This Day In Mets Infamy With Rusty: The “Telling It Like It Is” Edition

It seems like there always has to be some kind of hubbub during Spring Training. Whether it was Ike Davis with his Valley Fever diagnosis in ’12, Johan Santana’s sore arm in ’09 or the rape allegations that were levied against Doc Gooden, and outfielders, Vince Coleman and Darryl Boston ( which were later dropped) there is something going on that disrupts the calm of Port Saint Lucie. Well this season appears to be no different. In Adam Reiber’s interview with  Jose Reyes the former Mets shortstop had some harsh words for the man who was supposed to be his heir apparent.

He had the opportunity to be the everyday shortstop for a long time in New  York. You have to work, man. When you are younge, you think you have everything there for you. But if you do something wron, it’s going to go away. Quick.

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This is why I will always have a place in my heart for Reyes – he comes across as a straight shooter – well with the exception of him pulling himself from the final game of the 2011 season. It is no secret that Jose and Tejada were and still are very close, and it is also common knowledge that Jose served as a mentor to Ruben while both were on the big league roster. So I can’t blame him for saying what he did about Tejada. In the spring trainings since Reyes left the Mets via free agency Tejada has squandered every opportunity afforded to him to become this team’s everyday shortstop.

Yes he put up good numbers  his first season as the Mets everyday shortstop (.289 batting average with an OBP of .333)  but in subsequent seasons he came to spring training late and out of shape or on time and in passable shape . This translated into 2 straight poor seasons( .208 batting average with a .259 OBP in ’13 and a .237 batting average  with a .342 OBP this past season). There were whispers that Tejada was a candidate to be non-tendered this past offseason but he has been spared by the ax only to serve as the Mets reserve middle infielder .

That’s a far cry from the kid that was supposed to be manning shortstop for the foreseeable future. But there is a valuable lesson in the case of Ruben Tejada – just because you are named the “guy” doesn’t mean you can sit back and just expect success – you have to earn it . And now Wilmer Flores is the “guy” only because there weren’t any viable alternatives out there (hopefully he proves himself as a capable shortstop in the very least) and Tejada is now riding the pine on the bench. Thank you Jose for telling it like it is. And with that said….

HERE COMES THE INFAMY !!!!

Mets alumni celebrating a birthday today includes:

One of the main architects of the Mets ’69 World Championships team, General Manager, Bing Devine would have turned ’99 today(1916). He only served one season as the Mets General Manager(1967) but with the exceptions of the deals that brought in third baseman Wayne Garrett and Don Clendennon the ’69 roster was filled with talent he either drafted or traded for.

Spot starter/middle reliever from the ’91 season, Tony Castillo is 52  (1963).

Middle reliever from the ’00 season, Rich Rodriguez is 52 (1963).

Reserve catcher from ’05-’09, Ramon Castro is 39 (1976)

Last seasons number one draft pick for the Mets, Michael Conforto is 22 (1993)

  Other transactions of note include:

The New York Mets signed free agent middle reliever, José Santiago on March 1, 2005.

The New York Mets signed free agent middle reliever, Willie Collazo on March 1, 2006.

Mo Vaughn is easy like Sunday mornings