Another Case For Jose

Photo by Mack Ade

Matt Cerrone at metsblog.  pointed out:



“In a recent report for SI.com, Jon Heyman says it is unlikely Jose Reyes will have to settle for a five-year deal … regardless of his recent hamstring injury.”


Heyman said a bunch of teams are interested in Jose and it shouldn’t be a problem to get a six year deal. Of course, one must consider the source of the information being fed to Heyman and, if it is agent-speak, it may mean nothing.


I’m writing this while I watch Ruben Tejada fall asleep on a routine grounder, than make a spectacular double play. Frankly, at the risk of coming off ethnically challenged, I must say that I have seen this so many times from young Latin infielders. Jordany Valdespin suffers from the same malady.


Francesco Pena’s agent told me one night at a Savannah Sand Gnats game that most of the infields in Latin America are in horrible shape and kids grow up trying to field balls being bounced off of rocks and clumps of dirt. The rare ground ball is a straight one and these kids just haven’t spent much time catching a ball that is directly in front of them.


I also remember the frustration that Tim Teufel had with then Met minor league infielders Juan Lagares, Levi Ventura, and Hector Pellot. They just didn’t want to charge a ground ball coming at them because they were used to it eventually going in another direction.


Tejada’s first error today is what I call a “lazy error”. You never see that from Reyes. Jose throws the ball to first base at full speed every time.


Folks, nothing against Ruben, Jordany and whoever else is in the organization. You want Jose signed. You don’t want two high supplemental picks that could turn out to be Steve Matz, Brad Holt, Reese Havens, or, God forbid, Nathan Vineyard.


My gut still tells me he’s gone. It could be Jose’s choice, or another chance for Paul DePodesta to pick two high school kids.