gamesmanship

A Wet Infield Isn’t Going to Stop Jose Reyes These Days

Photo: Kevin C. Cox/2011 Getty Images
Photo: Kevin C. Cox/2011 Getty Images

Jose Reyes doesn’t know for sure whether the Turner Field grounds crew intentionally soaked the infield last night to gain a competitive advantage. (Or at least, if he did, he didn’t say so. When asked, he smiled and said, “I don’t know,” adding, “It was pretty wet.”) It was the wettest he’d ever seen it in Atlanta, he said, and it was wet enough that the Mets filed a complaint to Major League Baseball afterward because they considered the conditions a safety issue. Indeed, Reyes slipped three times during the game last night. But he also stole two bases — so much for slowing him down — and went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in the 4–3 win that moved the Mets into third place in the National League East. Still, at least one unnamed Met, talking to the Daily News, said that he thinks the Braves knew exactly what they were doing. “That was definitely done on purpose,” the player said. “You think the infield is that wet if they had a big base stealer?”

A Wet Infield Isn’t Going to Stop Jose Reyes These Days