Jose Reyes won another game for the Mets, tacking
another moment onto his early-season MVP candidacy. Day by day by day, he demonstrates how good he is and the impact he makes when he's on the field.
Getty ImagesThe Mets have a major decision to make on Reyes.
There are natural questions that follow Reyes and whether he can stay healthy, given his injury history. When Fred Wilpon infamously stated in a New Yorker article that Reyes wouldn't get
Carl Crawford money -- the outfielder got a seven-year, $142 million deal from the Red Sox -- the owner's skepticism was presumably based on those concerns.
But Reyes is showing, again, that when he plays, he is a star. He's
leading the National League in hitting, at .339. He's got 30 extra-base hits already, and a slugging percentage of .512. He's on pace for 49 doubles, 30 triples and three homers.
Keep in mind that Reyes turns 28 this weekend. He's younger than Crawford. Reyes plays a premium position, and is an excellent defensive shortstop.
As executives with other teams evaluate Reyes and quietly ask questions about his personality and his makeup, as the Red Sox did about Crawford, they will hear over and over what a good guy Reyes is, and how perfectly his personality would play in any baseball clubhouse. He brings a smile to the clubhouse every day, Mets manager Terry Collins said over the weekend, regardless how he played the day before, and Reyes desperately
wants to play. "If you try to take him out of the lineup, he'll fight you," Collins said.
There is an energy level that Reyes brings to the ballpark every day, the kind of energy that is needed in New York.
Wilpon may be right; Reyes won't get Crawford money. If he keeps playing like this, Reyes may get
more.
And day by day by day, the same Mets fans who are extremely unhappy with the Wilpons and their ownership of the team are making more noise about wanting to keep Reyes. He is home-grown, he belongs to them, he is one of them. He has made it clear in the past: He loves playing in New York, and would like to stay
When Fred Wilpon gave time for the interviews with The New Yorker and Sports Illustrated, he was trying to stir up sympathy and an understanding of what his family has gone through in the Madoff scandal. His words about Reyes,
David Wright and
Carlos Beltran obscured that other side of the story, however, and as the fans in Citi Field increasingly respond to Reyes and his success in 2011, Wilpon has to know this: Reyes' situation is becoming a referendum on the Wilpon ownership.
If Wilpon wants to win back some of the favor of his fan base, the most efficient way would be to sign Reyes. If Wilpon doesn't re-sign Reyes, and the Mets' homegrown MVP candidate is traded or walks away as a free agent, a significant portion of the fan base that already knows it's in for a period of rebuilding may never forgive the owner.
[h3]Notables[/h3]
• Wrote here Sunday about the strong sentiment within the Atlanta clubhouse that they want
Jason Heyward to get back on the field and go about the business of making needed adjustments at the plate.
Chipper Jones talked about it with David O'Brien:
"What Jason needs to realize is that Jason at 80 percent is a force, and Jason at 80 percent is better than a lot of people in this league. And that there are a bunch of his teammates that are out there playing with discomfort and not healthy, and still going at it."
Right now, Heyward has a lot at stake with his teammates, whose frustration with his absence is growing.
• A couple of young Dodgers led them to a
win on Tuesday night, and along the way,
Matt Kemp hit another homer. He would probably be the leading candidate for NL MVP if the voting were to take place today; he is doing unbelievable damage early in the counts this season. For instance:
-- When he puts the ball in play on the first pitch: 10-for-23, three homers, an OPS of 1.371 -- When he puts the ball in play on the second pitch: 23-for-45, seven homers, 20 RBIs
• The Cardinals' No. 2 hitters this year
have an .869 OPS, second-best in the majors. But this is not unusual: In most years, the No. 2 hitters in the St. Louis lineup fare well, taking advantage of how Tony La Russa structures his lineups and places them ahead of
Albert Pujols. Here's their OPS among No. 2 hitters recently:
2010: 5th
2009: 19th
2008: 3rd
2007: 1st
• The early exit of
Mark Teixeira was the big-picture
concern for the Yankees, writes Dave Caldwell. But tonight, the great question will be whether
A.J. Burnett will buzz somebody, after Teixeira was hit and after Joe Girardi expressed a
lot of unhappiness with David Ortiz's bat flip. From Peter Abraham's story:
- Girardi at least had the gumption to comment when asked about Ortiz's bat flip after his majestic two-run homer in the fifth after [Hector] Noesi had thrown the previous pitch at Ortiz's legs but missed. "I didn't care for it," Girardi said.
The manager went on to say, "I don't know if [Ortiz] was upset that he came in hard on him."
Ortiz said he wasn't upset.
It just so happened that after he was brushed back, he picked himself up and homered.
It looked like, "OK kid, you're going to come in on me? I'm going to take you deep."
Girardi did say "I never had a problem with David. David has always played the game hard. I'm just protecting my young kid."
The Yankees may
need to retaliate, writes John Harper.
Meanwhile, Ortiz moved up on this list for the most HRs versus the Yankees as a member of the Red Sox:
Ted Williams: 62
Carl Yastrzemski: 52
Jim Rice: 36
Manny Ramirez: 36
David Ortiz: 32
Dwight Evans: 32
[h3]The draft[/h3]
• The Cubs took the son of
a former Cub.
• Joe Girardi has known the Yankees' first draft pick for a
long, long time.
• Wayne Gretzky's son
was drafted (also by the Cubs).
• The Jays invested heavily in
high school arms.
• The Nationals took Bryce Harper's
brother, and Ivan Rodriguez's son was also drafted, as Adam Kilgore writes.
• The Rays' No. 1 pick is not answering questions
about his past, writes
Joe Smith.
• A couple of Hank's Yanks were taken
in the draft.
• The Angels took advanced
college players.
• The Mariners went to a
worldwide draft, writes Larry Stone.
• Eddie Gaedel's great-nephew
was drafted, as Don Norcross writes. Don't worry: The kid is 6-foot-3, 220 pounds.
• The Astros'
No. 1 pick can do flips, as Jerome Solomon.
• The Rangers focused
on pitchers.
• The Royals took a bunch of
high school seniors.
• Satisfying expectations will be
tough for Dylan Bundy, writes Peter Schmuck.
[h3]Moves, deals and decisions[/h3]
1. With
Pablo Sandoval coming back, the Giants have to decide
about what to do with
Miguel Tejada very soon.
2. Jonathan Papelbon was
suspended.
3. The Giants could be looking
for a catcher, Andrew Baggarly writes within this notebook.
4. A couple of D-backs were
suspended.
5. The Pirates added
a left-hander.
6. Aroldis Chapman was sent
to Class A.
[h3]Dings and dents[/h3]
1. Padres prospect Anthony Rizzo is
hurting. Not good.
2. The Cardinals got
Lance Berkman back, but now
Allen Craig is hurt.
3. Jake Peavy was placed on
the DL.
4. Brett Anderson landed on the DL.
5. Magglio Ordonez is close to coming back
to the Tigers' lineup.
6. Jayson Werth was
scratched.
7. Brian Roberts could be a couple
of weeks away from starting baseball activities. I don't think there's a lot of expectation within the Orioles organization that Roberts will be part of the solution.
8. Denard Span was
sent home.
[h3]Tuesday's games[/h3]
1. The Tigers racked
up 20 hits.
Brennan Boesch is working to relax and
focus on strikes. From ESPN Stats & Information: The Tigers have registered at least 18 hits for the second straight game. The only other time in the expansion era (since 1961) in which the Tigers had consecutive games with at least 18 hits came on August 11-12, 1993. Looking ahead, the Tigers have never had three straight games with at least 18 hits in the live ball era (since 1920). The Tigers scored eight runs on 20 hits in a win over the Rangers. It's the first win for the Tigers with at least 20 hits and fewer than 10 runs since a 9-8 win (21 hits) over the White Sox on Aug. 17, 1957.
2. The Indians' win over the Twins
felt like a big one for them, a step toward ending the recent bleeding. How
Carlos Carrasco dominated the Twins:
• He tied a career-best with 14 ground-ball outs, 10 of which came on his fastball. He attacked up in the zone with his fastball, getting eight ground-ball outs on pitches at the belt or above.
• Carrasco had good command of his slider, especially to righties. Thirteen of his 16 sliders to righties were away, and hitters missed on six of their eight swings in that spot. Overall, hitters were 0-for-7 on at-bats ending in a Carrasco slider, including three strikeouts. His seven outs and three strikeouts on his slider both tied a career-best.
3. Fernando Salas was referred to as closer by his manager after a huge outing Tuesday, and
that's a big deal.
4. Edinson Volquez came back without his dreadlocks,
with better results.
5. Oakland
continues to lose, despite the debut of Jemile Weeks.
6. The D-backs blew
a lead.
7. Tommy Hanson and
Alex Gonzalez fostered a lead, and the Atlanta bullpen
took it from there, as David O'Brien writes.
8. Ubaldo Jimenez was good, but
didn't get a lot of support.
9. The Giants failed
to capitalize on chances and lost.
10. Kyle Drabek
struggled , but the Jays hit through that.
11. Jordan Zimmermann was
The Man for the Nationals, again.
12. The Phillies' offensive dysfunction
took many forms on Tuesday, writes Matt Gelb.
Roy Oswalt lost again; from Stats & Information, here's some stuff about his fastball:
Although Roy Oswalt has a 2.70 ERA through nine starts this season, when looking deeper into the situation, Oswalt has not been nearly as effective as in seasons past, with most of it predicated on the decline of his fastball. As you'll see below, his fastball has lost velocity, is generating fewer strikeouts and more contact. In addition, he's failing to go as deep into games as he did last season. Look at his average fastball rate the last two seasons, with 201o this first number, and 2011 in parentheses:
Avg velocity: 92.4 (91.4)
Strikeout rate: 22.8 (11.
Miss pct: 22.5 (15.
He's also averaging a full inning less than last season per start (6.6 vs 5.6).
11. Lyle Overbay sparked the Pirates, who are
within a game of .500.
12. The Rays have a
winning streak, and one of them got a beer shower.
13. The Angels came
up empty.
14. The Mariners lost again, and then called up
a minor leaguer.
15. Tim Stauffer hoisted the Padres
on his shoulders.
16. A rookie's effort was wasted
by the Marlins.
17. Matt Harrison and other Texas pitchers
got pounded.
18. A former Brewer
beat the Brewers.
19. Phil Humber was
great, again.
20. It's difficult to describe just how
bad the Cubs are.
