Please Shut Jose Reyes Down Already

An article by Doug Branch    6 Comments

Every athlete, professional, amateur, or the weekend warrior, should have the final say on how to deal with a debilitating injury.  After all options are presented and digested, they steadfastly must have the final say. 
 
Baseball always points the doubters to the case of J.R. Richard, the former Astros pitcher who suffered a career ending stroke years ago when Houston management was suspicious he was jaking it.  He showed them didn’t he?
 
With that said, one final word on the nightmare campaign of Jose`Reyes.  ENOUGH!
 
You have had four months of rest and rehabilitation and how has that satiated the goal to return to action?  Now with the season about to be placed in mothballs you sing the same old song.
 
Forgetaboutit, Jose’, it’s time to mull Plan B.  That is going under the knife (disregard the sanctimonious speech above-he’s had ample time to recover according to his time table) .  Obviously, the current course of rehab has not worked. 
 
How long do you give the tear in your hamstring the opportunity to heal naturally before you call the true MVP of the Mets, team doctor David Alchek, and check into the Hospital for Special Surgery?  Get the anesthesiologist on the phone already.
 
Because there comes a time when all else fails you hop aboard the operating table and get patched up.  That is if you wish to continue to command large pay checks as a professional.  If not, go play softball with all the weekenders in Central Park for beer and friendship.
 
Would it not make sense to get cut now, then heal and be ready for spring training in 2010?  Or, continue in a holding pattern and then have the operation deep into the winter and put the beginning of next season in jeopardy.  Talk about adding insult to injury.
 
At this juncture I’m baffled.  Maybe he’s deathly afraid of needles (tell him you feel more when you have your bi-annual teeth cleaning).  I would think he’s fed up with rest, rehab, and trainers already, and wants it over with.
 
Moreover, the risk of playing in the final five games far outweighs the reward: piece of mind. What if he tears the muscle in two? He seems to be content with waiting and waiting and hoping one day he wakes up and the leg is 100% again. 
 
Is that realistically possible?  This makes no sense.   
 
The Mets medical staff is at it again.  Cue the circus music.  They have given Reyes all the latitude in the world to heal his way.  That has resulted in more hot-tub time than the guests at Canyon Ranch.  Enough.  Lay it on the line: the only way to truly heal the leg at this juncture is to sew the muscle back together. 
 
Offer him unlimited ice cream post-op.  Free comic books, too.  It might be his body but it’s our uniform.