Shortstop Ruben Tejada Has Been On A Downward Trend Since May

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• Nester September 9, 2012 at 11:29 am

  He doesn’t hustle, he doesn’t run out grounders, and he’s dead weight in terms of speed at the top of the lineup. We need speed at the top of the order ans someone who can get on base at a better rate than Tejada. He really should be batting eighth but we have too many other worthy candidates to bat that low in the lineup. This team has no power and can ill afford to have so many weak options like Tejada, Thole, Bay, Torres and Murphy all in the the lineup at the same time.
  • Kevin September 9, 2012 at 11:54 am

    Tejada is just a placeholder until Flores is here next season! Then he’ll be a good utility guy for us.
    • Superhero September 9, 2012 at 12:01 pm

      Yeah, no. Flores is not a shortstop anymore. Ideally, he wouldn’t even be a second basemen, but that’s likely the only position where he’d have a future with the Mets. But he’s not gonna be a shortstop, he doesn’t have the range for it.
    • Tommy2cat September 10, 2012 at 9:29 pm

      Kevin: Why doesn’t your article mention Tejada’s very debilitating injury to his head and hamstring that he suffered earlier in the year? Did you forget about that, or do you think that the one month layoff while he recovered from a hamstring injury had no impact on his performance at all?

      I think Met fans forget that Ruben Tejada is only 22 years old, he’s not Jose Reyes, has a very even temperament, a very steady glove and has exceeded expectations at the plate. Instead of criticizing him, we should be counting our blessings that – at least at shortstop – this team is very well represented.

      We are very fortunate to have Ruben Tejada.
• Mark September 9, 2012 at 12:09 pm

  The real question is whether the Mets are any closer to figuring out whether Tejada is a player that can withstand the rigors of playing for a full season. I definitely don’t believe or see that this is a matter of Ruben not being able to adapt to being pitched differently. Tejada, just like Reyes before him, has a tendency to get in slumps after driving the ball for a homerun or long double by overswinging. The problem is that Tejada missed nine weeks in the first half and yet still has worn down as season has progressed. So is this a matter of someone who can’t withstand a starting role for a full season or is this a matter of Tejada being so young that he just needs to build his strength and endurance. So what have the Mets learned from this year? Wright’s decline in power in second half makes me question his conditioning. Is it just me or does it look like he’s had warning track power in the second half? I’m squarely in the re-sign Wright camp but for how many years. Part of his problem is lack of protection in the lineup but his conditioning concerns me. Ike couldn’t put in work to get ready for season due to health concerns so I feel better about him overall but it concerns me that he doesn’t even know what his batting stance is going to be and unlike Wright whose defense has gotten better, Ike’s defense has not been consistent. We have no outfield. The starting pitching we have Harvey and question marks. Can Dickey repeat this year? Jonathan Niese has taken a step forward but how big a step? He is still prone to the big inning. What do we have in Johan, an overpriced over the hill starter or given a winter’s rest a top of the rotation starter? So my question is this, was this a lost year for the Mets? What questions have been answered?
• Mr North Jersey September 9, 2012 at 12:43 pm

  Tejada has recently fallen off since the start of the season hitting .169 over his last 18 games. He was bound to get both a little tired and slump eventually. That it took him till Aug 18 to really drop off is a testament to how good a season he’s had. From the All Start break till Aug 17th his BA was still decent hitting above .300. He actually was off to a hot start in August hitting .333 over his 1st 15 games with a .826/OPS.

  I can’t dismiss the possibility of a sophomore slump or teams catching up to him either now or at some point down the road but as far as this season goes up until about 3 weeks ago he had been having a very solid season.
• Met Maniac September 9, 2012 at 1:01 pm

  Hey Lerner, wait until BMF gets a load of this? You should of waited until Monday to post this when it would have gotten quite the reception.
  • Des September 9, 2012 at 1:27 pm

    Maniac — Ruben supporters will appreciate my analysis too. Sometimes they confuse Ruben with Elvis Andrus or even Jose or Troy.
• Des September 9, 2012 at 1:22 pm

  Ruben Tejada was never meant to be a star shortstop in my opinion. His New York fandom blew his talent out of proportion to his contribution. But he’s better than I had originally projected and he has grown on me. Offensively he has a nice sense of timing at the bat if he stays within himself. In the past month I’ve notice Ruben developing a slight uppercut to give more air to his flyballs. This has hurt him because he really doesn’t have much power. So where does he fit offensively when compared with other guys in MLB playing SS? His AVG ranks 12; his OBP is 13; and his SLG is 33, reflecting a good AVG with little power. Ruben is not fast on the bases (2 out of 4 SB attempts) but his feel for the game defensively sometimes compensates for his average quickness. He might ‘play’ quicker than he really is. His Fld% is about average for the league but his Range Factor is less than average.
  • Metsie September 9, 2012 at 1:36 pm

    For all intents and purposes Tejada is a first year starter!

    In two years he will get conditioned to be strong an entire season that is if we don’t trade him for some other kid who will have to take 3 years to get conditioned and stay strong an entire season 4 years from now!
• Joey D. September 9, 2012 at 2:44 pm

  Questioning Tejada’s future as the Mets shortstop never entered my mind and it still doesn’t but the comments made do raise the point of his lack of speed and the element of the game that Jose Reyes brought to the table.

  Jose did cause the pitcher and defensive shift to be on it’s toes, an advantage to his team who’s worth can easily be under-estimated. He can help create a run in ways that Tejada can not. But not wanting Jose back with Tejada in the wings still cannot be seen as a bad move in itself if it extended into re-investing the money saved into other areas. Then, whatever Ruben was that Jose wasn’t would be a fair enough trade-off considering we did not create a hole at short and plugged up a hole somewhere else.

  But it wasn’t. So the question is, would one want the younger Ruben Tejada straight up for a 29 year old Jose Reyes? Consider that Reyes is second in the league with stolen bases and tied for league leads in triples.

  The fatigue issue might be the same as with Murphy and this seems to be a common trend to young players – as we’ve seen with Harvey and Stasburg actually being shut down (no opinion intended). But it’s also interesting to note that for at least this season, Reyes is also second in the league in plate appearances and at bats.

  Again, if the money was re-invested in other areas this past winter then deciding to not attempt re-signing Jose wouldn’t be seen in the light of now it being literally Jose straight up for Ruben.
• Matt September 9, 2012 at 7:07 pm

  Tejada is just nothing special. He can be a starter, but he’s not a top of the order hitter.
• sarge69 September 10, 2012 at 12:31 am

  Well I guess all those Jose detractors can go back to complaining about someone else since Tejada has shown himself to be a good field/poor hit SS so far.
  How many were posting on blogs, writing article in paper about Jose, Who?

  Yeah well now it is Ruben, Where have you gone?

  Sorry but he is young and missed time early in season so why should he be tired?

  He provides no speed, no xtra base power, no SB’s, can’t adjust to pitchers adjustments to him so what does he bring to lineup?
  He is a better hitting Bud Harrelson but he is not a top of the order hitter but as someone else stated here, the Mets have so many bottom of the order guys, Torres, Thole and Tejada so where do Mets hide him because an upgrade at C has to come and CF needs to be better also going into next year so maybe batting 8th will be for him, maybe.
• Alex68 September 10, 2012 at 9:17 am

  Craig, weren’t you the one who did an article back in may about reyes versus tejada??
• alan September 10, 2012 at 9:45 am

  When are the fans of this team going to be satisfied or better still be realistic about what a 162 game schedule is? Like it or not, the season is 20 games too long! Players for the most part get used to it after a few seasons. Other than catchers, middle infielders get beat up more than the other position players. It’s a fact of life! Tejada has had a wonderful season even with this slump….showing his defensive skills and his baseball smarts. He may not be the offensive catalyst that Jose Reyes can be but he has shown no inclination to make some of the awful bonehead mistakes that Reyes made at times. He is still hitting around .290 and his stamina should improve.

  Here is another thought…..Ruben Tejada came into this season with a lot to prove. Many of the fans were just waiting to circle like vultures if Sandy’s decision to let Reyes walk had Tejada failed as the full time shortstop. Don’t think that a young player waiting in the wings to replace an iconic player in the jungle of NY can’t feel the pressure that must weigh on his psyche!

  Don’t under estimate the NY factor either! Imagine what it is like to be riding to the ballpark at 4 PM and have to listen to that :”Prince of Parmesan” bashing your team every day !
• alan September 10, 2012 at 12:12 pm

  To Metsie and Met Maniac….

  Like most Met fans I have been disappointed and angry with the way the Wilpon’s have done things over the years. They spent loads of money trying to catch up to the Yankees which is
  not going to happen. They gave free reign to Omar Minaya who made lots of good moves and a few disastrous ones. I understood why they signed Olive Perez. His upside was better than what was available on the FA market at the time. When Perez refused to go the minors, the SOB should have been cut immediately. Letting him stay and continue to flounder while taking up a roster spot was a bad move. The Wilpon’s screwed up with Citi Field and perhaps the biggest mistake was the money spent on the SNY network that created a huge amount of debt with the hope of emulating the Yankee’s YES network and the money it makes. So, the bottom line is that Fred and Jeff have been less than philanthropic to the fans. The seating prices were ridiculous at first but by necessity have been lowered some.

  Sandy A was handed the reigns to do a number of things. Hiring him was an admission by the Wilpon’s that they needed a guy that could slash payroll and yet rebuild an organization within 3-5 years that could be a playoff contender. Sandy’s plan was to do it by trading AND not resigning his injury prone players for young prospects. What are you going to say if Zack Wheeler and Matt Harvey end up being the stud arms that we so desperately need ?

  Why do you assume that David Wright won’t be resigned? Players hold the cards these days so that they can maximize their earnings. David will get his just due! Count on it!

  In so far as me kissing Sandy’s butt…..I don’t kiss anyone’s butt, however I am smart enough to know that a GM in his position needs that 3-5 years to fix the kind of mess that he inherited. The truth is that you guys are not being truthful about the talent this team has and the talent it needs to get better. In recent weeks we have seen the bullpen acquisitions, Francisco and Rauch show some good results. This bullpen will continue to get better but it needs to get 7 innings out of the starters on most nights. They have had far too many appearances as a group. Josh Edgin has shown flashes. Parnell, the Ramirez guys and Acosta will not all be here next year.

  Patience is not something you guys show at all…so grow up and stop all the b.s. about how the money is being spent. FIRST OFF….it’s not your money and SECOND…..having a budget to adhere to means no more QUICK FIX moves that saddle the team financially with bad contracts on the dream that if everything goes right…that maybe we might get to the playoffs!

  THIS IS NOT A FANTASY BASEBALL LEAGUE WHERE YOU PRETEND YOU KNOW MORE THAN THE BOSS!
  • Metsie September 10, 2012 at 12:16 pm

    “Sandy A was handed the reigns to do a number of things”

    Ok lets for a second take that at face value Alan….

    Tell me who is going to be on payroll in this 3-5 years you expect Sandy to have Part two (Playoffs) completed?

    Who is going to be the pieces that make Part two possible?

    Please don’t just say Wheeler and Harvey because we saw was Generation K did and it wasn’t enough to just have two or three good young starters.

    Please name the potential lineup in 3-5 years and tell me how they are going to get to the playoffs and who is going to replace who around here to make that happen?
  • Metsie September 10, 2012 at 12:19 pm

    And you know many of us have as much if not more baseball experience than even Sandy had when he got into baseball…

    Smart people don’t always wind up doing the job they CAN do they do the job they LIKE to do!

    Just because someone is a baseball GM doesn’t mean they know more than anyone who is NOT!

    If that were the case then no one would have been a GM past the first 20 years of MLB Existence!
  • Bayonne Mets Fan September 10, 2012 at 12:25 pm

    What mess did he inherit? If not for Ike Davis and Chris Young getting hurt in 2011 who knows how deep into Sept the Mets would have stayed in it. Beltran may never have been moved, the Mets would have made money by being relevant in September. But they got hurt and Alderson gave up mighty quickly – just ask RA Dickey.

    Then Alderson gave up again this year, he didn’t even TRY. Which makes me go back to the way I was thinking back during his first off season – my theory was the man thought he had chance to compete and barely made a move. No trades and nothing but filler.
    And that’s the way he practically handled last off season too. Except for the Pagan for Ramirez/Torres trade (which I originally liked) – it backfired and his decisions on the bullpen backfired too.

    So he has done nothing to help in 2 years when in both years if him and his other 2 cronies (Depo & Ricciardi) were able to come up with some creative trades and some smart signings like other teams had done then maybe the Mets would have contended more both years.

    You can’t contend if you don’t try. But like i always say about sabermetrics – it is best used to try and evaluate marginal ballplayers and that’s exactly what Alderson has done – get this team marginal ballplayers while for 2 straight seasons almost on a daily basis readers here would be reading about other teams getting good players at reasonable prices and wondering why the Mets didn’t go after that guy. It’s been almost a daily thing the last 2 off seasons.

    So not only has Sandy done a BAD job being creative with whatever money he has him and his 2 cronies have not even been able to get creative and make trades as well. The last 2 offseasons have been the least trading activity that i can remember the Mets ever having.
• Bayonne Mets Fan September 10, 2012 at 3:07 pm

  I can imagine what people would have said if Bud Harrelson, Rey Ordonez, or Rafael Santana all came up and replaced Jose Reyes.

  I NEVER said Ruben would be comparable to Jose and anybody who does is nuts. Ruben is hitting much better than I thought he would, especially so soon and I am satisfied with his game.
  Harrelson, Ordonez, & Santana were not base stealers either but they were part of units that all went to the World Series and that’s all that matters.

  Fix the OF, fix the bullpen, get a solid catcher and hey if the team wants to get a full time star SS and move Ruben back to 2B i’m good with that, then use Murph/Duda in a package deal along with a minor league pitcher or 2 and try to fill the other holes.

  But I’m happy with Ruben, he is what he is and hitting BETTER than what i thought he would be doing. Never expected him to be Jose Reyes and anybody who did doesn’t know squat about baseball.

  To me Ruben Tejada and Ike Davis are not your major issues right now – there are other holes to fill in order to make this a contending team. Those 2 are part of the solution as far as I’m concerned.
  • TRS86 September 11, 2012 at 8:43 am

    I agree and honestly there aren’t many star SS and teams show every year you can win without those anyway. Give me strong defense and a guy that can play baseball in that position, one that can move runners over, get a big hit now and then, not strike out, a guy that can bat in the #2 spot or 7/8. Moving him to 2B would be fine if the kid we drafted in a couple of years or someone else in the system forces their way but for now Ruben is the least of our issues.

    We need an OF, period. I will concede to one more year of Duda in the OF as long as it’s LF but in all reality they need to bring in 2 more OF, one has to bat RH and have at least some pop. Catcher has to be a priority and I am not that upset with MR. can’t catch a flyball Shoppach for now as the market gets even worse. We just can’t start the season with Thole and scrubs. As for the pen, I honestly think by default it will be better next year. I do not think they should spend any money that amounts to anything bringing in new guys. I would love to be able to ditch FFF and go with Rauch and Edgin to share the closer role but I guess that is too much to ask.