April 11th could be a day of note on this young 2008 season. Not because of the poor weather, but because Jose Reyes left the game in the top of the 6th inning due to tightness in his left hamstring. Really there are two ways to look at this situation, unfortunately, both are drastically different.

The best possible situation, and what all Mets fans are hoping for, is that this is a minor cramp or something due to the cold damp weather. Ideally this "tweak" will be something insignifcant that will work itself out with proper stretching in a few days time. Reyes' entire game is dependent on speed. Without the ability to reach full stride, Jose loses much of his effectiveness.

Jose and Willie Randolph have been non-committal when discussing his return however, which baits the fear that this could be a pulled hamstring. A re-evaluation will occur today on Jose Reyes' hamstring so the outcome of this situation is still in flux.

The worst case scenario would be that the hamstring is pulled and Reyes needs to take time off to rehab it. The tricky thing about a hamstring pull is that it's not always easy to rehab, as it may feel 100%, and could then be further aggravated with much less stress to the muscles.

The hamstring is a group of three muscles behind the thigh. Although the injury is common amongst athletes, it is very difficult to treat, and takes time to heal. A hamstring injury can take up to 10 weeks to completely heal, and if a players suffers a set back during rehabilitation, it could reset the healing process' time clock all together.

It's important that the Mets not rush Jose back into action. Without his speed and agility on the field, the Mets offense and defense are not as good as they could be. That being said, suffering without Jose for 5 weeks in April/May is much more ideal then an early comeback and re-aggravation that could cause him to miss 12 weeks in May/June.