I always get a chuckle when I see a player sign a contract with a new team and suddenly become so loyal and so changed. Last week Reyes cut off his dreads to not only raise money for charity but to comply with the Marlin “grooming policy”.
I don’t know what shocks me more, the fact that Reyes thinks his hair is going to fetch cash off of E-Bay or that the Marlins actually have a policy on how the players should look.
Regardless, there he was on the MLB network cringing as some guy cut off each braid one by one.
A whole new Jose Reyes right?
Wrong.
I wrote that I wouldn’t boo Reyes when he returns to Citi Field and I won’t- but I didn’t say I would root for him….and I’m not.
Jose Reyes better realize that when he gets to bat for the Marlins a couple of months from now that the applause he hears in the crowd will be gratuitous and free for the first at bat….maybe the first game or two.
And then he’s going to have to earn it.
I’m not going to start saying that the Marlins fans are poor fans if they boo Reyes. I will say, however, that with the new stadium and new location, there will be a lot of new and young Marlin fans with very high expectations and very little patience. Jose Reyes better realize that he has now become a long term mercenary.
And just because he is wearing a new uniform doesn’t mean he isn’t going to be plagued with the same injury problems he had with the Mets.
I don’t care what the experts say about playing in warm weather, Jose Reyes will always have to worry about that hamstring be it in Florida, Queens or the North Pole. The fact is, a 98 degree day is not going to help Reyes stay healthy; and neither will his new coach or best buddy who just moved to third base to accommodate him. Reyes services have been bought and the fans and ownership are eagerly awaiting their dividends.
There will be a point in this season, mark my words, when Reyes looks into the stands of his own ball park and sees and hears something he has never heard before……boos. And all it will take is a hit-less streak, a ball going through his legs and even that nagging reoccurring hamstring injury.
It will be at that point, that pivotal point, that he’ll realize that the fans in the seats want that double or triple every time he gets up and a stolen base after every walk to first. After all, that’s why he was brought there. A bat to hire with legs to match, Reyes is now under the money gun to perform or be booed.
It’s to be expected.
I wonder if he knows it yet.
4 comments
MetsFan4Decades
2/7/2012-9:25am at 9:25 am (UTC -4)
‘I don’t know what shocks me more, the fact that Reyes thinks his hair is going to fetch cash off of E-Bay or that the Marlins actually have a policy on how the players should look.’
Definitely the latter.
Last I read, that hair was up to almost a $5,000 bid. I once saw someone auctioning off the contents they found under their couch cushions.
I think Jose might be in for a bit of a rude awakening. I’ve got nothing more to go on than what I’ve heard and read from Reyes but I’m thinking he’s underestimating the difference in the fans of NY who always rooted for one of their own homegrown players who brought a lot of enthusiasm to the game….and the fans in Miami who have no such allegiance and who might be short on patience, as you suggested.
Then again I could be way off and the smile stays on Jose’s face as he got the money he was looking for….fans or no fans.
NJstuckinTX
2/7/2012-9:40am at 9:40 am (UTC -4)
I appreciate all that Jose has done, but he’s dead to me now. I’ll wish him all the best (but not at the Mets expense) and root for him once more should he somehow be re-acquired by the Mets.
kingman 26
2/7/2012-11:05am at 11:05 am (UTC -4)
I have rooted for Jose since he was a minor leaguer, and while I hope the Mets go 18-0 against the Marlins, I really wish Jose the best.
Why wouldn’t I?
I have almost always followed and rooted for ex-Mets–when they are NOT playing the Mets–and I will do the same for Jose.
My feeling is that had the Mets offered the same deal as the Marlins, Jose would be here, and I also feel that the contract was excessive for a player with his history of injuries.
Of course I want the Mets to win, but really, if they can’t, I would love to see Davey in first place, and if not him, Jose.
Let them both finish ahead of the Phils and Braves.
While I often questioned Jose’s judgment with his silly 1st inning HR dances which fired up the opposition and with his clear inability to perform down the stretch in 2007 and 2008, I never questioned his love for the game or his work ethic.
I wish him the best, and I hope he goes on to have a long successful career for the Marlins, finishing right below the Mets every year.
Mr North Jersey
2/7/2012-11:52am at 11:52 am (UTC -4)
You know when I read the title of your post the 1st thing that popped into my head was the image of a cartoon cat standing there with no hair wondering how it happened.