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Poor Lonely Jose

There's a good article in the New York Times today about Jose Reyes' rehab for his recurring hamstring injury. It paints a very sad picture of a lonesome Reyes longing to be with his team.

There's also some info about how the rehab is/should be handled. Thus far, it has been overseen by Mets' team physician Andrew Rokito. After reinjuring his hamstring during batting practice on March 31, the Mets gave Reyes permission to visit New Orleans-based fitness expert Mackie Shilstone, who has worked with other athletes' hamstring injuries. Reyes' agent Peter Greenberg urged his client to go, but Reyes elected not to, saying:

"I wanted to stay here where I'm relaxed. They do the best job here with me."

Okay, so the kid is comfy with the Mets training staff, no biggie. The article continues:

Shilstone has said he could have solved the problem at the root of Reyes's injury in three to seven days. But Rokito was dismissive of that assertion, noting it was made by someone who had not examined Reyes or studied his medical records.

"Where else in medicine can that take place?" Rokito said. "You would never have a medical expert making those statements from a thousand miles away."

"I've never met Mr. Reyes,'' Shilstone responded Wednesday night. "I was only speculating. But I sure did raise something that made them defensive, didn't I?''

Rokito brings up a good point, and it's clear that Shilstone was being purely speculative about the treatment of Reyes. If the Mets OK'd the visit and his agent thinks it's a good idea, someone should smack Jose upside the head and have him go see what the "expert" has to say.