Our friend, Steve Popper, of The Record, writes about moving on, without Moises Alou, in his article, “Aloha Alou."
Click here
Alou is currently rehabbing, again. But Jerry Manuel acknowledged he’s preparing for Alou never returning.
"I probably have to plan that way," Manuel said. "But I would hope differently because he's such a tremendous hitter. I can't plan that that bat will be back in the fifth or sixth spot or fourth spot or wherever you put him in. But I can always hope for that to happen and that would be a tremendous pleasant surprise if it manifests that he's back in the lineup for an extended period of time."
Alou suffered a hernia at the start of spring and didn't return until May 2nd. He got 47 at bats in, hitting .340, but is injured again, now with a strained left calf. Another stint on the DL brought him back June 10th, then, after two at-bats he was feeling it again and was back on the DL. Manuel said he hasn't heard it from Alou or based it on medical evidence, but he believes that the frustration must be driving him to the end of his career.
"It's just that Moises, the tremendous warrior that he is, wants to play and I know how frustrating it is," Manuel said. "I've known him for a long time and how frustrating it's been for him. And there's got to be some thoughts of, 'I've had enough. This is to the point where it's not fun for me,' and somewhat embarrassing for him. That's why I have to think along the lines of him not being there.
"I think he's determined to get back. I think he wants to get back, but I do believe that if this happens in the fashion that it happened before, I think he'll have some serious problems, and he'll head to the house."
(Alou has a one year contract that expires after this season. The Mets cannot re-sign him, even though he can still hit. He’s too injury-prone. Manuel is smart to prepare for the rest of the season without Alou, and be pleasantly surprised if he returns. Omar needs to prepare for a roster without Alou, too.)
No comments:
Post a Comment