Tag: Ruben Tejada

The 2010 Homegrown New York Mets

Apr. 27, 2010 - Flushing, NY, USA - April 25, 2010: New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes, left, has a laugh with rookie teammate Ike Davis before a rain-filled Major League Baseball game vs. visiting Atlanta Braves at Citi Field in Flushing, NY.

http://view.picapp.com//JavaScripts/OTIjs.jsSince the 2010 season started, Mets fans have had a soft spot for many of the players on the New York Mets. I have always wondered why the fans have embraced this team so much. Right now the Mets are three games behind the Atlanta Braves for the National League East.

With those numbers many of the fans wouldn’t embrace the team as much as they do. Yet, this team fights. This team cares. Finally it seems like the Mets players care about their fans.

I wondered why, so I did some research and found out that this team is one of the most homegrown teams the Mets have had in a long time.

Take Saturday afternoon for example. The New York Mets starting four in the infield were all homegrown. Ike Davis at first, Rueben Tejada at second, Jose Reyes at shortstop and David Wright at third are all homegrown. All drafted and played through the minors with the Mets. Even pitcher John Niese was homegrown.

That might not seem like that big of a deal. Yet, the last time that had happened was on September 20,1996 when the Mets had Butch Huskey at first, Tim Bogar at second, Rey Ordonez at short and Edgardo Alfonzo at third. The infamous Paul Wilson pitched that day as well. He was homegrown too. Continue reading “The 2010 Homegrown New York Mets”

Video: Mets’ Minaya on Beltran, Matthews, Castillo

Luis Castillo batting for the New York Mets on...
Image via Wikipedia

Mets GM Omar Minaya addressed the media before last night’s game to talk about a flurry of roster moves the Mets made and the one that will be made today. Here’s the breakdown:

  • Gary Matthews – designated for assignment and will go home to count his money
  • Luis Castillo- on the 15-day disabled list for his bad foot/gimpy legs
  • Ruben Tejada- re-called to play second base
  • Omir Santos- re-called because Henry Blanco is slightly hurt
  • Jon Niese- starting tomorrow and they need to find a roster spot but Oliver Perez won’t leave

Carlos Beltran also played in an extended spring training game but didn’t run. So he’s starting to work his way back.

http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf

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Mets 4 – Marlins 3 June 4, 2010

New York Mets starting pitcher R.A. Dickey throws a pitch to the Florida Marlins in New York

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsThe Mets got another decent start from R.A. Dickey. He seems to have a knack for getting through 6 innings without letting the game get away from him. He had a lot runners on base in his 6.1 IP tonight giving up 7 hits and 2 walks. But he didn’t let Marlins get out of control.

The offense was solid with 9 hits and 4 walks. You could even make an argument that Dickey was the offensive star going 2 for 3 with 1 run and 1 RBI. Ruben Tejada was back from the minors and immediately made a contribution going 1 for 4 with 1 run and 1 RBI.

K-Rod came into the ninth with a 1-run lead and made things interesting again. He gave up a hit and a walk but managed to work out of it to get his 11th save of the season.

Box score

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Mets’ Ruben Tejada Sent Back To Minors

MLB: Mets vs Astros MAR 21

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/PicAppPIS/JavaScript/PisV4.jsThe Mets sent shortstop Ruben Tejada back to Triple-A Buffalo after last night’s win against the Washington Nationals. Tejada got his first career major league hit in the game as well.

Tejada played in 3 games, going 1 for 6. He looks like he’s got some skills in the field and his stroke at the plate is solid as well, especially for a 20 year-old. Although it’s too bad he’s leaving, I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing more of him this season.

The good news is that Tejada leaving the active roster makes room for Jose Reyes to return today. I was hoping thinking that Luis Castillo might go on the disabled list to make room for Reyes so Tejada could stick around.

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Jose Reyes Goes Down – Call FEMA!

NEW YORK - MAY 11: Jose Reyes #7 of the New Y...

But seriously, as much as I hate to lose Jose Reyes for any amount of time I don’t think losing Reyes is a game changer. As good as he is, I think the Mets will do fine with Alex Cora at the bottom of their lineup. Can you say Rafael Santana?

In ’84 Rafael Santana was the backup shortstop for the Mets. In ’85 he was promoted to starting shortstop, and then in ’86 the Mets won it all with a shortstop that batted .218, 1 HR, 28 RBI’s and led the team with 12 intentional walks. He was a solid defensive shortstop, not a Gold Glove by any means. Fundamentally sound.

Also remember Kevin Elster was the backup shortstop who batted .167, 0 hr’s, 0 RBI’s in ’86. He was a better defensive player than Santana and was such a smooth fielder. A pleasure to watch on the field but an automatic out at the plate.

Continue reading “Jose Reyes Goes Down – Call FEMA!”

Mets Links: Jose Reyes Thyroid Dominates News

Mets Spring Training - José Reyes

There are few stories coming from Port St. Lucie this week other than Jose Reyes and his thyroid condition. The fact that he’ll join Carlos Beltran on the disabled list come opening day has led to thoughts of another lost season and Mets’ minor leaguers getting a shot at the big leagues. Some of the biggest names in sports journalism have gotten into the act including William C. Rhoden and Joe Posnanski.

Here are the links:

  • NY Times – William C. Rhoden writes that Reyes’ thyroid problem should lead the Mets to look at rebuilding the team. “The Core” just isn’t getting it done.
  • Joe Posnanski – Joe writes that Reyes is one of the most exciting players in baseball and the Mets are due for something good to happen.
  • Daily News – John Harper writes that the conflicting messages about Reyes’ thyroid condition have to do with the players not trusting management on injury issues anymore
  • NY Post – Mike Puma writes that Reyes was blindsided by the Mets statement about his thyroid condition that made it sound worse than it is.
  • Daily News – Adam Rubin reprints a good piece about Ruben Tejada, who may get the opening day start at shortstop
  • Baseball Nerd – Keith Olbermann writes about the ridiculous story that Reyes’ thyroid problem was caused by eating too much shellfish
  • Fangraphs – R.J. Anderson writes that the Mets’ decision to work Jenry Mejia out of the bullpen is a short-term fix designed to save Omar Minaya’s and Jerry Manuel’s jobs more than for the good of Mejia and the franchise
  • Fanhouse – Josh Alper writes that the Mets signed Jason Bay instead of John Lackey because they were more concerned about Lackey’s ability to stay healthy
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Mets’ Jose Reyes Out 2-8 Weeks

Jose Reyes

Image by penner42 via Flickr

It’s been a strange few days of Jose Reyes injury news. First, he went back to New York for tests but it was nothing serious. Then we find out today that it is serious enough to keep him out of the lineup and on the disabled list to start the season. You have to wonder how this story took such a dramatic turn for the worse for the Mets.

We’ll definitely be seeing too much of Alex Cora at shortstop… again. Don’t get me wrong. I like the guy and he must be tough as nails to play as long as he did with the thumb injuries that he had last year. I just don’t want to see him playing short every day. Ruben Tejada would be interesting to see, but at 20 years old he may not be up to the task.

Reyes is the most exciting player on the Mets team. The Mets are lucky that this injury announcement came after the big single game ticket sales date came and went. You have to wonder if there’s a correlation between the timing of those two events. It’ll be very interesting to see how many empty seats there are at Citi Field without Carlos Beltran and Reyes in the lineup every day for the first month or two.

This could have a big impact on the futures of Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya. The two seems to be clinging to their careers with the Mets by a thread as it is. It’s been pretty clear from their public statement that the Mets need a fast start for them to survive into the second half of the season. A fast start will be a lot more difficult now when they’re leaving spring training without their fastest player.

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