Waaay Jose!

I can honestly say that this might be the weirdest spring training that I have ever had as a Mets fan. The Mets dominated the entire National League the entire season, only to lose to a team in the playoffs that won a total of 83 games in the regular season. Overall, the season was a great success and they are bringing back every main piece from the team that was one game away from the World Series. I should be very excited about this, but I'm not.

There are about six guys on the Mets roster who should be (prolly are) collecting Social Security. I admit that joke is corny, but all I am saying is that the Mets are old. It really sucks. I'm sorry, but I am not excited for Tom Glavine and Orlando Hernandez to be the first two pitchers in the rotation. I honestly think that Julio Franco is Jose Reyes' dad (back in the day Franco could run). The guy is close to 50. Besides that, they got Moises Alou, Jose Valentin and Shawn Green. While I have not seen much of Alou yet, he is 40 years old and was considered injury prone when he was 30. Valentine and Green looked so washed up last October that it forced me to keep recycling my Dads' old joke that my Grandmother could swing harder than that.

Basically the age thing bothers me, especially when the Mets have 21 year old Lasting Milledge ready to step in and see if he can play everyday. The other major thing that bothers me is the pitching staff. Basically on paper it sucks and is injury riddled (Riddle me this...You have two coins that make up 30 cents and one is not a nickel..). Anyway, since I distracted you I might as well segway away from my negativity and hate. The Mets may have the best 3-4-5 hitters in baseball and have a tremendously young and talented left side of the infield. They have a bunch of talent in the minors both pitching-wise and in the outfield. What I am consumed with though is two words...Jose Reyes (disclaimer: I am about to ride a 23 year old mans nuts not only because he is a Met but because he is my keeper in fantasy baseball).

Reyes may be the most physically gifted player in all of baseball. First of all he is not a small guy. He is 6'1" and 200 lbs. He may be the fastest player in the game and has a rocket for an arm that he seems to unleash with just a flick of the wrist. He has average power, which seems to only be increasing as he gets older. He is a switch hitter and is gradually improving his plate discipline. Last season his walks jumped to 53 from 27 in 2005. Did I mention he is only 23 years old?

Reyes will bat leadoff in the Mets line-up which is perfect since he has such great speed. As I said, his plate dicipline is improving which will help him as a lead-off hitter through getting on base more. While Spring Training does not mean much, he has 10 steals, four homers, eight walks and only four strikeouts so far. While that is a small sample, considering how well he played last season and his age (23 ladies and gentlemen), it is not crazy to think he could perform at somewhere close to that level. Look at his stats from last season, watch him play a couple games and tell me if you think a .320 AVG .390 OBP 25 HRs and 75 SBs is out of the question. He is a guy that fills up the stat sheet. In that line-up he will score over 120 runs easy. In addition, he is in the conversation for best defensive shortstop in baseball. He has tremendous range, has cut down on the routine errors that plagued him early in his career and throw absolute peas (or pee if you prefer) to first.

When I turn on a Mets game, no matter what the time in the season or the situation in the game I am always excited by one thing, Jose Reyes. I want to see what he will do next. It is a great position to be in for a fan. So with all the positives and negatives on the Mets at this point, as long as Reyes is guarding shortstop I am happy. I believe that he is the most important player on the Mets and that his numbers will put him up in the top three in MVP. Obviously MVPs are often given in a subjective manner, but for a player of his style to even be in the discussion shows his true uniqueness and potential greatness.

Derek Jeter

I am a big time Mets fan, but over the years I have developed an admiration for Derek Jeter. While some of my fellow Met fans find this repulsive, I can't help it. I do not like it, but it is just how I feel. With that being said, I have to address something that has been bothering me for a long time. The fact that Derek Jeter has won three straight Gold Gloves is flat out ridiculous. As a defensive shortstop, Jeter is the best at fielding pop-ups, has his "signature" play deep in the hole and makes the routine look effortless. In the same breath though, his range on groundballs are so bad that grounders in the hole that oher shortstops get in front of, Jeter makes his jump throw and balls up the middle, Jeter consistently does not reach. Do I think Jeter is a good defensive shortstop? Yes. Is he the best in the American League? No. Off the top of my head I will put Orlando Cabrera of the Anaheim Angels and Alex Gonzalez then of the Boston Red Sox over Jeter for the 2006 Gold Glove.

Range form a shortstop is something that I grew up watching more than others. Unfortunately when I was 13, the Mets had a rookie shortstop at the same time that Jeter was playing his rookie year in the Bronx. That Mets SS was named Rey Ordonez. While Ordonez could never hit his way out of a paper bag (and to this day I am embarred by saying he would be a better player eventually than Jeter), he was a flat-out amazing fielder. When I say this, I mean it as watching someone play on an EVERY DAY BASIS, but I have never anyone play a better shortstop. In his prime, (three straight Gold Gloves) which did not last long because he couldn't hit and got injured, he had more range than anyone I have ever seen. He would get to balls on the 2nd baseman side of 2nd base and still get to the balls deep in the hole. In addition, he once had an errorless streak of over 90 games and had four total errors in 1999. My point is, I took it all for granted. In 2000 he got injured and the Mets traded for Mike Bordick to play short. He was a solid defensive player, but no Ordonez. Every game basically I would find myself getting pissed because a ball got through the infield that Ordonez would usually scoop up. Range is something you do not notice until you suddenly gain or lose it. While Jeter is a fantastic ball player and a good defensive SS, I promise you his range is not that of others.

Oh, and its no coincidence that his Gold Glove years came when AROD went to short because AROD was a much better defensive shortstop and ARODs' range at third has helped Jeters' performance at SS as well.

Sangia

Lastly, I just want to make my case for Sangia to be kicked off of American Idol. He sucks sucks sucks as a singer and is so dumb when he talks. He looks like a douchebag and sounds like a six year old girl. I think its fair to say that Sangia has a Mangina. Anyway, he forgot his words this week and if he is not voted off then you know something is up.

Ozzie

I am sure Ozzie Smith was better and his highlight reels are sick, but I never got to watch him on a daily basis as I did with Ordonez. If I did, then I may feel just as strong or stronger about him.

Lastly...

I only brought up Jeter because I thought of him when I mentioned Reyes as one of the best defensive shortstops in the game today. I am by no means trying to compare Jeter and Reyes (yet) and recognize that Jeter is a Hall of Famer and Reyes is still in just the very early years of his career. Did I mention Reyes is 23 (Jeter is 32).

STKAFI