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As was first reported by the New York Post, 
Billy Wagner tried to pitch a simulated game this afternoon at Shea Stadium, following the team’s loss to the Phillies, but could only make it through one batter before being shut down.
Though Mets GM Omar Minaya would not categorize it as a ‘setback,’ he told reporters that Wagner will visit a doctor tomorrow to determine how best to proceed.
For more, check out the Bergen Record and the Journal News, as well as Newsday, where David Lennon provides a quote or two from Wagner.
By the way, speaking of Wagner, check out his recent interview with the Daily News, during which he talks about Mike Schmidt’s e-mail to the Phillies, Tropical Storm Hanna, the Collapse and 2008, and the difference between Jerry Manuel and Willie Randolph, among other things.
…Update…10:08 pm…
According to ESPN’s Jon Miller, during tonight’s broadcast, Wagner was in tears after being unable to finish his simulated game.
k-rod in the offseason
Agreed. The first day after the WS is over, I want Omar on the phone to K-Rod’s agent. If Wagner is able to pitch next year, great! He can be the set up guy.
I doubt we see Wagner pitching again this season. Just have a hunch.
A hunch? There’s only 3 more weeks in the season. He’s DONE.
This could be the end of Wags in a Met uniform. Elbows are bad news. That said, I don’t like KRod at 4/60, which he will want. Yes, the bullpen sucks, but closers not named Mariano aren’t worth that kind of committment.
Your dead right about that my friend. Especially considering that K-rod’s strikeouts are down, walks are up and his velocity on his fastball is down almost 2mph (yes that is a fact.) With all those injury related red flags added to his delivery which is in itself a huge red flag, investing that much money in him for that long would be a horrible, horrible mistake.
I’m very afraid of giving K-Rod the money he’s going to want and if Wagner had a clean bill of health for next year, I wouldn’t even consider it.
But if Billy had TJ surgery or something of that nature, I just don’t know how the Mets will replace him. Beane is going to want a king’s ransom for Street, whose performance is also declining. Kunz is clearly not read and may never be. And Ayala, as gutty as he’s been, would be better in a set-up role.
Maybe there’s hope for Stokes, but this current performance could be an aberration. Either way, I Just can’t believe with all of the question marks we have going into next year, we now have ANOTHER to deal with in the closer’s role.
Let Pedro join Wagner. He’s useless
this is starting to smell like a trip to Dr. Andrews is coming soon. I would be shocked if he isn’t done for the year, and not at all surprised if he ends up out next year too if he has to go under the knife. He might just end up retiring anyway, who knows.
K Rod? Hey, it’s only money! But they can go the cheap route and find a diamond in the rough closer. DOn’t ask me who it is though!
If nothing else, if Wags is done and Pedro gets cut lose next year 9as he better), this team is going to be a whole heck of a lot younger, which is likely a good thing.
DumpCastillo, completely idiotic comments. Do us all a favor and go root for the Yankees. The guy WON GAMES for this team this year, and you want to throw him overboard? And like you would have any idea how hard it is to throw anything other than your own love juice when your elbow hurt.
didn’t miller say that the last pitch he threw brought tears to his eyes?
a little bit different than saying he was in tears after being unable to finish.
bad news no matter what.
next year is now. let’s hope manuel can sort thru the bullpen in this expanded roster and figure out a plan. i wouldn’t put it past this team to just say screw it and win big games without an established closer. it’s all about stepping up kids
Wags is done and i bet Maine will be the closer if we make it to the playoffs.
i’d try maine out too. manuel pretty much pronounced wagner done so let’s do this
It’s a shame, I know some want Wagner out and believe he can’t get it down but let’s not pretend he hasn’t gotten saves at all. He has been able to nail down saves more times than not and get out of tough situations.
Wagner goes out there, pitches and answers the questions afterwards and him showing some emotion just shows how much he wants to be there for his team and do what he loves and that’s close games out.
Did anyone else notice during the ESPN broadcast when they showed the simulated game, Wags was back to throwing exclusively from the stretch?
I feel for Wagner. I have a feeling that at this time last year, he was fighting through some pain as well. It would explain why he hit the wall late last season. He’s been pretty durable since he joined the Mets. I can’t really say we haven’t gotten our money’s worth out of him at this point.
I really can’t understand the hater’s point of view. Sure, he’s blown a few saves, but the guy shows up to pitch, and rarely misses any time. Meanwhile, other players like Castillo and El Duque sit on the DL and don’t contribute nearly what Wagner did this season.
Get well soon Billy. Hopefully we bring back a postseason ring for you.
It’s tough when your body betrays you like that. You can’t do anything about it. Tough break.
I know Wagner had the back problems last year but this is really the first time he has been out for an extended period of time and save the last 2 games (even though the starters took the losses) and the Mets have not exactly struggled without Billy.
wagner is a bust? LOL, go home.
another dumb bandwangon fan speaks.
um…you are aware of how few innings closers generally pitch, right? Wags only has 10 fewer or so IPs than he would if he were healthy all year. There are, in fact, four closers with 20 or more saves that have fewer IPs than he does…