Well here it is, the end of the day on Saturday, but still no Ruben Tejada. But fear not, Terry Collins said that his young shortstop arrived at 3:00 PM.
Collins added that he has planned a meeting with Tejada for 8:00 AM on Sunday morning and that he doesn’t plan to embarrass him, but will let him know of his disappointment and what his expectations are for him moving forward. I guess you can call it what it is; a closed-door and clear-the-air type meeting.
Original Post 2/24
Ruben Tejada seems to have overtaken Copter-gate as the lead story from Mets camp today. Here’s what’s coming in from the beat:
Collins had proposed to Tejada to work out in Port St. Lucie in November with organization strength coach Jason (“Nitro”) Craig. Then, the manager suggested, Tejada could go home to Panama for the holidays and return to the Mets’ Florida complex in mid-January to get a very early start with new double-play partner Daniel Murphy. Not only did Tejada not follow through with the voluntary suggestions, he also largely was unreachable by team personnel during the offseason. ~ ESPN New York
But in the interim, his manager cannot contain his disappointment at Tejada’s visa-related delay in leaving his native Panama. For the second consecutive camp, Terry Collins expressed his displeasure that one of his infielders did not report to camp before the designated date this weekend. Collins explained his feelings were due to “my own selfishness,” but made his opinion obvious. “I take great pride in the game itself, and respecting the game itself,” Collins said. “And I wish everybody had the same respect for it, that they wanted to get started as early as possible.” ~ Star Ledger
Keep in mind that Tejada is not late. He is delayed in Panama while trying to obtain his visa, but he expects to arrive in Florida on or before Saturday’s report date.
Still, Collins seems ticked off. “I didn’t spell it out; I pretty much suggested to get down here early,” Collins said Wednesday. “I probably should have spelled it out.”
