The Best Subtractions of the Mets Offseason

Lots of teams improve their rosters by adding new players, but the Mets have made a few moves to eliminate people from their team that has actually had more of an impact than adding some players.

Here's a list of the top people that the Mets have let go this offseason that will greatly improve the team:

1. Guillermo Mota - This is a no brainer. Mota was horrendous throughout most of 2007. It seemed like every time he came in there were at least 2 runs to be given up. Sure the Mets unloaded him for Johnny Estrada whom the Mets quickly dumped, but Mota's removal from the roster prevents Willie Randolph from being tempted to put him in close games. For some reason I have a feeling we'll see Mota ditch pitching and try and become an outfielder. Just a hunch.

2. Rickey Henderson - The king of stolen bases will no longer be able to mold the minds of Mets players. Henderson, while possibly the games best leadoff hitter of all time, was not the type of role model you want influencing young players. There are rumors that he got some of the young guys, like Carlos Gomez, involved in some serious gambling debt, and we all know about his lack of work ethic. While Omar Minaya loves him, Henderson's removal will remove a negative influence that I believe he had on Jose Reyes and some of the younger players.

3. Philip Humber - The trade of Humber means more in the sense that it brought Johan Santana to the Mets, but it also prevents us Mets fans and Mets brass from getting to caught up in the idea of Humber rather than his actual talents. Humber was lauded as a top notch pitching prospect that Mets fans wanted to see pitch at the major league level. The Mets have a tendency to rush pitchers along and then get disappointed in their performance mainly because they can't handle the pressure and expectations from playing in New York. Humber was doomed to follow in the footsteps of Bill Pulsipher in there being too much expected of him too early. He's better off in Minnesota with some chance to grow, and the Mets can focus on molding Mike Pelfrey into the pitcher we know he can be.

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.

Don't Sell Out Jose Reyes Quite Yet

Man, we're tough in New York. A guy wins a couple World Series, makes the playoffs every year, now he's going to be fired. That's the place we live, and now Mets fans are ready to turn on Jose Reyes.

We've even talked about here in this blog, but we've come to realize the error of our ways and I'm here to tell you that you shouldn't sell out Jose Reyes quite yet.

Let's flashback to April of 2007. Jose Reyes was the talk of baseball. An MVP year was expected. Derek Jeter called him the most exciting player in baseball. Joe Morgan christened him as possibly one of the best players we'll ever see play the game. And you know what? He looked like it the first 3 months of the season.

In May any team in baseball would have given their first-born child to get Jose Reyes. But now Mets fans are looking like they are done with him.

Did Jose Reyes utterly collapse the second half of the season? Yes. Did he look lost at the plate? Absolutely. Did he appear to be complacent at times by not running out ground balls and making some foolish decision in the field? Unquestionably true. Is he 24 years old? Yes, he is.

Reyes is still very much a young kid when it comes to baseball years. Sure he's been playing a few seasons already, but he has not yet matured into the baseball leader I'm confident he will be. He's come so far these past two seasons from that leadoff batter who struck out every other time up and was a sucker for any pitch down and in. He led the majors in stolen bases this year, and that's without getting on base for much of September.

I am confident Reyes will bounce back, but I do think Rickey Henderson needs to go. I don't want him molding Reyes in his image. We need a guy with a good head on his shoulders who can tutor Reyes. I'm sorry Omar, but Henderson is not that guy.

I've heard people talk about trading Reyes for anyone from Johann Santana to A-Rod to Vladimir Guerrero. I'd take Reyes over those guys even though their numbers are superior to Reyes' stats. Why? Because I believe this kid is still the MVP caliber talent that everyone hoped he'd be. We've seen how good this team can be when he is running on all cylinders. When Jose Reyes gets on base, the Mets score runs and win ball games. That's a hard commodity to find and when you do find it, you hold onto it.

Plus he's 24. 24 years old. And we have the potential to have the best shortstop and third baseman in the game for the next 10 years in Reyes and Wright. They're our Bat Man and Robbin' (get it? it's a play on words. Wright is the "bat" man and Reyes is "robbin'" bases! Nevermind.)

So let's all take a breath, my fellow Mets fans, before we sell Reyes down the river for the latest and greatest trade rumor. Jose Reyes will return to form. And that's something we won't want to miss.