Is your generation’s June 15th coming?

I had written this for leadoff Monday but after an hour of looking around for inspiration for something for today (and failing) I’m going to play this card now and let tomorrow solve itself:

I was really taken back by Saturday’s suggestion that the Mets would move Jose Reyes in the middle of the season.

Whenever I had pondered moving Reyes I always imagined it as an off-season thing, not at the trade deadline.

Trade deadline moves can sting.

You’re pretty familiar with the Midnight Massacre in 1977.   Many of you  remember how it felt to hear Dykstra and McDowell were shipped away – and at least there the Mets in theory got a good player.

If you missed those, this one will feel different than an aging Keith Hernandez or an aging Mike Piazza not returning.   This won’t be Pedro in a Phillies uniform.   This one will be weird.

How are you going to feel when August 1 comes and Jose is in another uniform and Sandy tells you he got “Dan Norman, Doug Flynn and Steve Henderson” in return?   I’ll tell you right now that fans are going to lose their minds.   Even if “Norman, Flynn and Henderson” turn out to be the best three players the Mets ever have, August 1 will feel empty.

Whatever you think of Reyes, there is no denying he is way up the career leaderboard in many of the offensive categories.

As I thought about the idea of trading Jose midseason (in a scenario where the Mike-Pelfrey-as-ace Mets are out of it) makes sense.

If he is playing well, he brings value.  If they re-sign him he’ll probably be pricey.  Maybe the Moneyballers and the VORPians think there’s a better way to spread the dollars.

If he isn’t playing well – why re-sign a shortstop who is going to cost at least $11 million?

This sure is an interesting scenario.

I will stand by what I’ve said in the past:  Jose Reyes will one day win the American League MVP.

10 Replies to “Is your generation’s June 15th coming?”

  1. People talk about the olden days where their were 5k fans at Shea. This would give us a chance to see that at Citi Field.

    Moneyball suggests signing guys that are undervalued by other teams whether due to risk of injury or some stat that no one pays attention to. The problem is 29 teams employ an advanced stats guru and there are very few teams out there thinking “OBP? Who needs that?”

    The new “moneyball” technique is signing guys to extensions. Braun in Milwaukee, Tulowiski recently. Reyes in an off 2010 with no spring training and a mismanaged oblique injury was one of the top 5 SS in baseball. He’s making $11 million a year, and you might be able to extend him at close to that rate. There’s a good chance he’ll be worth near double that in free agency, with all the demand for a SS out there, particularly a one in his prime.

    being a big ma rket team is not about spending 200million dollars. It’s about keeping your LEGENDARY homegrown prospects through their prime years.

  2. When Jose Reyes is playing well, he’s one of the most exciting players in the game. We haven’t seen that player very much for the past two seasons, and Jose Reyes is going to require a significant commitment when he hits the free agent market.

    I don’t have a problem with Sandy Alderson & crew wanting to see how Reyes plays this year under their system before they make a decision.

    I don’t want to see Reyes traded. But I absolutely refuse to support the team if they let a productive young player walk away for nothing more than a pair of draft picks at the end of the season.

  3. If Alderson & Co. can build a better team throughout the lineup with the acquisitions and the money saved, that’s what they should do.

    For the record, the last MVP in either league to play for the World Series Champion was Kirk Gibson in 1988.

  4. I’m genuinely starting to wonder if the Alderson hiring wasn’t a huge mistake. He seems to bring small market mentality to the Mets, who already suffered from “second team” thinking.

    Trading Reyes would decimate the fan base. Not to mention weaken the team. And he’ll never get fair market return. They ought to sign him to a long-term deal.

    1. Whether or not trading Reyes (or anyone else) weakens the team depends upon what the team is able to get and do as a result. A team with elite leadoff hitter and less depth isn’t necessarily better than one with a passable leadoff man and a stronger cast behind him.

      If the Mets can find a way to have both, that’s great, but it’s long since been proven that the team with Reyes (or Wright or Beltran or A-Rod or Bonds) on it isn’t automatically the best one.

      Keep your eyes on the prize people. It takes 25 to win it all.

  5. BTW, Shannon you’re in a unique position to let the Mets know this is far worse than plexiglass and club access and – dare I suggest it – black drop shadow. We need a campaign!

Comments are closed.