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NEW YORK -- Jose Reyes heard the boos when he was lifted for a pinch runner. Tim Lincecum Jersey . Mets fans wanted to see more. At least another at-bat or two. At least another season or two. It was an afternoon of mixed emotions for the effervescent shortstop in what could have been his last game in a New York Mets uniform, a 3-0 win over Cincinnati on Wednesday. After a bunt single in the first inning, Reyes was finished. The strategy paid off: Reyes won the National League batting title late Wednesday when Milwaukees Ryan Braun went 0 for 4. "It was kind of tough," Reyes said. "I want to stay in the game. They have to understand, too, whats going on. They have to feel happy about it if I win the battling title." The hit elevated Reyes average to .337057 and gave him a 2 1/2-point lead over Braun. The Brewers star needed to go 3 for 4 to overtake Reyes, but went hitless in four at-at-bats against Pittsburgh and dropped to .332. And that gave the Mets their first batting champion. "Im humbled and honoured," Reyes said in a statement issued by the Mets. "It means so much to my family and my country, the Dominican Republic. I have been through a lot over the past few years, so this really means a lot to me. Its also very special to be the first Mets player to win a batting title. There have been so many great players throughout our history." The dynamic all-star with a broad grin and bouncy dreadlocks bunted Edinson Volquezs second pitch down the third base line, and a charging Juan Francisco couldnt pick up the ball. Fans booed again when Reyes replacement at shortstop was introduced by the public address announcer, and on the SNY telecast former Mets star Keith Hernandez called the move "disappointing." Preparing for his game in Milwaukee, Braun didnt fault Reyes for leaving after just one at-bat. "Im not going to judge him," Braun said. "I respect whatever decision he decided to make and ultimately, he left the door open for me. Its not impossible. Ive gotten three hits in a game plenty of times. So, its still attainable, its still a possibility." Reyes told manager Terry Collins that he would bunt and wanted to be taken out if he got a hit in his first at-bat. Collins, finishing up his first year as Mets manager, had to fight back tears as he explained why he took out Reyes so early. "I understand. I heard some comments in the stands. I dont blame them. People pay a good price to come to these games. Youve got to understand that I ask these players to do a lot," Collins said before taking a long pause. "We worked hard to get their respect this year, and they deserve ours." Signed by the Mets as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic, Reyes can become a free agent after the World Series. In a season interrupted by leg injuries that caused two stints on the disabled list, he scored 101 runs and led the majors with 16 triples. Fans chanted "Please stay, Jose!" throughout the ninth inning, and he gave a salute to the crowd as he walked off the field. Chants of "Jose Reyes!" continued after he threw his hat into the stands as he disappeared into the home dugout at Citi Field for perhaps the last time. "I always say, I want to stay here," Reyes said. "Were going to see what happens in a few weeks. I just need to sit down with my agent and make a plan." Reyes planned to host 15 to 20 friends at his home to watch Brauns progress. Reyes could be in for some more fun. His friends in the Dominican Republic had said if he won they intend to hold a parade for him in his hometown. "You never know whats going to happen," Reyes said. Miguel Batista (5-2) pitched a two-hitter for his 11th complete game, his first since July 19, 2006, for Arizona against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He allowed a one-out single to Edgar Renteria in the first and leadoff double to Chris Heisey in the second. "My goal was to stay out there as long as I could," Batista said. Queens product Mike Baxter hit his first big league homer, a two-run drive into the bullpens in right-centre off Volquez (5-7) in the sixth. Nick Evans singled in a run in the fourth. "I thought I pitched a very good game," Volquez said. "Im really happy I pitched deep into the game, threw a lot of strikes." The Mets, beset with financial issues, traded Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez during the season, lost David Wright for several months with a back injury and finished their third straight losing season at 77-85, two more losses than last year. Cincinnati also had a disappointing season, winding up at 79-83 after winning the NL Central last year with a 91-71 record. "Were going to work on our areas of improvement. Getting our front-line guys back out there, stay healthy. Thats what winters are for, to build and enhance," Reds manager Dusty Baker said. Before the game Baker said the Reds were playing to "get off those nines," but Batista was able to keep Joey Votto and Jay Bruce from rounding out their numbers. Votto went 0 for 3 to end the season with 29 homers and Bruce failed to get the three RBIs he needed for 100. NOTES: The Mets honoured groundskeeper Pete Flynn, who is retiring after 50 years with the organization. ... The Reds Drew Stubbs ended Mark Reynolds run of three straight years leading majors in strikeouts. Stubbs struck out 205 time and Reynolds had 195 heading into the Orioles season finale Wednesday night. ... The Mets announced a crowd of 28,816, giving them a final attendance of 2,352,596, a drop of about 7 per cent from last year and their lowest total since 2004, when they played at Shea Stadium. Sergio Romo Giants Jersey . A stick in the gut prevented him from getting off a clean drive, but it earned him the first penalty shot of his career. He converted, and Patrice Bergeron also scored a short-handed goal on Thursday night as the Bruins opened the defence of their Eastern Conference championship with a 3-1 victory over the Lightning. Buster Posey Giants Jersey . Virtue, from London, Ont., and Moir, from Ilderton, Ont., gave Canada nine points in the multi-stage event with a score of 72.98. Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States finished first with 75.NEW YORK -- Keith Appling scored 27 points and No. 1 Michigan State had all it could handle from Oklahoma before pulling away in the final minutes for an 87-76 victory Saturday night in the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. Appling, who was 8 of 12 from the field, scored eight points in the final 3:04 after the Sooners got within 75-71. It was another unimpressive win for the Spartans (6-0) since their victory over then-No. 1 Kentucky moved them up one spot to the top of the poll. They beat Columbia and Portland but didnt pull away from either until the final minutes. They did handle Virginia Tech in the semifinals of this tournament but the championship game wasnt like that at all. The Sooners (4-1) jumped ahead early, fell behind by as many as 18 points and then found a way to get within four points twice in the final 4 minutes before the Spartans were able to pull away once again. Gary Harris had 21 points and Branden Dawson added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Spartans, who shot 50 per cent from the field (29 of 58), but they were 6 of 19 from 3-point range and 23 of 36 from the free throw line and committed 14 turnovers, five over their season average. Cameron Clark had a career-high 32 points for Oklahoma, which kept chipping away at deficits after losing their big early lead. Oklahoma made its first six and nine of its first 11 shots from the field and took a 22-11 lead. The Spartans tookk advantage when the Sooners finally cooled down and went up by as many as 14 points by dominating at both ends of the court. Pablo Sandoval Jersey. . They closed the half by outscoring Oklahoma 34-9 over the final 9 minutes and were up 45-31 at halftime. Almost everyone in Barclays Center felt it was just a matter of 20 minutes running off the clock to see how many points the Spartans would win by. The Sooners, who were down 53-35 2 minutes into the second half, werent thinking that and they took advantage of turnovers and questionable shots to go on another big run -- this one 12-0 to get within 57-53 with 12:14 to play. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo called a timeout with 12:03 to play but that didnt help the offence. Appling, the tournament MVP, finally ended the Spartans 6:17 scoring drought with a three-point play with 10:01 to go and he followed an Oklahoma miss with a fast-break dunk to make it 62-53 with 9:35 left. Oklahoma found its way to one more run to get within 73-69 and 75-71, but Appling came up with enough big plays down the stretch to keep the Spartans at No. 1 for at least one more week. The Sooners advanced to the title game with a 7-0 run over the final 32 seconds to beat Seton Hall 87-86. The Spartans had an easier trip, riding Adreian Paynes career-high 29 points along with 10 rebounds in a 96-77 victory over Virginia Tech. Payne had four points on 1-for-6 shooting in the championship game. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' ' |
