Jose Reyes - Hogan's Goat

When I was 17 years old, I was stopped by a particularly belligerent Bayonne cop because a tail light was out, and then when he found I didn’t have the registration handy enough for him, he said that I was “fugged up as Hogan’s goat”.

Not being Irish, I never really understood how insulting the cop was trying to be. Who was Hogan? Was he an idiot? And what about his goat? Maybe Hogan was okay but his goat was just a mess.

Notwithstanding the fact that I never fully appreciated the depths of this insult, and probably never will, the imagery has stuck with me, and I think of Hogan’s goat whenever somebody does something totally stupid or for a person who seems oblivious to everything and everyone around him.

Do I have to even say it? You know who I’m talking about, right? Is Jose Reyes Hogan’s goat or what? Here’s a guy who runs like a deer. When you look at Jose, you think of the FTD logo, the winged foot. He can hit a baseball too, when he’s not trying to hit a home run.

And he can play that shortstop position like all the greats you can think of, Omar Vizquel, Luis Aparicio, Ozzie Smith….Jose could play with any of them. He’s got great range, quick reflexes and a gun for an arm.

You could almost say he’s a five-tool guy, hits for average and at least some power, has a great arm, runs really fast and has great fielding ability. With a smile that would light up old Broadway, he delights us when he cruises around the bases like lightning, or makes a stop deep in the hole and then guns that runner down with that bazooka.

He’s probably good in the clubhouse too, he certainly helps to light up the dugout. He’d probably be considered a good team guy too as he’s the first to congratulate a teammate. You could even add that to his credentials. What personnel guy would turn down Jose Reyes? He’d have to be deaf, dumb and blind.

It’s that sixth tool he’s really missing. Like the Wizard Of Oz’s scarecrow used to sing….if I only had a brain.

Ah well, he is who he is. A fatal flaw, that last one though.

When he hits a double that should have been a triple if he hadn’t admired his long drive for so long out of the box, or, even worse, when he then gets caught between 2nd and 3rd base to singlehandedly destroy an inning, you just shake your head.

After all, there he was again on third base, dancing down the line, trying to entice that balk, and he very nearly did. But, alas, it wasn’t to be and the Mets lost again to the Braves, giving them the three-game series, seeming to prove once again that they’re the tougher team, the team that doesn’t beat itself.

Besides, he wasn’t alone to blame for the loss. If you were looking to assign the horns to anyone (there’s that goat again), you could give them to Putz, or even to Beltran, or anybody else who didn’t perform, as long as you except Fernando Tatis and Gary Sheffield.. They were really terrific in defeat.

But, for those who believe that winning is the only thing, those folks are beginning to realize that truth can sometimes wear a wry face…or is it just their crooked eyes? Can they be right in their perception that the Mets always lose when Reyes throws an inning away?

Some are now thinking of potential trades for Reyes. For Reyes sets the tone for this Mets team, and the tone is all wrong. He’s the leadoff hitter, the spark plug, but seemingly more often than not, he’s a fouled spark plug, one that shuts the whole engine down.

It’s beginning to become an old story too. How many years does a team have to lose before a realization sets in, the one that says you might win with these guys, but the odds are against it. A loss to the Phillies was almost acceptable, if only because that team has a lot of talent, and they are acknowedged to be a tough team, a team with hard-nosed guys, whatever that means, a team with that elusive edge.

But the Braves do not qualify. The Braves don’t have nearly the team that Philadelphia has, nor do they have the talent found on this Mets team. They don’t have good pitching and they don’t have the same quality lineup. They’re a team that the Mets should beat.

And, too often, the finger can be pointed to that crazy leadoff hitter. If he had only not gotten caught, if he had run coming out of the box, if he hadn’t overshot the bag with that slide, if he hadn’t juggled the ball, and on and on and on.

It’s interesting too that Jose’s problems can’t really be addressed in the same manner that you might address another player’s flaws. Jose has proven that over the years, certainly with Willie Randolph and not so much with Jerry Manuel only because Manuel is shrewd enough to recognize that Reyes cannot perform as well under pressure, or at least he has not performed well under pressure in the past.

Some of you might now ask, “But isn’t that what it’s all about?” And you would be right. Unless this fouled spark plug can somehow be fixed, the Mets may never win a pennant, never mind a World Series.

It’s my belief that the change in Jose will come, but it is a change that will have to occur from within. He has to realize himself that he has not played on a winner yet, and has to accept his own responsibility for that fact.

Mets fans can hope that this required introspection doesn’t happen years down the road after he’s been traded for players of lesser value and even less fun.

Manny Happy Returns

Well, Thursday's the trading deadline in MLB and it's at this time of year that General Managers earn their money, or not. If a team moves early, as the Yankees did last week in acquiring Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte, it gets the pick of the litter. The longer a team waits to make a move, though, the more sure it can be of what it's competition will look like after the deadline.

The Yankee moves addressed specific weaknesses, really, and make them a believable contending team. Even with their fairly good record and their recent run of wins, they were weak in the outfield and needed middle relief, and specifically a lefty, so that's what they got. I'd give them an edge to take their division now.

For the World Champion Red Sox, at least as this is written, have even bigger problems. Problemo Numero Uno starts with Manny, of course, the curiously injured Manny Ramirez, who is doing his darnedest to manipulate a trade from Boston, so he can clean up in free agency, and happily eschew Boston's first of two 20 million-dollar option years

They say in agent-land that Manny can do better, and word has it that he's looking for another four years at about 25 million per year. And, while he may not wind up getting that much, if he becomes available at all, he probably could get more than 20 million and more than just two more years.

So, from a purely business standpoint, I can't blame Manny for his latest shenanigans, except for a natural curiosity as to why he took the contract in the first place. Manny will be 38 two years from now, and it'll be a lot easier to negotiate his final contract now at a spritely 36.

Of course, the court of public opinion in Red Sox Nation seemed firmly anti-Manny as last night's game with the Yankees began, and Manny seemed to have orchestrated the whole affair, what with his comments on playing in Iraq. But by the end of the evening, after Manny's 3 for 5, two-double and two-rbi night, his hugs with Big Papi, and a huge win over the Yankees, public opinion seemed to have swung a bit in his favor.

It's ironic though that Manny'd be better off with public opinion against him. Unless Boston were willing to renegotiate his contract right now to his satisfaction, a highly unlikely scenario indeed, Manny'd be better off somewhere else. Surely, there'll be a team willing to accede to his demands. He has been and arguably is the best pure hitter in the league.

Unfortunately for Mr. Ramirez, Boston has the option, two successive options, in fact. And, unless they can secure some benefit from a trade, either now or later, they'd be foolish to just let him go.

What they have to weigh for themselves is just how much of a pain in the neck Manny can really be. I mean....he wasn't even trying before. But he can’t just tank the rest of the season, no potential suitor in its right mind could ignore that.

Boston hasn't gotten where it is by being stupid. Under the shrewd tutelage of young Theo Epstein, the Sox have shaped and re-shaped their team from their curse-breaking World Series win in 2004, and repeated that feat just last year.

And, as it’s another contract year for their popular All-Star catcher, Jason Varitek, I think Boston will trade Manny and keep Varitek, regardless of whatever outcry there may be in Beantown, assuming they can get some significant value in return. Of course, they have to make that decision before they exercise their first option.

It’s difficult to say who might want Manny. After all, he’s not a youngster anymore. But he has been very consistently great in that batter’s box. I’d think an American League team would be more interested, for the DH possibilities alone. After all, Manny has never been a Gold-Glove in the outfield, but he sure can play balls off that Fenway wall.

Manny could be a significant draw too. There’s nobody who can command more attention than Manny, at least not for any fun-loving sports fan. Look for an American League team from a major city outside the AL East to make a play before the deadline… Detroit, Chicago, some place like that.

Of course, the Red Sox would need to get an outfielder, or even two, in return, as their young Jacoby Ellsbury hasn’t been knockin’ em dead this year. And the suitor would no doubt have to get some indication from Manny as to whether a long-term contract was in the cards at all. Otherwise, why give up anything valuable?

So the Red Sox could look significantly different by Friday. Will the Yankees take the chance that their chief rivals won’t look quite different by then? I don’t think so. Look for the Yankees to pick up still another pitcher for their pennant run. After all, if it isn’t Boston, it’ll be the Angels who’ll be in their way. And the Mets or Cubs in the National League.

The best player who may be available is the Rockies Matt Holliday. The Rockies won’t be able to afford him next year. But I don’t think the Rockies would drop dead for Manny Ramirez. I think the Rockies will be looking for some nice young pitchers.

The Mets of course need an outfielder. And New York would be a great place for Ramirez. I had even heard on the radio a proposal of offering Beltran for Ramirez and Ellsbury. Although I wouldn’t like to see it myself, who knows? Stranger things have happened. But can you just see Manny playing left field at Shea when he’s 40? I can’t.

Seattle presents an interesting possibility for Boston. They could really use an ace like Jarod Washburn. And, if Seattle had once warmed up to Alex Rodriguez, they could certainly get very used to Manny Ramirez. We’ll soon find out.