Well, fine, maybe. But Reyes pitched only six innings, and that has been the problem with much of the starting pitching this season: They don't pitch deep enough into games, burdening the bullpen.

At the start of the season, Cox couldn't praise Reyes enough, which was unusual for him. But as the season went on and Reyes continued to falter, Cox lost patience.

Now it appears that Reyes is in the same territory that Jason Marquis and Odalis Perez once occupied: earning the enmity of the manager by not absorbing lessons so generously shared by veteran teammates.

Discussing his start on Saturday, Reyes reviewed why he thought he'd lost his way this year: "I was thinking way too much."

A common problem. But he didn't stop there, adding, "Every time I was throwing a bullpen, there was somebody with me. It's not a bad thing having (LHP Tom) Glavine and (RHP John) Smoltz in your bullpen, but at a certain point you've got to cut off where you're not thinking so much and taking that out to the game.

"I'd be thinking, 'At this point in my mechanics I'd be here, I'd be there,' instead of just trusting just to throw the ball and not worry about my mechanics."

Reyes is right that the big leagues is not the place to refine mechanics, which is why he spent so much time at Class AAA Richmond this year. "You've got to make your pitch," he says. "But you're pitching against the best of the best. You hear you've got to pay your dues. That's really true."

And it may be true for him next season as well.