Last night, “Jerry Manuel publicly endorsed Alex Cora as the replacement for Jose Reyes,” writes David Lennon, in a report for Newsday.
“I thought Cora would be the guy at this time,” Manuel said, though he is still hoping Reyes will be back for Opening Day.
Manuel said, to use Ruben Tejada, who he admits he has not seen enough of yet, would be similar to using Jenrry Mejia, in that he would need to pick and choose select spots, to maximize the young player’s chances to succeed.
He believes the team will have a better read on Reyes’s replacement as they get in to the last week or so of Spring Training, when other teams begin to use their top pitchers, and raise the level of competition.
“There’s a few questions, I guess, defensively,” Cora said yesterday, as quoted by the St. Lucie News.
“People are talking about age and that I’ve slowed down defensively. There is some statistical analysis out there that says I am losing my range. I will just try to work on a few things, but if that’s something I can improve, I will just keep working on it. It’s one of those things where if you believe in it, I guess I am not the right guy because the stats say so, but if you see me play everyday, I still think I can do it. Let’s put it this way: I have been in the big leagues for 12 years and it’s not because I hit .300.”
…i think he’ll be fine… it’s just, he’s not very good in the field any more, and i don’t need stats to tell me that… he is good for about two steps before the ball is by him, which i see with my eyes… he can hit, a little… probably enough to get by… by, again, for more than a spot start here or there, the Mets are asking for trouble… like i said when they signed him, i think cora is a great 25th man, a bench coach-player type guy… but, to slot in at one of the most important defensive positions on the field, every day, is not a strong plan… sorry, alex…
I agree 100% that Cora should not be starting FT. Spot starts to give a guy a rest? Sure. Interim manager when they let Jerry go? Wonderful. But he doesn’t seem to have the goods at this point to start every day at a demanding position like SS.
No idea how Tejada would fair if you threw him out there every day. But, what about the other options?
Can Adams play daily? And what about Cintron, isn’t he still floating around someplace (not that I recall seeing his name all spring, other than in “what happened to cintron” posts!)
Cintron is about a 50 OPS+, .950 Fld Pct, and -20 rTOT/yr
Adams is about the same and hasn’t played SS since 2006.
Cora is about a 75 OPS+, .975 Fld Pct, and -6 rTOT/yr
Of the three Cora by far sucks the least.
Jerry hasn’t even given Tejada enough work at SS to see if he can handle the position. Bad job by Jerry not even giving this kid a real look at SS in ST.
Adams or Cintron? good grief.. How bout me or you?
Im in prime softball shape and I do play short….hmmmm.
im in an over 35 baseball league and play 3rd…. maybe i could move over to short and I could be your backup.. why not?
I like this idea. I am going to bring my cleats and glove to opening day just in case!
You guys are too funny…
Then again, Omar is always lookin for lighting in a bottle…
If I see some older gentleman w/ a “over 35 softball league” physique playing short this season I’ll know you finally got your shot, and I’ll be rooting for you. Just make that first ab count and hit the Apple.
Great, so let’s carry 20-year old SS Ruben Tejada on the bench and stunt his development by only letting him play once a week.
This also likely assures that Cora is back in 2011 because his pointless option will be able to vest with all these starts. UGH.
How many starts does it take to vest Cora’s 2011 contract? 80?
Manual never said Tejada is going north with the team. Reread what was said. He said IF he were to make the team that is how he would need to be used.
If Tejada goes back to the minors, who backs up Cora….Tatis??? Please no!
The bench could be: Matthews Jr, Blanco, Jacobs, Tatis and Catalanotto … I like those bats off the bench … but not a SS among them. I guess that would make Tatis the “emergency” SS and Catalanotto the “disaster” SS :-)
Seriously … they’d have to carry another middle infielder. Right?
Who knows with the Mets. They are built very similar to last year with very little room for error. You must have a real middle infielder on the bench. Up the middle is the most important defensive positions and the Mets are going to have Cora (horrible), Castillo (horrible), and Tatis (worse).
A terrible mistake in my opinion that will come back to bite them if Reyes misses more than a few weeks.
He stinks. He’s totally inadequate as a back-up. That said, let’s not do anything to stunt Tejada’s development because eventually the Mets will come to their senses and will dump Castillo and someone will need to play 2B. I think our top 2 prospects at the position are Tejada and Havens (who I haven’t heard a peep about this Spring Training). Maybe Flores could make the transition as well? Regardless, whereever Tejada is, he needs to play. So if Jerry is going to stick with Cora (Omar’s fault) then no reason to carry Tejada.
Flores won’t be going to 2b, if anything he’ll end up at 3b.
That said, regarding Cora, if he can’t fill in for an injured player as a suitable backup, then he shouldn’t be on the team. That’s the entire point of a backup. They really have no choice but to run him out there, otherwise make him a coach and bring in a real SS. Remember when Felipe Lopez was available for the taking? Yeah, I do too… he’d sure look and feel a little better than Cora right now.
Lots of folks were calling for Lopez just before he signed. But I was not one of them … so I won’t pretend and jump on the band wagon.
It looks like a bad move now. But when the Mets were looking at a back-up SS, Lopez would not have accepted the money that he ended up signing for. Wasn’t he represented by Scott Boras at the time?
I think most people think the Mets paid too much for Cora … but once that was done, I didn’t think the Mets could carry Cora and Lopez. Naturally, we didn’t know about Reyes at the time.
Plus … I thought Lopez had a bad reputation as a SS. Much worse defensively than Cora. Is that not true?
Lopez is not a good SS
Agreed!
Al this talk about who will fill in for Reyes is fine, but is there any update on when Reyes will be cleared to play? He’s well into the 1-7 week window from the announcement — I understand it could be an immediate decision and we wont hear anything until his levels balance, but I would be very disheartened (but not surprised) if he surpasses the 7th week and is not cleared to start activities.
The Reyes situation is not the fault of the Mets and recovery time for ant endocrrine system dysfunction is largely a crap shoot.
Who said it was the fault of the Mets? Are you on defensive auto-pilot?
If I misread your intent I am sorry. Just when someone say they’re not suprised at extending a recovery time it is usually a dig on the Mets. In some cases it is true, and a non-trivial number of posters were blaming the Mets about the Reyes’ thyroid. I have a chronic endocrrine disorder (insulin dependent diabetes). From my experience people have no idea whatsoever what it is like and I may be sensitive. In Reyes’ case it was diagnosed as acute, but during recovery it must still be frustrating for him.
Was not a dig at the Mets necessarily — but it is similar to your read on what I wrote. I am in the camp of believing that the Mets don’t know what is going on, not that they are lying. The Reyes injury is not their fault but they typically do not know anything about the injuries of their players and what they need (time, rest, surgery) to have them ready to play again. Reyes’ situation, if you recall, was ignored by Mets doctors who instructed him to play thru this.
Now that it is out of the Mets’ doctors hands and in the hands of the HOspital docs back in NY, I trust this will be handled better.
“but if you see me play everyday,”
It should be “every day,” as in “each and every day” or “each and every person,” not “everyday,” which is an adjective, like “that is an everyday occurrence.”
nothing better to do than some grammar/spell police work? congrats, you’re super smart.
If you pull this on every post you will wear out your keyboard by tonight.
Maunel says he hasn’t seen enough of Tejada yet….well Jerry, newsflash, why dont you play him at short for 4 or 5 games in a row to see how he does?
Playing Cora everyday in ST is only going to wear him out anyway.
Seriously, we already know what Cora is at SS, I do not understand why Jerry dosen’t give Tejada a real look at SS to see how he does.
Instead we will have a Tejada who is used to playing everyday sitting on the bench so Cora who is used to being on the bench can play everyday? Seems backwards logic to me.
Am I missing something here?
yes. What you’re missing is the private conversation with Minaya and Manuel where Jerry got a tongue lashing for his stupid comments in the past, and this was what they would decided he’d say, so that Omar can now put Meija and Tejada in the minors without the manager demanding they stay on the big club, which is the right move. Only took 3 weeks to get Manuel on the same page with this issue..
If Tejada goes to the minors (which he should if he is not going to start), who will back up Cora at SS? Please dont tell me Tatis!
No one. Reyes will be back by then. *crosses fingers*
Cintron or Adams maybe? Be silly of Omar to put Tejada on the team to wallow on the bench.
Im worried with 2 guys on the “hot seat” in Jerry and Omar, we may get them making decisions based on keeping their jobs and not what is best for the team and or our prospects.
What are the negatives about playing Tejada every day in the majors? Let’s ignore the worst case possibility, that he shows he cannot hit and he plays poor defense. More likely is that he’d play a good SS but may not be able to hit at the major league level (yet?). Does that hurt his trade value … maybe being labeled a “good glove, no bat” player. Is he on the 40 man roster? If not, do the Mets have to waive another player to add him? Would being on the 40 man roster (and major league roster) have any implications to his major league service time or using his options? Would he now have to be protected in the Rule 5 draft?
There are some negatives … but my opinion (your mileage may vary) is that it is worth the risks with Tejada … where it may not be worth similar risks for Mejia and Ike Davis.
Davis will be in the majors for good within 3 years. Mejia will likely be in the majors for good within 3 years. Tejada may be up and down for a longer period.
A player has 3 options, but if they are optioned after three years of their initial call up they must clear waivers first. IOW, if Tejada makes the team this year then if he is sent down any time in 2013, even if he didn’t play in the majors in 2011 or 2012, he needs to clear waivers. There has been talk about Ollie having options left. Even if it is true he would need to clear waivers first before he could be sent down. Same with Wright, Reyes, Santana, … I’m not saying they would be sent down, just pointing out how it works (at least partially, options and waivers are complicated).
I am far from an expert, but I thought the whole point of having options was that you could be sent up and down without clearing waivers?
Or is this the case where you only have to do it the 1st time in a season, then you could yoyo as often as needed?
They are option seasons. Evans bounced up and down last year and that was one option.
If they are used after 3 years the player needs to clear waivers. This prevents a hoarding of minor league talent. It us somewhat conceptually equivalent to Rule 5.
Go to fangraphs. They had a write up about this yesterday. Also go to the Law link within. It is not a fun read, but explains things better than I can.
C’mon Matt C just say it.
Cora is a nice guy, with sure hands who turns outs into outs, but losing Reyes is a severe, maybe almost crippling, blow to the offense.
I love Reyes, but if he doesn’t come back strong after this one, then its time to move on.
The season still hinges on the pitching…but the pitching is certainly dependent on the defense behind it….a great defense makes an average pitcher better but an average defense hurts even the best pitcher….Cora is no more than an average or slightly less than average SS…enough said…
even worse, Castillo is a below average 2B too.
so combine a low range SS and a low range 2B, and you better give your OFs a lot of practice fielding ground balls through the infield.
Let’s add some fuel to the fire! Murphy is an inexperienced first baseman, and David Wright is coming off a down year defensively where he struggled.
Let’s not stop there though. Jason Bay is a sound outfielder, but lacks range in what will be a very large outfield. Jeff Francoeur has a very strong arm, but sabermetric stats reveal that his range is lacking as well. Then throw our centerfield options out there. Matthews is no longer a good centerfielder, and Pagan has to make up in speed what he lacks in decision making skills. I guess on the bright side, we aren’t weak defensively on the mound when Johan pitches, and our catchers are solid :)
Good thing the Mets said they were going to stress defense and pitching, ehh?
at least you didn’t deny that Cora and Castillo both have below average range.
Although Wright and Murphy seem to have above average. Maybe they can play way off the lines so C&C canpinch together up the middle?
I still think we should have went after Hechevaria – if/when reyes gets cleared he could have jumped to second to take windbag mcgee out…yea he signed for 10mil but watch it…the kid is going to be big.
man oh man… baseball 101… DEFENSE WINS GAMES.
Metsblog should have a Jose Reyes thyroid level graph.
I like this :)
Shouldnt Reyes be taking another test soon? Its been more than a week since they told us he would be tested once a week. My guess is they did a test, it came back the same so they said nothing.
First of all I respect the fact that Cora is speaking directly about this. Second, I agree with him in that he has to be confident in his abilities. If he starts to believe he isn’t good, it’s only going to work against him. All professional athletes have that internal fire and pride that they are very good, if not the best. Without that, they rarely make it to this level.
Another thing worth mentioning is that inside of a player’s mind, if he feels he is doing the best he can and that he is getting to all of the plays his brain feels a person should get to, then the perception is that the mission is accomplished.
So in a sense there is nothing to see here folks. We have a professional baseball player who believes in himself. I would hope that is the case. We also have a baseball team that is not going to allow players to dictate who plays where and when, which I also hope would be the case.
In this entire fiasco, Cora is not to blame. It was the Mets who signed him for the role of backup SS and the Mets who paid him what they paid him. All we can ask for from Cora is an A+ effort, which by default he always seems to give. Let’s hope Cora has a nice little hot streak with the stick in April and May.
Teammates also talked about Cora’s leadership and being a good clubhouse guy.
Jeez, why , why, why? Two old men playing short and second, two major positions for defense, 2009 again.
Its the commitment to defense ownership promised us at the close of last year…I will never forget when Omar was asked about that and he said..well Bay is better than Murphy in left….hahahahaha.
Only reason the Mets re-signed Cora was to recruit Jason Bay. So technically, it was 68 million spent on Bay. No one can justify the reason to give a utility player 2 million who isn’t worthy to step in as a backup. Waste of money!
I know there is a Castillo / Santana conspiracy theory. I didn’t remember hearing about a Cora / Bay connection. I sure I just dismissed it (my fault).
Is your bigger complaint the money or that you dpn’t think Cora can be a back-up SS?
Because if it is the money … I’d say we need to get over it. That $2M was not a factor on what they offered other free agents.
You know I feel bad for this whole team..my friend went to domincan I know I spell it wrong but it d.r..he went there and read an article sayin that jose reyes cheat on his wife last year and the mother in law put a curse or hex on him and the team last year..so maybe it true and never going to be able to get on track..I hope not
Thats one of the weirdest posts I have ever read on Metsblog.
I think you need to sacrifice a bucket of KFC to remove the curse … as in the movie Major Leagues :-)
Or was that Bull Durham?
it was major league…
and it was brilliant…love that movie.
I know I don’t know if it true..but my friend read an article in d.r he went there to visit his family..but I do not if it true but then again that would explain wat happen to him last year and now this year