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Mets LHP Billy Wagner told Marty Noble of MLB.com he will be in Port St. Lucie next 
Tuesday in hopes of throwing from a mound.
Wagner had surgery in September to repair the MCL and flexor pronator muscle in his forearm.
According to the report, Wagner is aiming to return to the Mets by late July or August, adding, “I told Omar that everybody doubting me is my motivation… that, and getting a ring.”
Noble provides other quotes from Wagner in his report, which details the closer’s training routine as well.
…the Mets still quietly tell people September would be the earliest wagner could be back… of course, they could simply be managing expectations… i mean, if wagner is ready and shows up in august, it’s not like they’re going to tell him to go home… keep saying it, ‘Wagner, Putz and K-Rod.’…
Talk about overkill….i dont want him to rush at all. It would s**k for him to get back sooner than expected and not be effective.
18 inning games…. OMG scary
I think the Mets will manage this so he comes back Sept 1 when rosters expand. Unless a real need delevops first that is. There just isn’t room on the roster, and he may or may not be an improvement this year while coming back from surgery. It isn’t worth risking losing someone like O’Day or Stokes until Wagner shows he can do it for a while. So he’ll go on an extended rehab tour of the minors and be added when rosters expand.
I’ll take Wagner at 75%, over stokes and o’day at 110% any day of the week.
now if he plays in september when rosters expand(you make a good point of this)…is he eligable to play in the playoff roster?
yup. Him being on the DL is being on the roster.
That rule is mainly for guys in other organizations traded for or signed after Sept 1st… or prospects not on the 40 man roster.
what an orgazmic 1-2-3 combo
I dont see Wagner being at all happy being the 7th inning guy. If he isnt the closer he will cause some drama with Krod and Putz.
Um…I’m pretty sure he knows by now that he has no chance of being the closer this year. He will still be motivated to pitch well for 2 reasons:
1. To show other teams he is healthy and can close in 2010.
2. (Hopefully more importantly but probably not) to win a championship.
I really doubt there will be any drama as he has known for some time now what the situation is and is still working as hard as he can to get back this year.
Your points are all rationale and valid except that this guy is a walking dramedy. His whole schtick, even when it’s supposedly about the team, is really about him. Not sure why people don’t see through it.
Wagner will still get the attention he needs from reporters for two reasons.
1) sadly they will be looking for him to start some drama over when he should be pitching.
2) He’ll still be a good quote and provide more interesting answer than most of the guys on the team.
The only way Wagner gets no attention is if he doesnt get back to NY…
Direct quote from Wagner: “I’m going to get back. I’m not going to get any saves. But I’d like to help. That could be some bullpen.”
yeah, if you read the article, he specifically says that he knows he won’t get any saves, but he just wants to a) help in any way he can, and b) win a ring…
And c) (which he didnt say) is to show prospective teams that he’s still a good closer, so he can have a job next season…
Not sure how we could go wrong with this…
Wags said that this would be his last year. We all know that athletes retire and un-retire all the time, but I believe Billy. I think he wants to go out with a Bang. If he comes back, he will pitch anywhere. There may be an issue about the lack of adrenaline because he is not a closer, but after being out an entire year, I think he will be amped just to be on the field and to defy everyone’s expectations.
He may be used as a situational lefty to compliment Pedro F. at first, and then he will work his way up the pecking order if he is effective. Hell, he could even spell K-Rod & Putz and get a couple of saves depending on how much of a workload they get over the course of the year.
How effective will he be? His weapon was the 95+ mph fastball. He’s not a young guy and after the surgery, would he be able to throw 95+ again? Probably not. It would be nice to see him back though with KRod and Putz
Agreed, but even if he throws around 90 and still has his slider, he can be very effective against lefties at the very least. He would still be a nice addition to a pen that has Feliciano as the only lefty, especially when the Phillies are our main competition.
So here is the most likely out come and i can make someone some money.
His arm will rip off and land in the stands. I will be willing to pay someone for it so I can have it as a soveneeer. If you can get it signed by him ill pay double
what the heck is wrong with you?
It was a joke… But realistically it takes about a year to come back from this kind of surgery and he’s throwing after about 6 months.
Not smart
hey we’re paying him…I would rather have him back sooner than later, he won’t be with us next year anyway
I know there are some people who don’t like Wagner but I would love to see him back. Yes he’s outspoken but thats what was great about him…none of the usual spin we would get from other players past and present.
“I told Omar that everybody doubting me is my motivation… that, and getting a ring.”
Not for anything, but this statement is part of the reason why this guy rubs people the wrong way. Look, just do your rehab, work hard, and get back as soon as possible. no need to make grandiose statements about your motivation, since, no one really cares what it is so long as you have some. You aren’t Willis Reed, Joe Namath, or even Patrick Ewing. No one is sitting around on pins and needles anxiously awaiting your return.
Do what you have to do to get back, and for once let your play on the field speak for itself instead of your big mouth.
I disagree. Loved his comments. Especially this part, from the same article: “I’m going to get back. I’m not going to get any saves. But I’d like to help. That could be some bullpen.” – Billy Wagner
Some of the comments last night during the game on this blog were absurd. Choke and this and that…ITS GAME 2!!.. Im also tired of hearing this is a game we would have lost last year. Maybe…maybe not. Wagner had plenty of saves for us and close calls like last night. If that ball last night goes 5 more feet its a HR and we lose and then all the comments would be how this was just like last year! Its a game of inches whether we blew that game or not it is way too EARLY to start comparing ANYTHING.. Take a deep breath and let the season at least get to game 30! The game was what it was..not a great bullpen outing but we won.
Joe,
Your statement is entirely too Logical for The sky-is-falling “Randy Quaid” Fan Types from the movie Major League that proliferate this blog.
Don’t you guys realize that many of us comment VERY differently during game threads than we do on other, non-game situations? During the game, we are living and dying with each pitch, every moment, etc. The next day, sure, we can all take the big-picture view. Of course we know living and dying pitch-by-bitch is hardly logical due to the length of a baseball season with all its ups and downs….but fans (i.e. “fanatics”) are, by definition, illogical). Save the thoughtful, “keep it in perspective”stuff for pre- and post game…during the game, it is all raw emotions, baby!
Also, people are just way too sensitive. I got called a troll last night for saying K-Rod is lilke a more talented late0career Johnny Franco. Today, Cerrone compares K Rod to Franco….and no troll accusations are hurled at our fearless leader.
How many saves did Wagner blow last year before he got hurt? Please forgive me if Im wrong but I would say 6 at most? If people dont think Krod is going to blow at the least 4-5 saves than many people are going to be unhappy and complaining. Please adjust expectations!
It’s not so much the amount of saves as it is the timing of said blown saves. All of Mr. I’m so great that I can throw my teamates undere the bus in front of the media’s blown saves came in clutch or big time games.
You are right that K-Rod will also blow games, but hopefully they won’t be in clutch situations…and hopefully he won’t let a 123 lb Asian man (Seo Taguchi) hit a go ahead home run in the NLCS.
Agree totally. Wasnt talking about his comments and character was just talking about a general overview of what to expect from our closer but agre we can do without all the extra hysterics!
He blew 7 save chances in I believe 35 opportunities. K-Rod will definitely do better than that
Is it just me, or are the comments coming in backwards? (newest on the top, oldest on the bottom). Did I miss this change?
not just you
I cant figure it out. I see comments from all different times mixed in everywhere lol
Take your time Billy. If he is healthy for september and the playoffs our bullpen could be completely devastating and put so much pressure on teams early on in the game that our SP will have it even easier. (i believe due to his injury and time on the DL he would actually be able to be on the playoff roster God willing)
I would not get excited about this if I were you guys. He is coming off major surgery and is not exactly young. he was a power pitcher. just doesn’t sound like he’ll be able to return to form this year.
Coming off of surgery, how effective will he be? I know Sanchez’s surgery was much different. Anyone know what other pitchers have come back from forearm surgery and how effective they were?
I’m not going to doubt Wagner’s determination, but the odds are against him. It usually takes a year to recovery from TJ to even be able to throw consistently and then another year to regain your stuff. Those that have done it in less time have had youth on their side.
Wagner would certainly be the exception. That said, if he recoveries and is ready to pitch in August, then the Mets bullpen could arguably be better than the Nasty Boys because those guys were not all closers during that time, two would eventually go on to be closers.
Here you’d have 3 guys that ARE closers and have had success as closers going as one unit. Heck, the Mets starters would only have to go 5 inning at that points. :)
Los Mets will have their own Los Nasty Boys.
My question is if he is already throwing from the mound then why would it even take until August?
that picture of Wagner is priceless.. i dont remember where it was from though.. it looks as if Wagner got into some fight and Warthen is trying to cool him down…. but that never happened last year..
“Wagner, Putz and K-Rod”
Billy would just be blowing the 7th inning. He’s never been able to pitch well in non-save situations. Look at the ASG last year.
He had this surgery last August. If he makes it back this August, that’s a year. Am I missing something?
I would not get my hopes up too much, but I’d also be more inclined to listen to the doctors supervising his rehab than bloggers. If they say he’s ready to throw off a mound, he is.
We need Wagner to be the official roughneck on the mound…
Sheff has the position player roughneck title already…
Everyteam needs a couple of roughnecks on their team…
I can see Wags throwing at the Phils if they hit us..and causing a fight…and causing Sheff to knock Cole Hamels out…
bring it on
Jesse Orosco pitched forever. He went from being a top end closer to a situational lefty. You can extend a career very well in that role. A 90mph fastball and a decent slider can keep Wagner in the game for 3 or more years.
Dont be shocked if Wags ends up in Atlanta next year…u heard it here first
It will be interesting to see how this and the season develops. Putz has done a great job accepting his 8th inning role but he is a free agent after this year and it wouldn’t shock me to see him leave whether the Mets win it all or not to close somewhere else. If Wagner can come in towards the end of the season and be effective, maybe that will earn him a short 1-2 year deal to be the lefty setup man for KROD.