Here’s a precursor. This is yet another post that was inspired by my dear old dad, who believes it was wrong for Bob Geren to take Jose Reyes’ number.
Newsflash people: Jose Reyes is a Miami Marlin. He is gone, although he contributed plenty of moments of excitement to the Mets for the past few years. You know what he didn’t produce? Playoff moments, because he and other “faces of the franchise” were not able to hold up their end for much of their time in New York.
I get it. Last year was a career year for Jose, but for the money he procured from the Marlins, the Mets made the right move. With the injury concerns always lingering for Reyes, the long-term risk far outweighs the reward.
Now, in case you were under a rock when Huston Street’s comments were taken about Bob Geren, here’s what the reliever had to say:
“Bob was never good at communication, and I don’t want to speak for anybody else, but it was a sentiment reflected in many conversations during the two years I spent in Oakland, and even recently when talking to guys after I left,” Street told the newspaper. “For me personally, he was my least favorite person I have ever encountered in sports from age 6 to 27. I am very thankful to be in a place where I can trust my manager.”
Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson obviously saw something in him, or they would not have brought him aboard. A number is just a number. If the Yankees did the same, it’d be an issue, because then you’d be disrespecting Mickey Mantle. Jose Reyes was far less valuable, and he is now a member of not only another team, but a rival. The new shortstop in Queens is Ruben Tejada.
As far as Reyes goes, the Mets have guys that can pick up the slack, but it’s hard to imagine them replacing the excitement that he provided on a nightly basis. In terms of speed, the Mets don’t seem to have much. Jason Bay will need to steal some bases, as will guys like David Wright and Andres Torres. When it comes to a uniform, a number is just that…a number.
I, for one, can not wait for actual baseball to begin.
