HOUSTON – Jose Reyes is lucky he doesn’t have Billy Wagner meting out his punishment.
“I think speaking only as if I was the manager – not Willie – he wouldn’t play,” Wagner said before last night’s 5-3, 17-inning victory over Houston. “He wouldn’t play the next two games – no matter how bad we need him.
“Because you’re trying to build a leader, not try to build just a good ballplayer. You want leadership out there. You want a guy out there that people look at and respect because he’s playing 100 percent every game.
“Nobody’s going to respect him if he only shows up on certain games.”
Wagner said the veteran position players should speak with Reyes if they deemed it necessary, but Randolph said that rarely happens anymore because the game has changed.
The Mets closer called Reyes the team’s catalyst and stressed the 24-year-old was a great person, but he made no effort to hide his feelings on the subject.
“I love Jose to death,” Wagner said. “He’s a great ballplayer. But the way I was raised is you hit the ball, you run like hell. The umpires will tell you if it’s fair or foul.
“When you have that type of talent and you start to play that way, you become a prima donna. And when you’re a prima donna, it’s not fun to be around you.”
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Randolph said that in previous generations, players would police themselves to ensure everyone played the game right.
“You hardly see that any more,” Randolph said with regret. “And that’s the way it should be.
“When I played the game, Thurman Munson would jump my butt if he saw anything like that – or Roy White or one of those guys.
“So yeah, you don’t see much of that any more. And that’s unfortunate. That’s really where it should be taken care of, amongst your peers and amongst your teammates.”
Randolph said Moises Alou, who is still out with a sore left quadriceps, is an old-school player who probably would feel comfortable speaking up in those situations.
Third base coach Sandy Alomar Sr. spoke with Reyes in the dugout after he was pulled on Friday. And Reyes, still angry, didn’t seem totally receptive to the message, according to observers.
“I think Jose is fine,” Alomar said yesterday. “Jose is the type of guy, he’s just emotional sometimes. Sometimes he just loses control of his emotions. And a couple minutes later, he’s the same one again, he’s the same happy guy he was.
“It probably was the heat of the moment.”
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Left-hander Dave Williams likely will start today, according to Randolph. Sandy Alomar Jr. likely will be sent down to make room.