Jose Reyes is New York's most unfair Scapegoat

By Matt Himelfarb
Posted Tuesday, August 19, 2008

I hate to pimp FU at some point or another in every other column I write here as of late, but for any fan that needs to rant ad-infinitum about any concern focusing on the Metropolitans, no matter how visceral or knee-jerk their commentary might be, our site provides the perfect sanctuary to do so. Case in point let me tell you, I really do not think Jose Reyes should be a father; there, I said it. I mean, in all seriousness, can you really picture him coping with those two young daughters of his? Think about it; between the temper tantrums, the spaghetti hanging off his face, the pee-pee, and than you throw the two kids on top of all that, I really cannot image that Manhattan household resembling anything close to a sane family- and you got to admit sane is a pretty high standard for anything today.

Alright, I get it; I am being very much illogical here. Needless to say, my hyperbole and comparisons are like my womanizing skills; laughably pathetic and given very limited thought. But you know what? My petty concerns are about as equally unjustifiable and gratuitous as a lot of Mets fans treatment of Reyes. This may seem like the most quaint of times to bring up such a subject, since absolutely no one is exactly vituperating him for his mediocre August line of .311/.329/.432 (although that probably has more to do with the fact people are still recuperating from their explosion of laughter after Chris Russo’s melodramatic display on WFAN last week). Given that it was about a year ago that we thought we saw the beginning of Reyes’ fall from grace and ultimately that of the entire ball club, however, I feel it is fairly appropriate to bring this up.

To start off with, hypocrisy and circumstance probably has a lot to do with all the silence surrounding Reyes these days. Despite their well documented bullpen struggles, the Mets remain in first place as of this writing and their starting pitching in particular appears to have gotten its’ act together for the time being. Following the Mets-Phillies series in late July in which celebration antics largely dominated the headlines, most Mets fans seemed very defensive of Reyes when it soon morphed into a debate about Reyes’s actual value as a player versus that of Phils shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

But that does not quite explain the disparity between the criticism that David Wright receives after a big-time blunder compared to Reyes, does it? As many fans have noted in the past, Wright’s occasional struggles, mostly in the field, are written off as some uncanny, rare occurrence, while Reyes’s, on the other hand, are usually closely scrutinized and attributed to unforgivable lapses in concentration and the result of a low baseball I.Q. In many respects, this seems to reflect just how much Mets fan really do not understand their own star-studded shortstop.

For one, Mets fans should not make exceptions for when Reyes does or does not put on any exuberant celebrations. Not to make a whole lot of hoopla over nothing, but I simply believe his boyish enthusiasm has become an incremental part of his game. Amidst rumors that Willie Randolph forced him to change his habits early this year, I wrote on my blog:

Perhaps Reyes did so on his own accord without any nudging from Randolph and co. and that you cannot blame Willie for this. Mote likely, Reyes did so because he saw the writing on the wall: A perceived lack of effort, overzealous celebrations, and youth is a deadly combination that could have you packing your bags to Washington for a league average outfielder and offensively inept starting catcher.

Still, Mets fans still like to bash him for his makeup and all those blatantly stupid plays in the field and believe it has been holding him back from realizing his full potential. Dayton Moore, the General Manager of the Kansas City Royals, likes to say that, to succeed in baseball, you must have intelligence, integrity, and passion. But should we not remember that we are talking about the same kid who battled incessant injuries, could not hit any other pitch aside from a fastball, and was inept at getting on base from 2003-2005, and is now one of the best offensive shortstops in baseball?

More importantly, from a more analytical standpoint, Mets fans seem incapable of appreciating Reyes’s value and how to best go about exploiting it. Reyes’s disappointing defensive performance thus far has almost certainly taken its’ toll on his value, but offensively, his OBA (on-base average), is second only to Hanley Ramirez among National League shortstops. In addition, while his pitch selection is still questionable, Reyes’s P/PA numbers since 2004 have always been from the 3.5-3.7 area, and his numbers with RISP (.260/.368/.448) and with men-on (.280/.383/.465), are largely in line with his total numbers this year (.304/361/.490). Instead of prodding him to hit more ground balls as Randolph and co. suggested this year (when in fact there is little correlation between that and his overall success), Reyes is, like most if not any other hitter, most successful when hitting line drives.

In 2003, with the likes of Steve Phillips still at the helm, when the team was desperately trying to pawn off its’ floundering veterans and replacing them with any untapped minor leaguer with a pulse, Reyes was an island of hope in a sea of hell. Within the first few months of that year, Shea Stadium was a haven for masochists, but Reyes’s latent potential was enough to keep Mets fans hanging by a thread. While Wright has become the poster boy for this franchise, Reyes’s reputation has been very much tainted by concerns about his makeup. Perhaps a different stretch run could change that?

Matt is a disgruntled, statistically- and politically-obsessed teenager and appreciates all words of encouragement at: matthimelfarb@gmail.com. You can also check out his blog: matthimelfarb.wordpress.com.