Jose Reyes Out-Mets Cursed?
When the Yankees built their new ballpark and abandoned their historic stadium, I predicted they would begin a curse that would lead them to perhaps never win another World Series again, or at least take them many, many years to do so. As most of my predictions go, I was wrong — they won one in their first year at new Yankee Stadium. Instead, it appears the Mets are cursed. Who knew the baseball gods would miss old Shea?
Jose Reyes fell victim to the curse for the second straight year. He is out 2-8 weeks — an odd amount of time to be out, by the way — while doctors try to figure out how the best way treat his hyperactive thyroid. Of course, Carlos Beltran will miss at least the first month of the season following knee surgery, after missing half of last year with injury.
And then there’s Francisco Rodriquez’s pink eye. What should have been a few days away from the team turned into a week. He’s back now, but hopefully it will not push back his preparation for the season.
At least last season, the Mets started at full health, and the injury curse hit them continually throughout the year. This year they won’t even break camp with the full team intact. Not a good sign for Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel, who need a stoing start to keep their jobs. And not a good sign for us Mets fans, who need a strong start to get the awful taste of 2009 out of out mouths.
On the bright side, Johan Santana says he felt good following his first exhibition start. David Wright is looking like the Wright of old, driving the ball with authority. And John Maine says he is pain-free. Promising younsters Ike Davis and Jenry Mejias are tearing it up, but they will likely still start the season in the minors. However, it’s nice to know there’s help waiting down on the farm if the Mets falter.
Losing Reyes for the start of the season is definitely a setback, but his condition is not dire. Once doctors find the appropriate treatment, he should be fine. And then the Mets can work on figuring out how to break this curse.