A visibly angry Jose Reyes lashed out at unnamed “people” for doubting his desire to rehab a torn right hamstring tendon.
The Mets shortstop, making a rare appearance at Citi Field to take part in the team picture, added that he hasn’t ruled out a return this season if he can run without pain in the next week or so.
Reyes, who has missed the past four months, admitted surgery would be an option if there is pain when he runs again.
But it is the perception that he has been lax with his recovery that prompted the most emotion as Reyes sat in the Mets’ empty clubhouse before the game with the Marlins.
“Sometime people think, ‘Oh, Reyes, he don’t want to play,’¤” he said, pausing briefly at one point as if choked up.
“Why do people think I don’t want to be on the field with my team? I love to play baseball. I like to be on the field. I like to have fun and enjoy the game. That’s what I do. I live for baseball.”
Part of Reyes’ self-perceived image problem is the fault of the Mets. Reyes said he knew he had torn the hamstring tendon during a rehab assignment June 3 in Port St. Lucie, but the team didn’t publicly confirm the seriousness of the injury until Aug. 28.
Reyes also admitted he shares some of the blame for pushing himself too hard to come back after the injury was initially diagnosed as calf soreness May 16 while the Mets were in San Francisco.
Reyes played an entire game three days later at Dodger Stadium and started the following night, but he aggravated the problem while running to first base and was pulled after three innings. He hasn’t appeared in a regular-season game since.
“Maybe I should have taken a little longer [to rest], but at that time I don’t think that way,” Reyes said. “I just think about my team and trying to help this team go to a championship.”
That desire is what is pushing Reyes to attempt one more comeback this season before considering surgery. An operation would sideline Reyes for about two months, allowing him to be back for the start of spring training if he had it done quickly.
Even though surgery right now would make sense (and would have made even more sense as soon as he tendon was torn in early June), Reyes isn’t conceding just yet.
“If I’m ready to play the last week of the season, I’m going to play the last week of the season,” he said.
Mets manager Jerry Manuel, who already has seen Carlos Beltran make an improbable late-season comeback with John Maine next in line Sunday, would be happy to add Reyes to the list.
“The more questions we can answer now as far as health issues go, the better off we’ll be in spring training,” Manuel said.
The problem for Reyes is that, while he can field ground balls and take batting practice, he still can’t run the bases without pain and admits he is “a little bit” afraid to sprint.
Reyes remains dismayed that the injury ended up consuming his season and contributing to the Mets’ dismal record.
“I never think that’s going to take me out that long,” he said. “But injuries are part of the game. It’s not an easy injury. People think it’s a normal hamstring injury, but there’s a tear there. That’s different, and it’s going to take a long time to heal.”