The Spark Speaks
Written by Benny B.   
Thursday, 17 December 2009 10:20

Jose Reyes sat down with Mike Francessa on WFAN for almost an hour yesterday and talked about everything ranging from his injury plagued 2009 season, his love for the game, his coaches, who he loves/hates to hit against, possible additions to his team and of course, the Phillies.  Here are some gems from the interview:

victorino_090903"[The Phillies] always have something to say about me...I never talk about them...I love playing against them.

They're mad cause I hit a home run and put my finger up.  In the playoffs Victorino did the same thing.  When you are in the game, you don't think about that stuff, it just happens.

Even when they win the World Series they talk about us!  Why?"

To listen to the entire interview, click here and play the Jose Reyes audio segment.

It was a really good interview (even for Mike Francessa, for whom I detest).  Forgetting all the "team to beat", and hot stove speculations for a moment, I really miss watching this kid play.  Regardless of one's opinion of how good a player he is, one thing is for certain: He is one of the lightning rods for this rivalry.  He makes the games more fun to watch; whether you love to love him, or love to hate him.

So, get well soon Jose.  Don't try to do too much too soon and re-injure yourself.  You are the spark that sets the Mets in motion.  We need you, and so does this rivalry.



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Comments (16)Add Comment
In the playoffs
written by leroy, December 17, 2009
They're mad cause I hit a home run and put my finger up. In the playoffs Victorino did the same thing.
in the playoffs, something reyes wouldnt have too much experience with right?

anyway its the same distinction thats made when football players go nuts after stopping someone for no gain on 1st down. hitting a homer is 1 thing. If you hit only 14 home runs during the season, and you pop a grand slam off the at-the-time untouchable cc sabathia, then go fucking streaking
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written by TeamToBeatMike, December 17, 2009
leroy i also prescribe to that theory. Mets fans don't.
....When you are in the game, you don't think about that stuff, it just happens.
written by Benny B, December 17, 2009
I guess you don't give too much weight to this rivalry. If you recall, Hypocrit-ino made a big stink about "the finger" after a loss to the mets. As far as I am concerned, all these mets/phills games (aside from maybe last year) have a playoff intensity to them. I have never been a pro-athlete, but I can't imagine any of them consciously weighing their celebratory outbursts based on the calendar date of a specific game. As he said, it just happens.

So if the theory you guys are subscribing to is that it's ok to "showboat", but only during the playoffs, it's a weak theory. Every game counts, and the most intense games are not limited to the playoffs.
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written by Matt Ryan, December 17, 2009
Looks like the Philadelphia celebration police are back. How do you guys feel about Desean Jackson's high stepping against the Giants?

This stuff is honestly ridiculous. First of all, the home run that Jose hit was in a HUGE spot. Is he supposed to not get excited and think to himself, oh wait, this isn't the playoffs, I can't celebrate. Thats a load of crap.

Personally, I could care less about any celebration unless it is a deliberate jab at the other team. Listen to Reyes' interview. He is a genuine kid who loves the game.
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written by Benny B, December 17, 2009
Deliberate jab at another team? Like literally elbowing an opponents ribs after running out of the baseline? Or how about clapping and pointing into the opponents dugout after scoring a run?

Dam that Jose Rey....oh wait, who was that again?
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written by TeamToBeatMike, December 17, 2009
how can you say that the moments of the respective games were remotely the same? Playoff grand slam off Sabathia vs. regular season rivalry home run. Granted the rivalry is huge, but it exists on a much larger scale to you and me than it ever will on the field.

it's simple: if I hit a home run against princeton to take the lead in the bottom of the eight, i'm not so much smiling. if I homer in the ivy league championship off the pitcher of the year to take a big league i might throw a hand up when it goes out [probably wouldn't anyway] then immediately back down. Not get to second base with it.

regardless, both Reyes and Victorino are like yipping little dogs to opposing fans. it's just that Victorino is less of one than Reyes. So there. And you thought I was going to take the high road...
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written by TeamToBeatMike, December 17, 2009
Benny please, please, please tell me you're not serious about this deliberate jab thing. It's baseball 101, forget that it's baseball 001 -- when in rundown: get interference. If we got a room full of every baseball manager from today back to 1897, EVERY SINGLE ONE of them would agree it was a great baseball play. That's irrefutable. Only someone looking to gripe about Shane could misconstrue it.
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written by Benny B, December 17, 2009
I don't blame him for trying. I blame the umps for calling it defensive interference. He was clearly out of the baseline and Jose was clearly trying to avoid him.

What about clapping and pointing into the Mets dugout? is that baseball 101 too?

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written by Matt Ryan, December 17, 2009
You didn't answer my question. Is Desean Jackson's high stepping ok?

It's not even worth arguing with Phillies fans about this. You act like your the Yankees and you've been in the postseason 50 times. Nobody is arguing that Victorino's moment wasn't bigger. But the HR Reyes hit was also a big moment, in front of 45,000 fans that hate him. For Victorino to openly criticize Reyes for it, and then go ahead and do the exact same thing in the postseason is 100% hypocritical.
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written by TeamToBeatMike, December 17, 2009
well that I can agree with, definitively a bad call.

clapping and pointing is just a representation of the fact that Jose & Shane are actually long lost brothers from the same Dominican/Hawaii mother.
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written by EastFallowfield, December 17, 2009
Victorino's HR in the playoffs was one of those you'll remember a long time if you're a Phillies fan, just like Mets fans remember, say, Robin Ventura's grand slam single.

I'll defy most Mets fans to remember anything about Reyes' HR (without the aid of google) other than maybe remembering what team he hit against and what ballpark it was in, if that.
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written by will.H, December 18, 2009
bad points all around. its like a cluster F of complaining. Look, baseball is and always will be different than football. Giants fans dont get upset when antonio pierce does a song n' dance after a sack because football is completely different. Also, DeSean had a beer tossed at him after a touchdown as he mentioned after the game.. yet no one even made a mention of it. No national media, no NBC color analyst and definitely no NY papers. Is it no a big deal or is it a double standard?

Also, the difference between Jose Reyes and Shane Victorino is clear. There are very few hotdogs in baseball history and no one has ever responded well to them. Shane is feisty, Jose is a hotdog. Both good players, yet Jose has an advantage is most offensive departments. Of course, you guys have other names for shane victorino but the difference between a .5 second finger in the air after a homerun that launches them to a World Series run and a July homer in the 6th inning then holding your finger up from 1st to 3rd is staggering.

We're talking about degrees, not black and white crap. Do we hate celebrations, no. sometimes the manor in which its done is irritating--and thats not a hard concept to understand.
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written by will.H, December 18, 2009
and uuuh, remind me, when was the last time a Phillie talked about the Mets? Jose is rehashing old stuff and citing the phillies 'talk about the mets.' Dude, you're bringing up the phillies.. whats up backwards logic
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written by Matt Ryan, December 18, 2009
"Choke Artists?" Remember that one? Cole was baited into saying that the same way Jose was baited into saying the Phillies talk about him. Listen to the interview if you don't believe me.

The hypocrisy from you guys is staggering. Neither guy is a hotdog. They just play the game with emotion. I've got no problem with it at all. It happens all over the league, but for whatever reason Jose has a bullseye on his head. If you really think Jose pointed his finger TO THE SKY to stick it to the phillies, I feel sorry for you. Especially considering Shane pointed AT THE METS DUGOUT one time after scoring a run. And I can guarantee you his target was Reyes.
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written by Matt Ryan, December 18, 2009
Honestly we're just gonna have to agree to disagree on this one. It's one of the most polarizing arguments among Mets/Phils fans and it really shouldn't be. I really believe Jose is a good kid, and for the most part he has the stats to back it up. At the very least you have to concede he has all the talent in the world. If he puts it all together he will be special.
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written by EastFallowfield, December 18, 2009
Don't believe the Phillies are the only people who have commented on Reyes' antics over the years.

And, of course, the Mets criticized the Phillies' celebration after a game in 2007 that preceded the later criticism of Reyes.

And, yeah, there was no big media firestorm after the multiple beer bottles hurled at the Eagles last Sunday.

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