(above : neither the fire truck nor the car carrying Jose Reyes)

I’m not sure what’s least surprising, that Mets trainer Ray Ramirez personally escorted Jose Reyes into a life-threatning situation, or that Omar Minaya wasn’t driving the vehicle that hit Ramirez and Reyes. The Star-Ledger’s Matt Gelb reported the following shortly after first-ballot Hall Of Famer Brian Stokes successfully tamed Albert Pujols.

Injured shortstop Jose Reyes and Mets trainer Ray Ramirez were rear-ended by a firetruck on the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge sometime Monday while driving to the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan for a check-up visit, Mets spokesman Jay Horwitz said.

The Mets said nothing about the accident until starting pitcher Tim Redding unknowingly spilled the beans after Monday’s 6-4 win over St. Louis.

“I got here about 10 after 4 and a lot of things were going on,” Redding said. “Apparently a lot of things were going on all over the city. Our shortstop and our trainer, who’s been working his butt off to keep us on the field, got into an accident. Carlos was getting an MRI and being placed on the DL. And people were being moved, brought up and sent all over the place. So it was a whirlwind day.”

While Redding clearly isn’t the kind of person you’d want to trust with a company secret, he’s performed capably in 4 of his 7 starts. The 6.08 ERA doesn’t exactly generate wild confidence in his abilities, but in light of Oliver Perez’ most recent rehab start, Redding might well stay in the rotation for a bit.