Like all other Mets fans, I found myself upset the moment Jose Reyes left the game against the Marlins tonight.
Seeing him walk gingerly off the field is a grim reminder of many things. It is reminiscent of 2009, when he walked off in May, never to return. And it means something worse than that.
The Mets, no matter their other talent, are simply a less enjoyable team to watch when Jose Reyes is out of the lineup.
So why is this good news? Well, not good news, but silver lining news?
Because the Mets seem to finally know that rushing Jose Reyes back is a massive mistake.
They let him play in pain last June on the say-so of the Dodger doctors. They can blame them for a misdiagnosis all they want; the Mets, by letting their vital shortstop play through pain, took an unnecessary risk.
The Mets rushed him back in an attempt to see him play the final weekend of an utterly lost 2009 season as well.
What followed was a further complication of his injury; one that required surgery.
And yet, this year, Reyes was sent back out on the field before his oblique injury had healed enough to switch-hit.
Not surprisingly, Reyes re-injured himself.
But tonight, oh, tonight. It was announced here in the press box that Reyes had re-aggravated his oblique injury, and
HE WON'T BE RESUMING BASEBALL ACTIVITIES UNTIL THE PAIN DISAPPEARS.
It may not be a pennant in Flushing. But I'll take the small victories for now.