I read the papers, same as the next guy. I hear all the doom and gloom from my favorite Mets MSM writers: Adam Rubin, Steve Popper, Marty Noble and Andy McCullough. Every day, it’s a done-deal that Jose Reyes is going…somewhere. San Francisco? Detroit? Milwaukee? Boston? Miami? Yep, might as well resign myself to the fact that Jose’s a goner. It’s in print, right there.
At the beginning, I was Mr. Woe-Is-Me. “It’s Seaver all over again,” I wailed. “It’ll be so hard to root for this team! It’ll be just like the late-70’s! We’re cursed!” I steeled myself for the inevitable press conference with Reyes in some foreign headgear and tunic. My greatest, only hope was that he would sign quickly, anywhere but the Bronx or Philly. I started getting ready for a double-play combo of Tejada-to-Murphy-to-Davis. Not really a trio to prick anyone’s gonfalon bubble, but it would be what we were left with. It was pretty unbearable, until I read the fine print.
You see, in every article speculating on Reyes’s landing spot, the lead would mention the destination, then four paragraphs would follow, telling why it probably wasn’t a fit. The Giants simply can’t afford him. The Tigers don’t want to be top-heavy in salary, having to pay Reyes on top of Miguel Cabrera and Cy Young/MVP winner Justin Verlander. The Brewers won’t sign him if they want to keep Prince Fielder, and besides, they already have a shortstop. The Red Sox need to get their new GM’s feet wet and hire a field boss before they entertain a big-ticket free-agent signing such as Reyes. Miami has made a lot of noise about Jose, Albert Pujols and Mark Buehrle, but haven’t yet ponied up a dime to anyone yet – I won’t take them seriously until someone signs an agreement. And all of this is detailed in the same articles that detail his leaving. Seems to me, the more time goes on, the more teams that were thought to be “in on” Reyes fall by the wayside.
I think he’ll end up back in Queens by process of elimination. It has been noted that he’s looking for at least $20 million per year (average annual value) and at least a six-year guaranteed contract. So far, we haven’t heard anybody offer more than four years. My prediction is that nobody is going to bite for that magic sixth year. It doesn’t make sense for anybody, not even the Mets. If there is a squad out there willing to go six years/$120 million, well…mazel tov. But George Steinbrenner’s dead and Ted Turner is no longer an owner.
And when Jose takes the podium in Flushing, all my favorite writers will have known it all along.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING, FROM MY FAMILY TO YOURS. 
I like it!
However, I feel I have to point out that you didn’t de-bunk why the Phillies won’t sign him.
Ok, here goes: they’re afraid the clubhouse will blow up if both Reyes and Victorino are on the same team.
I don’t worry about Reyes. He has a WAR value of 19.7M over the past 6 years which includes his injury years. So his past value over 5 years is 98.5M He is at prime age. His WAR value with two times on the DL in 2011 was 27.8M. Players at his age average a .5 reduction in WAR every year so Jose under this scenario should be worth 105.75M over 5 years (25.65M+23.4M+21.15M+18.9M+16.65M=105.75). The object in baseball is to develope your talent and pay them their fair market value when they reach free agency. (Are we waiting for Wheeler, Harvey, Davis or Niese to develope to their full potential only to trade them when they reach free agency?) So Jose is at least worth 98.5 – 105.75 over 5 years and maybe a little more when you factor in his value to this franchise. If someone wants to substantially overpay then so be it. (jayson Werth type) but if the Mets can’t pay fair market value then maybe the Wilpon’s should sell the team.