Thursday, November 1, 2007

Rickey Henderson is Reyes' Problem

Last night I spoke with a friend who has connections within the Mets organization, and he shared with me some of the rumors within Shea Stadium of why Jose Reyes was slumping down the stretch. I have mentioned before on this blog that I didn't think the Reyes' slump had anything to do with baseball, but that there was something going on in his personal life that was affecting his performance.

Turns out, it was Rickey Henderson.

Now let me start by saying these claims are purely speculation from someone who has a link to the rumor mill within the Mets organization. But the word is that Rickey Henderson got Jose Reyes and some other young players involved in some gambling. Turns out that Reyes may have lost a huge amount of money to Rickey Henderson as well as others. Much like alcohol or drugs can take over a person's life, gambling can have that effect as well and may have an element in Reyes' late season decline.

Now if this is true the blame cannot solely rest on Henderson because Reyes made the decision to get involved in it, but I've always thought that Henderson was more of a detriment to this club than an asset. People think A-Rod is a cancer, look no further than King Me-First, Rickey Henderson.

If this is truly what happened, I hope Omar has the guts to send Rickey on his way and let Willie put a guy that he wants at 1st base. I hope this is just a rumor, but something tells me it's not.

Time will tell.

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