holding our breath

Game 39: Cubs 1, Mets 8
25-14 for the season

Jose Reyes hurt himself either on his swing or his first step toward first in his 5th at-bat of the game, in the bottom of the 8th. he came out of the box limping. limping! Jose Reyes, limping! I could cry just thinking about it.

before the game was over, the report from outside the clubhouse (emphasized as completely unofficial) was that he'd felt tightness in the left hamstring in between pitches (you can clearly see it in the replay of his walk outside the batters box), and was scared that he'd really injure himself if he ran. the implication was that it was precaution that had him lamely gaping toward 1st, an action taken to prevent getting hurt rather than a reaction to being hurt.

upon getting the report from outside the clubhouse, Gary, Keith, and Ron started talking about all of Reyes' prior injuries-- he was out for portions of the '03 and '04 seasons for ankle and hamstring problems, respectively. I was shocked. this is the hazard of taking a break from the love of a team; I had no idea that there was a time when folks thought Reyes would never be a consistently healthy player. I had no idea because there hasn't been even a hint of Reyes being injury prone in the last two years-- the two years since I started paying attention again. it hurt. I felt like a bad fan for not knowing this about Jose-- like I'd somehow let him down by not being aware of his history of injury.

never the less, I blame the haircut.

Willie Randolph's demeanor in the top of the 9th and once the game was over was reassuring-- he was smiling in the dugout after getting a report from the assistant trainer and was teasing his young pitchers (Maine and Perez) on the way off the field. i reminded myself that Willie wouldn't have appeared so jovial if he thought Reyes was really injured. his press conference after the game bore that theory out-- he said that Reyes is ok, that it was just a slight cramp, that Jose says he's fine. "I don't think it's anything serious," he said. I choose to believe him, rather than acknowledge the fact that Willie would be unlikely to tell the world in a 1 am press conference that his star player is really hurt. I guess we'll see tomorrow.

Ruben Gotay came in to run for Reyes and stayed in at short. this is interesting because Damion Easley's best position is shortstop. I won't be surprised if we see him in the shortstop position at tomorrow's game, but I also won't be surprised if he stays at 2nd tomorrow, since he's hot at the plate and there are those managers who wouldn't want to chance disrupting that by making him think about playing a different position. I hope we won't need to find out, because Jose will be playing shortstop.

the important information that came out of Willie's post-game press conference was that Moises Alou is going on the DL and Jason Vargas is starting tomorrow's game. his ERA is over 7.00 in triple A. I'm not all that optimistic about our chances, but my pessimism has been blown to pieces before, and regardless of the outcome of the game, I know I'm going to have a great time, since I'm going with SRL and KJB.

in all this injury gloom (Pedro. El Duque. Valentin. Alou. Baruch Hashem, not Reyes...) and all my frustration with myself for not being at Shea tonight--just for the irregular experience of it all, and the real possibility that I'll never have another opportunity to be at a Mets game in Queens that starts at 10:16--its almost easy to forget what a fun, well-played game this was. it was really quick-- 2 hours, 38 minutes by my count-- because Jorge Sosa only allowed one hit in his 7 innings pitched, had 5 strikeouts in that span, and the Mets were efficient with their run-scoring. Sosa had a fantastic outing and goes to 3-0 for the season with the Mets, with only a 1.80 ERA. the wild-card pitcher who pulls it together rather impressively upon getting to the big club is a recurring phenomenon on the Randolph/Peterson pitching staff, and for a pitching fan like me, it's great fun to watch.

it was an offensive bonanza, too, with every single starting Mets player getting a hit in the game. Carlos Delgado had his first steal in (no kidding) five years on a double-steal with Beltran in the 3rd inning. Delgado's laugh upon reaching 2nd said it all. the third Carlos, Gomez, the call-up from New Orleans who's now got a .400 batting average and a .400 on-base percentage with a .600 slugging percentage in his two games in the show, had another great night, this time in the opposite field from the one he ran so well last night. he's the third youngest active player in baseball, and he's having the time of his life. it's a pleasure to watch. David Wright and Paul LoDuca had good nights too, both with RBIs and LoDuca even drawing an intentional walk with just a .290 batting average-- so fearsome is this particular hot streak, apparently. and the MOT in right field his having a great season thus far at the plate. sure, he's not so reliable in the field, but Shawn is batting .322 with 20 RBIs.

so while there is plenty to be happy about at the end of this game, I will be holding my breath until I see that Reyes is healthy and able to steal bases as he has been thus far this season. I'm hoping that this thing with Jose is as nothing as SNY is trying valiantly to reassure me it is. the short interview with Jose in the clubhouse they just aired for the first time (at 1:40 am) didn't reassure me much-- he seemed rattled, and looked like he'd been crying. I just want to give him a hug.