MMO Links: Tejada Has Some Big Shoes To Fill

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• Alex68 February 23, 2012 at 10:31 am

  Tejada is a good kid and i hope he does well, i really like his makeup and character, with that being said, he may well struggle BIG TIME TRYING to fill the best player in franchise shoe’s.
  i would’ve LOVED to see him at 2B, reyes at SS for many years to come, that would’ve made our defense better than what it is now and a more competitive team..
• srt February 23, 2012 at 10:34 am

  If only Ruben had some speed. I’d try him as lead off hitter out of the gate.

  If Torres hits more like 2010, and Ruben gets on base more often than not further down in the order, this lineup could be very deep. Kind of getting tired of looking at the black hole at the bottom of the lineup.
  • Donal February 23, 2012 at 11:18 am

    Hey, if Tejada keeps that OBP over .350 (not likely but one can hope), he doesn’t need crazy speed. He wouldn’t need to run very fast if the middle of the order is planting balls in the bleachers anyway.
• Joey D. February 23, 2012 at 10:47 am

  That’s why Terry Collins sent Ruben down last year – so he could get more playing time rather than stay on the bench. Whether the back and forth call-ups hindered his development or not, I do not know. What his stats might have looked like is secondary.

  But let’s not get too excited about OBP compared to other middle infielders his own age. After all, Ron Swoboda hit 19 home runs his rookie year, more than Mays or Mantle (most coming the first two months of the season before pitchers picked up that he couldn’t hit a curve) and the last I noticed, he doesn’t have a plaque alongside those two in Cooperstown.

  But what happened to Ron was that he was called up too quickly because at that time a prospect not on the major league team after his first season could be taken by any other club. Fortunately that rule has been long since gone but again, whether having his playing time interrupted so often hindered Ruben or not, we do not know. We do know he made a lot of rookie mistakes at short in a small period of time last August.

  We shall see.
  • Metsie February 23, 2012 at 11:55 am

    IMO any kid under the age of 24 who does not have an everyday position to play should be sent down so that he does!

    The worst thing you can do for a kid’s development is to sit him and rot him on the bench!
    He loses all his sense reaction and learns just about nothing!
    Fans watch the games all the time and none of us have become a better hitter or fielder for doing that!
• Metsie February 23, 2012 at 10:56 am

  Well HoJo no offense to you but I don’t see what Tejada should have to fill Reyes shoes.
  I wouldn’t put that pressure on him for one, it’s unfair and two he is a different kind of player with the potential to be an Edgardo Alfonso type if he develops more power!
  • srt February 23, 2012 at 12:01 pm

    Good point. He shouldn’t be trying to fill Jose’s shoes. Let’s face it. We don’t have anyone in the organization ready to go who could possibly step into those shoes.

    Ruben’s the new SS, period. He’s not Jose’s replacement.
    • Joey D. February 23, 2012 at 3:31 pm

      Yes, and I hope the fans at Citi Field don’t take their frustration out on Ruben the first time he boots the ball or goes into a slump. That’s why The Mick was booed early in his career – he was supposed to be the next Joe DiMaggio. Fortunately, the late Bobby Murcer didn’t get booed because he didn’t become the next “Mickey Mantle” as was the hype.
• Jonathan February 23, 2012 at 5:55 pm

  Tejada Has Some Big Shoes To Fill… Do you mean dancing shoes? Jose is finally gone, a move years too late. Hopefully, Wright will be gone by the trading deadline. Can we PLEASE move on and look to the future. I’m interested in the TEAM winning a CHAMPIONSHIP. I couldn’t care less about fantasy stats, attendance, or the amount of money a burger is at the Shake Shack. Let’s focus on the correct equation of players that will create a winner. Instead of blaming the Wilpons, Citi Field’s dimensions, and every other petty offense. None of these matters take the field for 162 games unlike the circus of defensive errors the team currently has at 3rd base.
• alan February 24, 2012 at 9:39 am

  It is so unfair that Tejada will be judged in comparison to Jose Reyes. Ruben Tejada should do a very good job defensively for the Mets, but he will do it without the flair that Reyes had. Ruben showed some good signs at the plate in 2011 and that he could indeed hit .275 or better. He will never have the power that Jose had and he will never be the catalyst that Jose was. He can and will hopefully be a guy with a good eye at the plate and become a better bunter to help mover runners into scoring position.

  Leave him alone and he will do a good job being Ruben Tejada….