Return of Jose?

[Edgy MD]

And, of course, it ain't really the bunt, but the I-got-mine kiss-off that followed.

[Vic Sage]

yeah, the ending exposed Reyes for what he is; i have no nostalgia about him.
I'll take him if the price is right, but that's purely a baseball decision.
And it's easy to say, since it is so unlikely to happen.

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

Vic Sage wrote: yeah, the ending exposed Reyes for what he is; i have no nostalgia about him. I'll take him if the price is right, but that's purely a baseball decision. And it's easy to say, since it is so unlikely to happen.

I didn't like that, but I don't think it negates the years of positive memories about him.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Edgy MD wrote: And, of course, it ain't really the bunt, but the I-got-mine kiss-off that followed.

Yes, definitely.

[batmagadanleadoff]

This only proves what any cynic kinda believes anyway: that a player's personal stats matter more to him than the team's fortunes-- especially when it's a batting title versus a standings wise meaningless last game of another lost season.

[G-Fafif]

I'd like to hear more about this...claw?

CRAW!

[youtube:1sxnylsp]ftgAG3Vnif8[/youtube:1sxnylsp]

[Theoldmole]

He wasn't the first player to take himself out of a game to preserve a batting title. In fact, at one time - 1941 - the big news was a player NOT doing that, when it was assumed he would.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Jose's way of doing it was particularly crass, especially since many fans were there to see what they figured was probably his last game as a Met. And before they knew it, he was gone. And then he said he did it for the fans.

It would have been different if he had gone 3 for 3 and then left the game in the seventh inning.

[Edgy MD]

TheOldMole wrote: He wasn't the first player to take himself out of a game to preserve a batting title. In fact, at one time - 1941 - the big news was a player NOT doing that, when it was assumed he would.

That wasn't a batting title, but a .400 average on the line.

I can't speak to exactly how common it was then vs. now. I'm not sure it should matter when judging how much we like it.

[Fman99]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Jose's way of doing it was particularly crass, especially since many fans were there to see what they figured was probably his last game as a Met. And before they knew it, he was gone. And then he said he did it for the fans.

I had forgotten all about this. I'm willing to bet the majority of Mets fans who weren't in the park that day have as well.

[Guest themetfairy]

I was there. It was like he couldn't wait to get off the field.

It would have been different if he had stayed on base, took his position in the bottom of the first and then had Terry take him out of the game. But he zipped out of there so fast that a lot of people didn't have a chance to say goodbye.

[seawolf17]

So a baseball player is a jagoff, which they all are, and we're going to hold it against him over nine seasons of awesome? Eff that. It's just a game, people. He's a fuckload better than Rubetin Turnjada ever will be. Bring him back, lead him off, pay him, and let's win a fucking championship.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm not saying that the bunt means we shouldn't welcome him back. I just brought it up as a rebuttal to an earlier use of the word "beloved" to describe him.

[Edgy MD]

Hold it against him over other stuff? No. Hold it against him? Sure.

They don't all indifferently walk off the field in the first inning of their final game to preserve a statistical anomaly in order to better market himself to other teams. They just don't.

Some do. Others don't. And it's a worthwhile distinction which are which.

[Ceetar]

he's beloved to me still. I have absolutely zero issue with what ended up being his last game. I'd take him back in a heartbeat if it worked within the Mets budget.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Here's what we were saying on that final day in 2011:

Reyes Appreciation Day IGT, 9/28

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

And on the last day, Terry filed this lineup:

Reyes, ss
Tejada, 2b
Harris, lf
Wright, 3b
Evans, 1b
Baxter, rf
Paulino, c
Pridie, cf
Batista, sp


Yikes, how many of these guys are still in the majors today? Whatever happened to Evans?

[Edgy MD]

That was, to date, Evans' last appearance in the big leagues. Hit 19 homers for Mobile in the Southern League this year. That's AA, the same level from which the Mets eagerly called him up back in 2008.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

who the hell is Harris?

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: who the hell is Harris?

2011's Eric Young Jr

[seawolf17]

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Ceets we know you hate Junior, but he's not Willie Harris ... yet.

[Ceetar]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Ceets we know you hate Junior, but he's not Willie Harris ... yet.

Eh ,they have almost exactly the same OPS both for their careers and for the Mets. Both are seemingly considered good defenders where really neither are. (although EY's FLD numbers have crossed into positive recently)

[Guest metsguyinmichigan]

I think he was the guy who, when with the Nationals, was killing us by making amazing, diving catches. But was just so-so with us.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Here's what we were saying on that final day in 2011: Reyes Appreciation Day IGT, 9/28

Check out this thread, too.

http://archives.cranepoolforum.net/16800/f1_t16800.shtml

[G-Fafif]

seawolf17 wrote:

Harris used his Veteran Influence to remind Reyes to step out of the dugout a good 10 minutes after the game was over and greet his public. A good-sized cadre (how many in a cadre?) had gathered nearby waiting for one more peek and Willie/Jose rewarded them. He gave a very nice salute and received a very nice cheer. Witnessing it from behind the first base seats where I stood chatting with some other hopeless dead-enders took some of the sting out of his early exit in the there and then. (The bunt was fine; the vamoose was dopey.)

I was at the final home game of 1998, part of the five-game losing streak that sealed that season's Wild Cardless fate. As Piazza batted late, I was thinking this could be his last at-bat as a Met, as he wasn't signed for next year and word and logic had it that he'd want to test the free agent market. Then I thought, "Nah, he's coming back." And he did. I believed something similar when Reyes waved from the dugout. "They'll figure something out." They didn't. I wasn't surprised in a granular sense, but the big-picture decision still floors me.

Anyway, still beloved by me. One poorly choreographed exit < nine wonderful seasons. Doesn't mean I'm running to pick up all of what's left of that contract, but after four months of riding the Quintnailla Express to nowhere (it doesn't make good time despite bypassing the seemingly abandoned Rubenville station), I'd be happy to have him back.

Or Jose Vizcaino at this point.

[Benjamin Grimm]

batmagadanleadoff wrote: http://archives.cranepoolforum.net/16800/f1_t16800.shtml

Wow.

[Lefty Specialist]

You know, 80% of Jose Reyes is three times better than Tejada/Quintanilla. If he's available, I would welcome him back with open arms, even if he scooted on the last day in 2011. We've seen how he can electrify an offense. We've also seen what the lack of an OBP/Speed guy at the top of the order can do.

I guess I wasn't as put out as some when he came out of the game the last day. Had he re-upped, people would have forgotten all about it.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: http://archives.cranepoolforum.net/16800/f1_t16800.shtml Wow.

What a clusterfuck that thread was. No wonder attgig ain't here anymore.

[Edgy MD]

Sorry.