Death of a Star

   The inevitable had happened. The people were in shocked. Disbelief, anger and a sense of betrayal filled the void in their hearts. It had been nearly a year's worth of speculation before it culminated in such a finale. The skeptics believed they had predicted it a priori, but even so the majority had held fast to the claims that he would always be there; he had been since day one, home grown. Even as a surplus of injuries would seem to haunt his future, even as he was put aside for mediocre replacements, he would always be one of them. "Please!" They cried, "Don't  let them take him away from us!" But, Management turned its head, and said, "No."

   It's still up to debate as to how shortstop Jose Reyes left. Reyes was a dynamic player, the best the Mets had to offer. Did he leave out of his own accord (signing a $100 million dollar contract), or did the Mets refuse to offer anything? "At least come to me and say, 'This is what we have,'" as he was recently quoted. Either way it is an injustice to the fans. After all is said and done one can only look into the future, and for a fan, it's a terrible turn of the screw.

   What kind of impact did Jose Reyes have? Long story short, there was a time when Met fans vigorously argued he was more than a match for the current staple of NY baseball: Derek Jeter. The abstract expressed him as a dynamic game-changer, a danger to opponents, a tried and true player who was all smiles. Cold statistics would say he was one of the game's finest one that would get better. His accolades included: four-time All-Star, led the league in triples (four times), stolen bases (3), and won last year's batting title.

 

   To Met fans, nine seasons have been reduced to nil with a stroke of the pen.

   Now that Reyes is gone to the Miami Super Team, it is the Mets that have to fill the hole, not just the vacated position, but how they are going to reestablish hope to a dedicated fanbase. Of which, none of whom would argue for the Wilpons' authority, if they ever lost there reins to the franchise.



Ruben Tejada

Ronny Cedeno

   As of now, there only remains to see who are the contenders, and can they bring anything substantial. The backup seems to be light hitting veteran Ronny Cedeno, who has a career batting average below the Mendoza Line (.250). Or, if everything goes "right," the everyday spot will be "championed" by the young and upcoming Ruben Tejada, who will seem to be a decent hitter, if not a solid fielder. It seems he will be indicative of the Mets future oriented progress, and there continued habit of just trying to stay afloat.



   It will be intriguing to chronicle what happens at shortstop this year. There will be a lot of ups and downs, and more to the nature of the question, it is necessary to continue to document what happens when a team's most important player leaves, and if there can be any redemption left for whoever mans the position.