop is not available in the open market (since we can assume Derek Jeter is not leaving the Yankees) and the Mets can spend their money in much wiser ways than shopping Reyes.
Maybe I'm just being selfish, but when the Mets win, and I hope it is sometime in the somewhat-distant future (we'll say 10 years), I want Reyes and Wright to be a part of the team. They are the core and face of the team's successes and failures, but I don't find it fair to blame them when things go wrong because it is never all on them or even primarily on them.
Since his debut, Jose Reyes has been solid. You can argue that he has never lived up to the initial hype he came up with, but he is still young and has a lot of potential still ahead of him. It's scary to think we can give up on a kid who still has such a career ahead of him. With Wright and Reyes, the problem isn't with them but the team around them. I don't want either of them to lead this team on their own because that rarely ever leads to a successful team. We need a better supporting cast for them.
Another big issue is the injuries, but before 2009 Reyes had almost completely eradicated the injury problems. Between 2005 and 2008, Reyes played in at least 153 for 4 straight years, totaling 633 games over that span. I have to wonder what all the people who are saying he is always injured are thinking, because even though his injuries have resurfaced over the past couple of years, Reyes has proven that he can play on an almost daily basis (he played 161 games in 2005 and 160 in 2007) and has put up solid numbers over that span. I don't see the Mets replacing someone with much better than that.
Finally, you have to look at the numbers. From 2005-2008, he totaled at least 12 triples, topping out at 19 triples in 2006. Over those 4 years, he stole 78, 81, 78, and 82 bases, respectively. Even last year, he stole 63 bases in a year where he played 133 games. Jose Reyes is not a power hitter, nor is he or should be the main offensive star. What Jose Reyes offers is one of the best lead-off hitters in the league. He is the perfect table-setter: His speed is unquestionable, and a lead-off single can turn into a double after just 2 or 3 pitches. He gets in the pitcher's head with his speed, as he showed back in 2007 with Armando Benitez, and he has been known to draw balks. He is still the ideal hitter for Citi Field, as his ability fits into a stadium with huge gaps in left and right center that allow Reyes to take advantage of his speed.
Jose Reyes is an thrilling player. When healthy, he is the catalyst for the Mets offense and improves the RBI potential of David Wright, Carlos Beltran, and hopefully Jason Bay in 2011. There is no reason we should be looking to trade him because he can still be part of the youth movement, seeing as how he is only 26 himself. Maybe I've just grown so attached to Wright and Reyes as a fan, but I want these two to stay their entire career with the Mets, and I want to see them win here, not with another team. It will make the good and the bad all that much better. In the end though, are we looking to trade Reyes because we will improve the team, or are we doing it just to do something. If it's the latter, then the Mets may be making a grave mistake.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
METS FANS: Patience is Key
This week, the new General Manager of the New York Mets, Sandy Alderson, named Terry Collins the new manager of the team. Terry's resume includes managing the Houston Astros from 1994-1996 and the Anaheim Angels from 1997-1999. He served on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays' coaching staff in 2001 and recently served as the minor league coordinator for the New York Mets.
My initial reaction to the hiring was disappointment. I know very little about Terry Collins, though I've heard that he has never led a team to the playoffs and resigned from his last managerial position in 1999 when the team petitioned to the GM to get rid of him. The last bit of information did little to change my initial perception of Terry. Combine that with the fact that he hasn't managed in over 11 years, and I'm beginning to worry about the New York Mets.
But all of that doesn't matter. The Mets will not win in 2011. They probably won't even win in 2012. The Mets are rebuilding, and as frustrating as that can be, it's something Mets fans have to accept. Terry received a two-year deal which tells me that unless Terry Collins miraculously leads the Mets to the playoffs, this is the end of the road for him. I could be wrong of course, and all this is mere speculation. However, the Mets seem to like both Wally Backman and Chip Hale and are keeping them close by in case they need them to take the reigns. This will most likely come in the 2013 season.
But for now, Terry Collins is our manager. Love him or hate him, he's here for the next two years (at least) and, barring another player revolt, we will have to deal with him. Mets fans wanted a fiery disciplinarian, and we got him, which makes Mets fans hating him even more baffling. His job appears to entail instilling a level of discipline in the team that has lacked over the past three and a half seasons. Terry may be perfect for that. The Mets are laying down a blueprint for the team, so that when they're ready to seriously contend, they won't trip themselves up down the stretch. That's not to say the Mets won't try to contend in 2011 and 2012, but with only $5 million available to spend this year, I can't imagine the team will look much better than it did in 2010. It's all about shedding the heavy contracts held by Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran, and Francisco Rodriguez after 2011.
The point is, this is what we have, and we need to be patient. Mets fans are already criticizing Collins and chastising him for something that he hasn't even done. He hasn't failed yet, and we don't know if he will fail. We shouldn't root for his demise because we wanted Wally Backman or Bobby Valentine. Believe me, no Mets fan wanted Bobby V more than I did. The fact of the matter is, he would have clashed with Sandy Alderson, based on how Sandy described his ideal manager/GM relationship, and if anything that would have hurt us even more.
Mets fans have to get behind Terry Collins. It's not going to be easy for him, to say the least. He will be taking over a team whose last four seasons has contained two late September collapses and two under .500 records. In addition to that, the team will have no money to make any moves, will have a new General Manager, and has a fan base that already doesn't like him because his name is not Wally Backman. This attitude is not healthy for the team nor for the fans.
I'm frustrated with the team and I am realistic about the team's prospects for the near future, but I'm not going to let that lead to snap judgments. One thing I hope not to see, but fear I will, is the blame game being passed around if the Mets have a bad first month. I don't want to see people calling for Terry's head if the Mets have an under .500 April. Would Mets fans have done the same to Wally Backman or Bobby Valentine? I'm not sure they would, so I hope they won't do that to Terry Collins. It's unfair to him and it is unrealistic to expect success right away from him or Sandy Alderson.
Let's be patient, for once. Let's shed our New York attitude and give this team a chance. We need to search for the subtle improvements on a game-to-game basis or else we're going to hate this team. The organization has shown a commitment to a youth movement, which means we will be seeing a lot of Josh Thole, Ruben Tejada, Fernando Martinez, Jenrry Mejia, and an assortment of other prospects.
2011 will be a success if we see improvements from these players and a cohesion that begins to make the Mets appear like a real team. We need to see hustle: No more jogging on fly balls, no more one-handing pop-ups, no more bad defensive plays late in games. While wins and losses will always be important, it may be over before it's begun for the 2011 Mets, but there's still a lot to look forward to. For once, our farm system is full of ripe young prospects who have real potential to become major players on this team. We also have a front office all-star team comprised of three of the game's brightest minds who are committed to using the "Moneyball" philosophy to build this team on the right ideas and players. I really am excited that for once, this team may actually know where it is going. Whether or not that translates into winning, both now and in the distant future, remains to be seen.
My initial reaction to the hiring was disappointment. I know very little about Terry Collins, though I've heard that he has never led a team to the playoffs and resigned from his last managerial position in 1999 when the team petitioned to the GM to get rid of him. The last bit of information did little to change my initial perception of Terry. Combine that with the fact that he hasn't managed in over 11 years, and I'm beginning to worry about the New York Mets.
But all of that doesn't matter. The Mets will not win in 2011. They probably won't even win in 2012. The Mets are rebuilding, and as frustrating as that can be, it's something Mets fans have to accept. Terry received a two-year deal which tells me that unless Terry Collins miraculously leads the Mets to the playoffs, this is the end of the road for him. I could be wrong of course, and all this is mere speculation. However, the Mets seem to like both Wally Backman and Chip Hale and are keeping them close by in case they need them to take the reigns. This will most likely come in the 2013 season.
But for now, Terry Collins is our manager. Love him or hate him, he's here for the next two years (at least) and, barring another player revolt, we will have to deal with him. Mets fans wanted a fiery disciplinarian, and we got him, which makes Mets fans hating him even more baffling. His job appears to entail instilling a level of discipline in the team that has lacked over the past three and a half seasons. Terry may be perfect for that. The Mets are laying down a blueprint for the team, so that when they're ready to seriously contend, they won't trip themselves up down the stretch. That's not to say the Mets won't try to contend in 2011 and 2012, but with only $5 million available to spend this year, I can't imagine the team will look much better than it did in 2010. It's all about shedding the heavy contracts held by Oliver Perez, Luis Castillo, Carlos Beltran, and Francisco Rodriguez after 2011.
The point is, this is what we have, and we need to be patient. Mets fans are already criticizing Collins and chastising him for something that he hasn't even done. He hasn't failed yet, and we don't know if he will fail. We shouldn't root for his demise because we wanted Wally Backman or Bobby Valentine. Believe me, no Mets fan wanted Bobby V more than I did. The fact of the matter is, he would have clashed with Sandy Alderson, based on how Sandy described his ideal manager/GM relationship, and if anything that would have hurt us even more.
Mets fans have to get behind Terry Collins. It's not going to be easy for him, to say the least. He will be taking over a team whose last four seasons has contained two late September collapses and two under .500 records. In addition to that, the team will have no money to make any moves, will have a new General Manager, and has a fan base that already doesn't like him because his name is not Wally Backman. This attitude is not healthy for the team nor for the fans.
I'm frustrated with the team and I am realistic about the team's prospects for the near future, but I'm not going to let that lead to snap judgments. One thing I hope not to see, but fear I will, is the blame game being passed around if the Mets have a bad first month. I don't want to see people calling for Terry's head if the Mets have an under .500 April. Would Mets fans have done the same to Wally Backman or Bobby Valentine? I'm not sure they would, so I hope they won't do that to Terry Collins. It's unfair to him and it is unrealistic to expect success right away from him or Sandy Alderson.
Let's be patient, for once. Let's shed our New York attitude and give this team a chance. We need to search for the subtle improvements on a game-to-game basis or else we're going to hate this team. The organization has shown a commitment to a youth movement, which means we will be seeing a lot of Josh Thole, Ruben Tejada, Fernando Martinez, Jenrry Mejia, and an assortment of other prospects.
2011 will be a success if we see improvements from these players and a cohesion that begins to make the Mets appear like a real team. We need to see hustle: No more jogging on fly balls, no more one-handing pop-ups, no more bad defensive plays late in games. While wins and losses will always be important, it may be over before it's begun for the 2011 Mets, but there's still a lot to look forward to. For once, our farm system is full of ripe young prospects who have real potential to become major players on this team. We also have a front office all-star team comprised of three of the game's brightest minds who are committed to using the "Moneyball" philosophy to build this team on the right ideas and players. I really am excited that for once, this team may actually know where it is going. Whether or not that translates into winning, both now and in the distant future, remains to be seen.
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