Mets baseball blog

Jose Reyes has a setback

Jerry Manuel left Carlos Beltran off the original lineup card Wednesday night, figuring the center fielder needed at least another day to recover from a stomach ailment that sent him to a doctor's office Tuesday in need of intravenous fluids.

Beltran decided he wanted to play and was inserted as the No. 3 hitter. He never had a chance to see his first action since Saturday. The Mets-Pirates game was rained out.

That positive development was tempered by bad injury news. Jose Reyes, on the disabled list with a right calf injury, pulled himself from an extended spring training game in Port St. Lucie after two at-bats when discomfort resurfaced in the leg. The Mets had hoped to activate the shortstop tomorrow when he's eligible to come off the DL. Instead, Reyes will be in New York today to see team doctor Struan Coleman. Manuel held out hope Reyes could return by Tuesday's home-stand opener against the Phillies, although that seemed overly optimistic. Continue

Reyes becomes Mets' all-time stolen base leader

Jose Reyes became the Mets' all-time leader in steals when he swiped second base in the third inning last night against the Nationals. Steal number 282 moved Reyes ahead of Mookie Wilson. Reyes also stole third base for No.283 (and 49 on the season) one at-bat later and then scored on David Wright's single to center to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. But he was thrown out trying for his 50th at second base in the fourth. Continue

Reyes again battlinL' Sept. blues

Is Jose Reyes headed for another September swoon? The past week certainly had the makings of a repeat of his final-month flameout last season, when the shortstop's .205 average was a primary reason for the Mets' historic collapse.

After a nightmarish three-game series with the Phillies at Shea in which he went 0-for-13 with two strikeouts and no walks, Reyes is hitting just .120 (3-for-25) through the month's first six games. Even worse, his on-base percentage from the leadoff spot in September is an abysmal .185. Continue

Nothing 'Great' for Jose

The Great American Ballpark has a reputation as a hitter's paradise. Just don't try telling that to Jose Reyes. The Met shortstop has never had success in this ballpark, and the last two days have been no different. He's 0-for-9 in this series against the Reds and has not even reached base yet.

Reyes' career average here is now .150 in 13 games. He has one home run, three RBIs, and has five strikeouts to just one walk. "I don't hit good here," Reyes said. "I don't know why." Reyes led off three innings last night and hit fly ball outs each time. He also grounded out to end the eighth. Continue

Skidding Mets a real fight club

Jose Reyes and Keith Hernandez had to be separated on the Mets ' charter plane Sunday night after a tense confrontation over Hernandez's critical comments about the All-Star shortstop.

A team source described the situation aboard the plane as "very heated." One player told The Post that he thought Reyes and the popular former Met - now an analyst for the club's SNY TV network - were close to exchanging punches until others stepped in. Reyes said yesterday he was angry at Hernandez after numerous friends and relatives told him Hernandez accused the Mets of "babying" Reyes during the broadcast of Sunday's 3-1 win over the Yankees New York Yankees at Shea Stadium. Continue

Reyes tosses glove after wild throw

Millions of Little Leaguers knew just how Jose Reyes felt yesterday. Reyes knew just how they felt, too. But some would suggest he should be held to a higher standard.After being charged with an error on a wide throw that first baseman Carlos Delgado could have gloved but didn't, Reyes fired his glove to the ground - his sunglasses fell off, too - and then walked off the field instead of hustling to the dugout once the inning was over.

He drew heavy criticism from Mets broadcasters on both the TV and radio sides. Some observers thought he might have been showing up Delgado, who came off the bag but had the high but catchable throw ricochet off his glove and into the Mets' dugout, allowing Melky Cabrera to reach second. Or was Reyes reacting to being charged with an error when he thought Delgado deserved it? Continue

No doubt, Red-hot Reyes still has 'it'

OH. That's right. He also can look like this. We forget sometimes, because there are times when Jose Reyes can be the most frustrating player in baseball. He can make impossible errors at shortstop. He can fill his scorecard with one P-4 after another. Sometimes when he runs the bases like Amy Winehouse on a bender he actually makes Mets fans want to light themselves on fire.

And man, oh man, was there ever last September.So these past few weeks, while the Mets were turning themselves into daily fodder for local baseball psychologists, SNY's answer to "In Treatment," the subject who's spent the most time on the couch was Reyes, who got picked off a couple of times in Denver, whose faulty mitt let the floodgates free against the Marlins on the Day of Willie's Reprieve, who even manages to anger fans when he hits "too many" home runs (which means some locals would have been really, really ticked at Babe Ruth back in the day). Continue

Reyes powers up

Jose Reyes isn't pronouncing himself cured, but two games at Yankee Stadium did plenty to restore his confidence. The Mets shortstop delivered one final dagger last night, slamming a three-run homer against Ross Ohlendorf in the eighth inning that completed his team's 11-2 demolition of the Yankees. Reyes finished the two-game series 4-for-10 with two homers, maybe the best sign of the weekend for the previously struggling Mets' offense. Continue

Reyes can't shake slump

A miserable September looks like it carried over to April for Jose Reyes . The All-Star shortstop, whose .205 average the final month of 2007 contributed to the Mets New York Mets ' epic collapse, is fighting another slump after the first month of this season. Only this time, Reyes' glove is a source of worry, too.

Reyes committed a costly mental blunder in Wednesday's 13-1 loss to the Pirates when he wasn't in position at second on a rundown. That didn't go down as an official error, but he certainly isn't running short of those this year. Continue

Reyes OK after second-base collision

Jose Reyes never saw Eric Bruntlett's knee, but the Mets' All-Star shortstop certainly saw stars afterward. Reyes had walked in the third inning against the Phillies last night and was in the process of stealing his second base of the season when he slid head-first into Bruntlett's knee.

The oh-so-classy Philadelphia crowd cheered as Reyes writhed on the ground, his eyes crossed as he clutched his head in pain. The fans then booed as Reyes took a few minutes to walk off the collision and convince Willie Randolph to let him stay in the game. Continue