Unsung Hero: NY Mets Alex Cora

How clutch has Alex Cora been for the Mets? Let me just begin by telling you that I might be a bit bias on this subject. Alex is from my hometown, Caguas, PR. All of my relatives excluding my brother (his immediate family) and my family still live there. My brother and I always talk about how he and Alex played in the same Little League (Liga Gillette in Villa Nueva). Actually Alex was the "little brother"; Antonio (my bro) played with Joey (White Sox current bench coach). Disreagarding my love for a fellow Caguas native, no one can deny Alex's great play. It was most apparent to me when he went on the DL with his hurt thumb in May and the team scrambled to find someone to fill his and others' shoes. (Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado were already out)

With Cora gone, the team was missing a true utility player and a decent bat who could fill voids. Since his return in June, he has been the all around man and coming through when needed. As I write this (the Mets/Phillies game tonight is not over yet), Cora has a .306 BA, 8 RBI, in 31 games...and counting. The single last night to bring in the go-ahead run in the 6th inning was clutch, as was the RBI single tonight plus the slide that did break up the double play in the 4th inning game (darn ump called Luis Castillo out--bad call!!!) I love Cora's style and and could tell he would be good for the team even during Spring Training. Listen to our interview from February. Cora is genuine, humble, a gentleman and a true player.