This is why I keep dumping on the Mets

I don't dislike the Mets.

I really don't.

I'm always kind of shocked by how they do business.

They have been handed an advantage that only the Yankees have (the New York market) and still they somehow manage to average 86 losses each of their first three seasons at CitiField.

Will 2012 be any different?

They had stretches of solid baseball last year but still just narrowly missed the 90 loss mark.

And at the trade deadline they pulled off a great deal, sending Carlos Beltran to the Giants for Zack Wheeler. Everyone knew Beltran was good as gone and they got one the Giants top pitching prospects.

But they held onto Jose Reyes.

Reyes was more valuable a chip than Beltran.

I questioned their sanity THEN.

If they wanted to sign him to a long term deal, then they could have traded him for a pair of prospects and then when he became a free agent, sign him. You get Reyes AND the prospects.

My friends who are Mets fans said that not signing him was a sign of loyalty and they were confident that Reyes would see it that way and he'd be in New York for a long time.

Well now reports are coming out that he will probably go to the Marlins.

Now mind you, I don't think signing Jose Reyes to a long term deal is a smart move. There is something about peaking on a walk season that strikes me as very J. D. Drew-esque.

And someone whose game is built on speed will be deep into his 30s during a long term contract. Never a good sign.

So in a way, having him walk could help the Mets spend the money wisely.

But they could have dealt him!

Unless they use their draft picks and snag a few stars, they will look back at the trade deadline when a player like Reyes could have been a difference maker and got a few other pieces to join Wheeler and build a new team up... and grind their teeth.