[EmpireWF]

Last night (for the second time in a matter of days), Jose Reyes failed to run out a ground ball. Making matters worse, he didn't even run at all. In the 8th inning in Houston, down by four runs, Reyes grounded to third. Mike Lamb got the ball and ran half way across the field before tossing the ball to first base. For some odd reason, Reyes stood in front of home watching the events unfold. Afterwards, he was pulled out of the game by Willie Randolph (for the second time in a matter of days).

Here are some quotes from the NY Daily News:

"The message is going to be loud and clear for anyone," Randolph declared. "It doesn't matter who it is. You don't get after it every day and bust your butt and play hard, you sit. That's all.

"He usually plays hard all the time. That's the key. Play hard all the time. Okay? There are times where you get a little frustrated when you pop a ball up. We've all been there. We've all done that. I'm not talking about that. But when you're the heart and soul of this team - and we all expect everyone to work hard and play hard - then I want to see the effort. I'm not going to tolerate that from anyone. Anybody who plays for me is going to know they're going to play hard, run hard."

Reyes took full responsibility afterward.

"I thought the ball was going to be foul, but you still have to run," Reyes said.

"It's my fault there, but that thing can happen to anybody. Hopefully it won't happen the next time.... He's the manager. He has the decision. It's okay. I saw Willie from the dugout. He said, 'C'mon in.' It's all right. He has to do whatever he has to do, because he's the boss. I run every time. If I don't run one time, it's not going to look good. Everybody here expects me to run (out) every ball hard. It was my fault there."