Thursday, December 8, 2011

Love Works Both Ways | Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest

A very rational and objective post by Mike Silva today. He squarely places the Mets failure to re-sign Jose Reyes on ... BOTH SIDES!

"Let’s look at this objectively and understand that Jose Reyes was a franchise player for about 2.5 seasons out of the 9 he spent here. In 2006, half of 2007, and 2008 he was a player you would build around. Prior to ’06 and the last three seasons, he was an incomplete player that was injury prone. This past season was a perfect example as most of his production was stuffed into the first three months of the year. This isn’t Tom Seaver or Darryl Strawberry leaving, this is Edgardo Alfonzo leaving. A very good player that we all loved, but won’t cripple the franchise for a long time. As a matter of fact, I predict the fans won’t think much of Reyes as the new crop of kids starts to make an impact the next couple of years.

I wish I could have asked Jose if he showed the fans love in the second-half of 2007 when he sulked as the Mets collapsed down the stretch. How about those ’07 and ’08 September swoons when you hit .205 and .243 respectively? I am sure that gave the fans a “warm and fuzzy” feeling. Let’s not forget the mental lapses at shortstop that required a veteran second baseman to keep you “focused.” See, unlike the fans blinded by orange and blue, I don’t forget those little things.

Don’t get me wrong, Jose Reyes is very good player. The Mets still should be ashamed they couldn’t match a 6 year/$106 million dollar deal when they play in New York. That’s an indictment on ownership, and in many ways a separate issue; in a vacuum there is plenty of reasons to not like the years and dollars given to Reyes. Outside of the desperate Marlins, no other team felt inclined to make an offer as well. That tells me an awful lot.
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