The End of the Jose Reyes Era

   by Gus Ramsey

    "'Cause I'm already gone. And I'm feeling strong. I will sing this vict'ry song. Woo, hoo, hoo woo, hoo, hoo."  The Eagles


   In MLB the Show you can take music you've downloaded onto your PS3 and use it in the game for ballpark music, walkup music, reliever entry music, etc. For the last two seasons I have used The Eagles, "Already Gone" as the walkup song for Jose Reyes. My premise was once Reyes got on first, he was already gone, on his way to stealing second base. Little did I know the song meant so much more. By 2010, given the financial state of the Mets, Reyes was already gone. I just didn't know it.

Parting is Not Sweet Sorrow. It Sucks. 


   I put Reyes right behind Seaver and Strawberry in the category of Best Mets Player at the Time of Their Departure. When Seaver was traded, I was 11 and it signified the end of the world. When Strawberry left, it signified the end of an era. Maybe not the era that we had hoped for, producing one world series, not three or four. But once Straw left, the late 80's Mets were dead. And now Reyes leaving signifies the end of interesting baseball in Queens. Reyes was THE reason to watch the Mets last season. Sure, they have other players I enjoy watching, but Reyes was captivating. He is a supremely unique player. This is not to say the Mets should have matched the offer, they shouldn't and couldn't (I'll repeat that so it's understood. They should not have tried to match the years or dollars given their current state), but it doesn't change the fact that I am pissed Reyes is gone.
 
   Why So Mad?
   
   I'm glad that I still get mad over stuff like this. So much of the enjoyment in sports comes from caring. The fact that I am pissed about this means I still care. I'm also mad for my 9-year old son, Jack, who really likes Reyes and is super bummed that he is gone. The guy he was growing up with as a baseball fan is now a Miami Marlin. I'm mad that Fred Wilpon put himself in a position to let down his fan base and doesn't do enough to fix it. If he truly loves the Mets, he needs to sell. I've written about this before http://gusramsey.blogspot.com/2011/01/madoff-mess.html He has turned a big market team into a small market team. Not that huge payroll equals success, they've proven that, but a home grown star should not leave the Mets for the Marlins. Ever. 
 And I'm pissed that Reyes went to the Marlins. The team that taunted him and used his celebrating as their motivation as they were beating us in key games during the dreaded collapse in '07. It would have been bad if he had gone to the Angels or the Tigers, but it's awful that he ended up in the NL East. I'm also mad because I like Reyes. I won't be rooting for him to get hurt or anything, but I won't be wishing him well. That makes me mad. I'm mad I don't get to watch him leg out triples or make throws from deep in the hole anymore. And I don't buy the "he's going to be injured all the time anyway" comments. It's far more likely he'll play 145 games a year, enjoying the warm and controlled environment in Miami and be a really productive player. All of this makes me mad now. I'll be more mad when he holds up his new Marlin jersey this week. I'll be livid on opening day. I'll be extremely bummed when he comes to Citi Field on April 24th in a Marlins uniform. 
   And there is one more reason to be mad. From all accounts, Sandy Alderson was brought to the Mets as a favor to Bud Selig to try and help salvage the Mets financial situation as it related to the ball club. The Mets announced this week they lost 70 million dollars this year. Sandy, you're going to need a bigger boat. That said, this is not a long-term gig for Alderson. So if the Mets are officially rebuilding, that is likely a 3-5 year process. I can't see Alderson still being here in that time. So midway through the rebuilding it's going to be passed off to J.P. Riccardi or someone else? That doesn't seem like a good way to go about it. When Alderson says he has no interest in trading David Wright, does anyone believe him? There are going to be some dark(er) days in Queens in the coming years. 


   Could They Have Handled Him Worse?
   
   Jose Reyes was one of the most gifted athletes the Mets have ever had, and they pretty much screwed up their handling of his career every step of the way. First off, they tried to make him a second baseman when he came up because they needed Kaz Matsui to be a shortstop. In 30 years if anyone is reading this they will assume I was high and made it up. Seemingly every time Reyes was hurt, they mis-diagnosed or mis-treated the injury, making it worse. Even last year Terry Collins flirted with making him a 3-hitter. And lastly, they decided not to trade him at the deadline last year because they wanted to "build around him," likely knowing full well they would never be able to afford him, and now get nothing in return. Marlins offer aside, you can't blame Jose for wanting to get as far away from this organization as possible. 


   Epilogue
   
   Ruben Tejada will be the new shortstop. He'll be good. He is an above average fielder who showed some nice signs of improvement last year. The club in general is still decent. Wright, Duda, Davis, Bay and Murphy could be a respectable core of a lineup. It's just not going to be dynamic. 
  Jose Reyes is a game-changer. From the very first pitch of the game, the opposing pitcher is on edge, knowing that in a blink of an eye he could be in big trouble. Reyes is dynamic and the dynamic he brings to lineup is gone. Apparently it was already gone. 

Tebow Podcast

  Did some podcasting today. One with me and Bill Simmons talking Tebow. I snuck in on the back end of the Cousin Sal one to talk Reyes.
http://www.grantland.com/podcasts

It's Time to Light the Lights on Denver's D

   by Gus Ramsey

I'm an unabashed fan of the Muppets. I've loved them since I can remember. I've seen their new movie twice, I've downloaded the soundtrack on iTunes, I have all five seasons of The Muppet Show on DVD, you get the picture. I'm also a huge Broncos fan. So with Tim Tebow getting all the praise, I thought I'd "light the lights" on the Broncos D by assigning them Muppets to coincide with their play.

Professional Sackers

Waldorf and Statler: Von Miller and Elvis Dumervill. 

Professional Hecklers

Waldorf and Startler are best known for harassing Fozzie Bear. Fozzie walks out on stage, thinking he's going to have a great show, but he knows those two guys are lurking, waiting to pounce at the first opportunity, and eventually they mess up his delivery. As a tandem, Miller-Vill does nothing but harass opposing QBs, get in their heads and mess up their deliveries. So far they've combined for 16 sacks (10.5 for Miller, 5.5 for Dumervill). The last pair of Broncos to combine for 10+ sacks a piece in the same season? Simon Fletcher and Mike Croel in 1991. Twenty years later, Elvis and Von have an excellent chance to match that feat. Especially if they start leaping from the balcony.


Gonzo: DJ Williams. 
Gonzo spent most of his life trying to figure out what he was. In Muppets from Space, Gonzo finally learns he is an alien and he gains inner peace. His trademark act is firing himself from a cannon, showing no regard for his well being. DJ Williams went to the University of Miami as a fullback. They converted him to a linebacker. The Broncos have played Williams at strongside, weakside, inside and middle linebacker. Finding his football identity has been a journey, too. Williams is also prone to fire himself out of the proverbial cannon at ball carrier, showing no regard for his body. 

Shot from a cannon

If DJ starts bringing dancing chickens to work, then I'll know I'm on to something.

Bombs away!

Animal: Brian Dawkins. Animal is known for his yelling and banging on his drums. Dawkins is known for his pre-game yelling and banging on opposing players. Animal is said to have three styles of music, loud, louder and deafening. Dawkins has three styles of play, hard, harder and punishing. In A Muppet Family Christmas, Animal sees Cookie Monster devour a batch of cookies and says, "That's my kind of fella." I imagine all the other Broncos watch Dawkins devour offensive players and say "That's my kind of player."  

Animal!!

Annnn-neeee-muulll!!

The Electric Mayhem Band: Marcus Thomas, Robert Ayers, Broderick Bunkley, Chris Harris and Wesley Woodyard. Animal can bang on the drums all day long, but you need the band to really make music. This cast of other Bronco defenders have done their part to create mayhem for the opponents. During their 4-game win streak, Denver is giving up just 15 points a game. They've only allowed 221 pass yards a game, and just six TDs, in their five Tebow-lead wins. Put it all together and the Broncos D has been playing beautiful music together. 

Electric Mayhem

Causing mayhem

Sam the Eagle: Joe Mays. Sam is all business. Joe is all business. Sam is an eagle. Joe was an Eagle. Sam is the moral center of The Muppet Show who lashes out against "weirdos" and "namby-pamby conservationists."

Joe is the center of the Broncos emerging linebacker core who lashes out at running backs.  

The Vocal Eagle

The former Eagle

Pepe the King Prawn: Quinton Carter. Pretty much just because of the hair. That said, Carter has been awesome this year. The Broncos have a nice lineage of hard hitting safeties, and Carter looks like a guy who can carry on that tradition. Carter was sharing time with Rahim Moore, now he starts. Pepe used to share an elevator with Seymour the Elephant. Now he works alone. I'm not much for grandstanding from players, but if after he makes a big hit Carter wants to declare, "I am a King Prawn!!" I'm fine with that. 

I am a King Prawn!

I'm no shrimp, either

Fozzie Bear: Andre Goodman. No one on the Muppet Show gets picked on more than Fozzie. No one on the Broncos gets picked on by the opposition more than Goodman. With Champ Bailey on the other side, opponents tend to throw darts at Andre, just like Waldorf and Statler fire bombs at Fozzie. To my novice eye,  Goodman has played much better this season. Maybe Frank Oz is controlling him this year. Who will forget when Goodman picked off Mark Sanchez and Wocka, Wocka, Wocka'd into the end zone?

Wocka, wocka, wocka!

Wocking in for 6!

Dr. Bunson Honeydew: Dennis Allen, Defensive Coordinator.  Dr. Honeydew spends all of his time trying out new inventions. Among his creations, edible paper clips, a banana sharpener and gold that turns into cottage cheese.  In the end, almost all of his inventions end up exploding. Thankfully for Broncos fans, everything Allen has drawn up lately in his laboratory is blowing up opponents schemes, and not Beaker.

Blows stuff up

Blows up offensive schemes

Miss Piggy: ?? As the Diva of the Muppet Theater, Miss Piggy is all about Moi. She craves attention. She tries to upstage everyone else. She has to have top billing. Thankfully, as far as I can tell, the Broncos don't have a Miss Piggy on their defensive roster. 

There's no one like her

The unassuming star

Kermit: Champ Bailey. Kermit is the unassuming star of the show. He is the host, he is the traffic cop and he is the one everyone else turns to in times of crisis. That sums up Champ to a tee. He gets left alone on his island, like Kermit sits alone on his log when he sings Rainbow Connection. But don't forget, in The Muppet Movie, when a fly dares come Kermit's way, he snaps it up. When opposing QB's dare come Champ's way, that's a mistake too. His career 50 career interceptions, 3rd among active players, is testament to that. That's why a "fly" pattern is never a good call against Champ.  And let's be honest, who enjoys getting their hands on the pigskin more than Kermit and Champ? 

He likes the pigskin