Stupid Jose Reyes

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I've always felt there's an emotional component to his game, moreso than most guys, and as a result last year I was nearly certain we'd get the best of what he had left given an obvious need to rehabilitate his image and squeeze what might be left of his career as a starting MLB player following four years of decline and the Wifey Incident.

This year so far reminds me a bit of Rickey Henderson's Met experience. Great year when he had something to prove, brought back on a bargain deal and somewhat less relied on, unhappy, and ultimately DFAed early in the season.

I think we got a bit of a dead cat bounce from Reyes, and I could see it ending the same way. Rivera, Flores, or Cecchini I feel could step in anytime and obviously we wouldn't miss the current level of production, and with Rosario and maybe even David Wright on a longer horizon (Cabrera to 3rd if necessary?) we could probably get by without him.

By the way Jose had a nice double last night. If the park remained as it was built for him in 2009, that was a triple easy.

[TransMonk]

I think it's time to let Wilmer sink or swim as an everyday player.

[Centerfield]

I was expecting a regression year for Jose too, but I never would have guessed it would be this bad.

Rickey was disgruntled in 2000. I think he wanted to renegotiate his contract maybe? I don't get that with Jose at all. He seems happy to be here. It's weird, it doesn't look like he's any different than last year. Hopefully he's got something left. I think he's got a hot streak left in him, but yeah, I don't see him finishing the year as starter.

That play where he got caught in the bases was telling. Since when does Jose Reyes hesitate? Clearly messed up in the head right now.

[Ceetar]

I wasn't happy the Mets signed Reyes and wouldn't be pissed if they cut him loose now, but I'd probably give him another couple dozen PA (though, maybe not in a row) to legitimatize the sample. Play Flores more, always against lefties at this point, and maybe more. If Reyes hasn't picked it up and someone else is forcing the issue? DFA easy.

[metirish]

It's sad to see but time to say goodbye

[Centerfield]

Gavin Cecchinin: .865 OPS, 4 2B's, 2 HR's. I know, it's Vegas, but it's still baseball.

[Lefty Specialist]

I think Reyes got too amped up and started pressing. He hits far too many balls in the air, and he seems to give up a strike practically every at-bat with that fakey-bunty thing he does.

But I think he needs to sit; he's hurting the ballclub. Just like I think Granderson needs to sit and a Lagares/Conforto combination needs to take over center field. And Walker could use a few days on the pine as well. Too early for Rosario yet; he's still getting his legs under him in Vegas. But there needs to be a shakeup here.

[Ceetar]

Centerfield wrote: Gavin Cecchinin: .865 OPS, 4 2B's, 2 HR's. I know, it's Vegas, but it's still baseball.

13.5% BB rate and a sub 10 K rate? Niiice.

Of course that OPS is like..45th in the league.

[Frayed Knot]

Remember that Jose was never brought in here to be an everyday starter, he's just kind of morphed into one due to Wright's continued unavailability. Last year's semi-unexpected bounce from him sort of earned him the main 3B job coming into this season but I don't think that's cast in stone and, yeah, I'd prefer to see Wilmer out there more often with the occasional TJ Rivera thrown in (even though he looked like crap in his one start). Benching is a better option right now than flat-out release since Jose's legs and ability to play SS makes him useful off the bench ... providing of course he shows that he can do something with the bat other than hit "elephant ass" pop-ups (so named by a former softball teammate of mine for being both 'high and stinky'). And if he doesn't the good news is that mgmt shouldn't feel any ties to him (financial or otherwise) and so even his bench spot can be filled by either Cecchini or Reynolds.

What I don't see is his problem as one of motivation or effort. He's not being lazy (no chance that was a triple last night) or even hesitant (he took off for 2nd when he saw the ball hit the dirt but then had to shut it down when it caromed off Travis and directly back to the catcher - both the initial attempt and the reversal were the right moves IMO. Lucky maybe, but still correct) and to some extent this is small sample size (Kris Bryant is hitting .228, Longoria .200, Cano .220, Miggy .222, etc.)

[ashie62]

Cecchini up. Wilmer plays everyday. Sorry Jose but dfa. All I can come up with.

[Edgy MD]

I don't see going from every day to DFA, unless you take a shit on Terry's desk or beat up your father-in-law in the corridor outside the clubhouse or something. There are less drastic ways to adjust. Even at 33 going on 34, he still something like the team's best athlete.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Rickey got 130 Plate Appearances, I can see Reyes deserving of at least as many before the DFA (~50-some now)

[Guest d'Kong76]

I was relatively bullish in the EoS:JR thread so I'm not going to sell 14 games
in. That said, I hope he sits tonight... preferably in a dog house.

And lose the war paint, you're a grown man for chrisakes.

[Frayed Knot]

Rickey as a NYM
1999: 526 PA; [u:3e5gev14].315/.423/.466[/u:3e5gev14]
2000: 124 PA; .219/.387/[u:3e5gev14].229[/u:3e5gev14]

He also had turned 41 during the interim and, aside from walks, wasn't bringing much to the table; indifferent LF'er, 5 steals in 7 attempts, etc.

And, IIRC, his final straw was a liner he hit off the base of the wall where he put down his head and went into his HR trot. By itself that was bad enough, but his claims after the game that he hit the ball well enough for it to go out so therefore it was neither his fault that it didn't go over the fence nor that he wasn't on 2nd.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Rickey being Rickey, YoCes pissed me off on Sunday (I think) when he didn't
run to first on a play. That shit shouldn't fly with any dugout, I don't care if you're
the fucking pope ya gotta hustle.

[Edgy MD]

I think Terry plays it touch-and-go with star players (or would-be star players) not hustling. Maybe he'll talk to them in private, but he's got their back in public when maybe they need to be called out more. He sure seems to straddle a line between being a player's manager and just being weak.

But I'm not really seeing it anywhere on the field right now. Céspedes also blew off another chance to slide yesterday, when he scored on the sac fly in the first.

[ashie62]

"Money changes Everything"

[seawolf17]

Friday night is Reyes Shirt Night. They'll wait until next week some time.

[Guest themetfairy]

seawolf17 wrote: Friday night is Reyes Shirt Night. They'll wait until next week some time.

Nobody is going to want those things at this point.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

He looks burnt.

After, y'know, 50 PA. Even if someone is forcing the issue, issues don't get forced until everyone involved has gotten 100-150 PA and/or your team has fallen more than, say, 6-7 games out with alarming speed.

[Guest cooby]

My dad loved Jose. (Dad's been gone almost 10 years!!! OM Gosh...) I wasn't in favor of his coming back but geez I hoped he'd do okay.

[Guest El Segundo Escupidor]

Can't stand Jose Jistrionics and will happily carry his bags to LaGuardia.

[Guest 41Forever]

I don't think they make a big decision on Reyes for a while. I can see him slipping into a reserve role, which was intended in the first place -- even for this season.

[Guest El Segundo Escupidor]

Especially since its Jose Reyes Jersey Night tomorrow.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I gotta be honest. I don't know if Jose is temperamentally suited for a reserve role. I have suspicions that knowing he was intended for that role this year is interfering with his Reyes-ness at some level. That and the fact that he's old and tired.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Yabbut, he wasn't. He was a part-timer at least before SugarSupportUndergarments went down, and was the de facto starter for the indefinite future. 400-500 AB gar-on-teed.

If there's something getting in his head-- and I'm not saying there isn't or there is-- then it ain't that.

[Benjamin Grimm]

By the time the Mets signed José last year, Wright was already done for the season.

[Zvon]

Terry Collins hasn’t reached
his Jose Reyes breaking point.

http://nypost.com/2017/04/19/terry-collins-hasnt-reached-his-jose-reyes-breaking-point/

[Guest 41Forever]

Did he suck in the WBC?

[Edgy MD]

No, he did alright.