In the news business, you never want to bury the lead.
You never want your readers or viewers to think that a story is about one thing while putting the really juicy nugget of information somewhere down below where no one is going to see it.
Basically, you don't want to do what everyone did with Sandy Alderson's comments about Jose Reyes on Tuesday.
Everywhere you looked on Tuesday afternoon, people were leading with the announcement that Reyes had no interest in discussing a contract extension with the Mets during the season.
It sounds juicy, but making a big deal about it makes about as much sense as going crazy about the fact that Barack Obama is going to run for a second term.
It's the normal order of things and thus it is not newsworthy in any way, shape or form. Alderson did say something a lot more interesting when continuing to discuss Reyes' future, however.
"I think if we’re in it, it would be hard for me to see us trading Jose Reyes," Alderson said. "I don’t think being out of it dictates anything. In Jose’s case, it’s kind of a one-off situation. Whether we are winning or losing at that point is a lot less relevant in Jose’s case."
Reyes saying he doesn't want to negotiate during the season tells you nothing other than that he understands how free agency works, but Alderson just showed a bit more of his hand than we have ever seen before.
Trading Reyes, the thing that no one wants to see happen, is clearly Plan B (perhaps it is even Plan C or D) and that's a positive development because it means keeping him long term is still part of the discussion.
That wasn't the case when Fred Wilpon's big article came out and it hasn't felt like something more than a long shot at any other point this season. The Mets are letting everyone know that it is something more than that and, by virtue of asking to open talks, that it is something they want to do.
Local
Could Reyes still wind up getting traded before the year is out? Sure, but it certainly sounds like Alderson would need to get the kind of return the Rangers got for Mark Teixeira in 2007.
Seeing as how Neftali Feliz and Elvis Andrus helped lead Texas to the World Series last year, you could probably make your peace with that deal. But that offer isn't out there right now and if it doesn't come the Mets aren't going to simply take what they can get.
That's the news of the day and it is very good news indeed.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City. You can follow him on Twitter and he is also a contributor to Pro Football Talk.
