All Eyes on Reyes

With three games left in the season for the Mets everything has to do with one guy - Jose Reyes. Will he win the National League batting title, the first Met ever to do so? Will he re-sign and be in the blue and orange next year? If you are a diehard Mets fan you are routing for him to win the batting title, but the ultimate thing you want is for him to stay around and win a World Series some day as a Met.

His talent alone would greatly improve their chances at bringing the World Series back to Flushing. His name is all over the Mets' statistics book, as it should be since he is the Met with the longest tenure. He leads in all-time steals, runs, and triples. He is second in total hits and at-bats. And as I mentioned before he is in a National League batting title race with Ryan Braun, with an average of .334 as of today. One would have to think that since he is only 28 years old, he would continue to play at this level for sometime.

Besides these amazing statistics Reyes also brings so many intangibles to the Mets. If you watch Reyes he is always smiling when he gets on base or when he crosses home plate. If he doesn't get a hit he is visibly frustrated. He conveys his love of the game for the fans to see and the fans show there appreciation by chanting his name throughout the game. He is simply the heart and soul of the Mets.

But one must also remember the no matter how much fans adore Reyes, this is still a business. When it comes time to negotiate years and dollars the Mets' front office is fully aware that Reyes has suffered many injuries in his career, including being on the disabled list twice this year for the same hamstring injury. With so many things to consider in the Reyes free agency saga, this off-season will have every Mets fan sitting on the edge of their seats until Reyes makes his decision.

The Mets without Reyes may be fine, as Ruben Tejada (his likely successor if he doesn't come back) has matured and improved a lot throughout the season. But even with Tejada's baseball skills and intelligence he isn't Jose Reyes. You can't replace the intangible things. You can't survive without a heart. But the decision is out the fans' hands and lies in two parties - Reyes and the Mets. Now its time to just watch and wait. Hold on Met fans it's going to be long off-season.