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Ruben Tejada doing all the little things right in fast start
http://www.nj.com/mets/index.ssf/201...doing_all.html
NY Mets' Ruben Tejada shows he is in for the long stay at shortstop
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...#ixzz1rfIWF0h9
He's proving every day that it was the right move by the front office not to over pay for Reyes. He's not going to steal 30-40 bases or hit 10+ triples but he is a more heady player than Reyes and he's shown over the course of 400 ab's so far that he can hit for a good average and have a good OBP. Dollar for dollar, Alderson and Co. made the right move.
That mid-March episode seemed long ago last night as Tejada once again made exactly the type of contributions Collins envisioned in helping the Mets win another close game.
Batting in the leadoff spot, Tejada worked a walk in his first at-bat. He slapped a double to right in his third at-bat. In the field, he handled all his chances flawlessly.
And, as the Mets rallied for a run in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Nationals’ hard-throwing closer Henry Rodriguez, Tejada laid down a sacrifice bunt with two strikes that helped set up the winning run.
It was a clinic in the “little things” Collins has been pounding into this club since the third week in February. Playing the game hard is not going to be enough, the manager has said repeatedly. Playing the game right is going to be what gives this team a chance.
Batting in the leadoff spot, Tejada worked a walk in his first at-bat. He slapped a double to right in his third at-bat. In the field, he handled all his chances flawlessly.
And, as the Mets rallied for a run in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Nationals’ hard-throwing closer Henry Rodriguez, Tejada laid down a sacrifice bunt with two strikes that helped set up the winning run.
It was a clinic in the “little things” Collins has been pounding into this club since the third week in February. Playing the game hard is not going to be enough, the manager has said repeatedly. Playing the game right is going to be what gives this team a chance.
NY Mets' Ruben Tejada shows he is in for the long stay at shortstop
All of that notwithstanding, nobody has been more impressive or vital to the Mets’ early play than Tejada. Already he has practically removed all doubt about his ability to replace Reyes in rather seamless fashion.
Obviously he’s not as dynamic as Reyes, but all you have to do is watch him to know he’s a winning player. He can make all the plays at shortstop, make them smoothly, and he has great instincts for the game on offense as well as defense.
“He just knows how to play the game,’’ Collins said in the hallway outside his office after his postgame press conference. “I love the way he plays. When I got on him back in spring training, I wasn’t really (ticked) at him, I just wanted him to understand how important he was to this team, how important it was that we were all going to do this together this season.
Obviously he’s not as dynamic as Reyes, but all you have to do is watch him to know he’s a winning player. He can make all the plays at shortstop, make them smoothly, and he has great instincts for the game on offense as well as defense.
“He just knows how to play the game,’’ Collins said in the hallway outside his office after his postgame press conference. “I love the way he plays. When I got on him back in spring training, I wasn’t really (ticked) at him, I just wanted him to understand how important he was to this team, how important it was that we were all going to do this together this season.
He's proving every day that it was the right move by the front office not to over pay for Reyes. He's not going to steal 30-40 bases or hit 10+ triples but he is a more heady player than Reyes and he's shown over the course of 400 ab's so far that he can hit for a good average and have a good OBP. Dollar for dollar, Alderson and Co. made the right move.
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