Reyes On His Batting

John Delcos at Lo Hud, writes about Jose Reyes and him not feeling comfortable at the plate:

Jose Reyes is hitting .310, but said he’s not comfortable at the plate, especially from the left side.

“I’m opening up and trying to pull everything,’’ Reyes said. “I don’t feel good. I’m not at the point where I want to be. … I’m not driving the ball into the gaps. Once you see me do that, you can say, `he’s back.’ ’’

Reyes got off to a quick start and was hitting .370 on April 22. Nobody expected him to keep that pace and his average dropped to .356 by the end of the month. No need for alarm, especially with the Mets continuing to win. However, he slid through the month, hitting .268 for May and finishing at a .310 average.

Said Willie Randolph: “He’s being overly aggressive. He is getting out too much in front, and when you’re doing that you can’t go the other way.’‘

Two to Go

Ken Davidof at On The Mets Beat, writes about the Mets and who is yet to shave their heads:

By late Tuesday, only two Mets had yet to take their turn in the barber's chair. Tom Glavine had his head shaved immediately after the Mets' 4-1 win over the Giants, as did Aaron Heilman.That left only Aaron Sele and Jose Reyes as the two remaining holdouts on the 25-man roster.

Sele at least had a plausible excuse, saying that he had to fly to LA on Thursday for a family photo session. For that, his teammates were willing to give him a pass, but he should expect to go bald or go home when he returns to Shea on Friday. The only other holdout was Jose Reyes, who did not provide a reason.

Reyes said before the game he would submit to the razor, but did not after batting practice and played with his full head of hair intact. Even manager Willie Randolph tried to get Reyes into the chair Tuesday afternoon, but the shortstop refused. Not sure what's going on with that, but it's probably a good idea if Reyes joins his teammates.

Oops...

Marty Noble at Mets.com, writes about Jose Reyes and the picture that appeared on his at bat:

Evidently, that saying applies to slumps, as well. The three-run home run Wright hit in the ninth inning against the Diamondbacks Thursday night was his lone hit in 18 at-bats in the series. Five hits in nine at-bats in the last two games against the Marlins last week had raised Wright's average to .273. He began the series in San Francisco batting .239.

Defence Gives Up The Game

Marty Noble at Mets.com, writes about the loss last night to Barry Zito and the Giants:

Their 9-4 loss Monday night was nothing less than a comprehensive kaput that included errors on successive plays, an unfavorable call and nine runs -- all in one inglorious inning. The Mets have played uglier innings, though none readily come to mind.

Bonds played a bit part in the overwhelming inning -- he walked and scored -- and Zito, in his first appearance against the Mets, emerged as the winning pitcher in a pedestrian six-inning performance.

It was Bengie Molina, the catcher with a surname all-too-familiar to the Mets, who did them in. "Another give-away game," Willie Randolph called it, and no one questioned his assessment.

Perez -- like Zito, 3-3 -- allowed five hits and two walks in his 4 2/3-inning workday. Zito was responsible for seven of the Mets' 10 hits and three of their four runs. Urdaneta, who had reduced his career ERA from infinity to 81.00 Sunday, retired one batter Monday night, and even with the one run he allowed, he reduced it again -- to 63.00.

Otherwise, the Mets did little in the first of their 13 games in California this season. David Wright had two hits and might have had a third if not for Omar Vizquel. Easley and Green had two hits each that didn't offset their defense. And they all fell victim to the "other" Giants. "[Bonds is] not the only one," Randolph said. "We held him, and look what happened."

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Reyes Gets Player Of The Month

Gregor Chisholm at Mets.com, writes about Jose Reyes and the award he received for the month of April:

Shortstop Jose Reyes is the engine that makes the Mets offense run. Batting leadoff, it's the 23-year-old's responsibility to jumpstart one of the National League's most powerful offenses.

And that's exactly what Reyes did in the first month of the 2007 season. After finishing April with a .356 average and scoring 26 runs, Reyes was voted the Sharp Presents the National League Player of the Month. It's the first time Reyes has received the honor during his three-year career.Entering Wednesday's action, Reyes led the Major Leagues with 17 stolen bases and five triples. He's on pace to threaten the Mets single-season record for triples (21) set by Lance Johnson in 1996.

Met Kleptos

At Rotoworld, they write about Carlos Beltran, jose Reyes and them stealing two bases each last night:

Carlos Beltran stole a pair of bases and added two of the Mets' 13 hits in an 8-1 defeat of the Phillies on Tuesday.

Jose Reyes also had two hits and a pair of stolen bases, giving him a major league-leading eight. Every Met starter reached base at least once, and all but Carlos Delgado and Paul Lo Duca scored or drove in a run. The club is out to a fast 8-4 start.

Reyes Flexing

John Delcos at Lo Hud, writes about Jose Reyes and what he's done to improve his game:

I walked by Jose Reyes this morning, made a fist and pointed to my biceps. He knew what I was thinking and laughed. This really is a fun guy to cover.

He homered in the IS game yesterday and knows every time he goes deep the questions will be asked. How can they not be after he's bulked up?

"I am stronger, but home runs aren't part of my game," he said. "I need to get on base."

Willie Randolph said Reyes could increase his walks, and thereby his on-base percentage, with a few more home runs. Randolph's logic is if Reyes shows power, opposing pitchers might work around him more.

Reyes tends to agree and said his goal this year is to further increase in on-base percentage.