Somewhere, former Mets manager Willie Randolph is laughing and yelling, “this is what I was talking about!”

In the first at-bat of the first inning of new Mets manager Jerry Manuel’s first inning, Jose Reyes showed why there are deeper issues with the New York Mets than Willie Randolph.

Reyes tweaked his leg running to first base on a single. Manuel came out to talk to him and tried to tell him that he was going to take him out of the game. Reyes tried to walk away in defiance. Manuel again tried to talk to him calmly and explain that he was taking him out. Reyes continued to be defiant.

Finally, Reyes accepted that he was going to get pulled from the game by acting like a petulant child. He slammed his helmet on the way to the dugout and yanked his jersey out of his pants. Essentially, he showed up his new manager and stormed down the tunnel to the locker rooms.

If you asked me last year what I thought about Jose Reyes, I’d have said that he was a game-changer who could win games almost by himself when he got on base. Now? Seeing his performance since his late-season benching last year, he is just an immature punk.

The Mets have issues that can’t be solved by replacing the manager.

About The Author

Micah Warren is a sports writer from New York and the founder of Blast's sports section and the Off the Record sports blog.

2 Responses

  1. Tom Gambone

    I think Johan Santana’s win loss record shows why Willie wasn’t the problem. The man has a 3.01 ERA but yet he’s only 7-7, go figure. Willie can’t swing the bat, or make routine plays and either can Manuel.

    Reply

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