Daily Archives: August 24, 2009
According to Jerry Manuel, Johan Santana will miss his start tomorrow and has an appointment to see Dr. David Altchek for his pitching elbow.
Update, 4:50 pm, by Matthew Cerrone:
…from what i can gather, johan has been pitching with a sore back since the all star break, and has seen a specialist for it… but, i had not heard anything about an elbow…. i can’t help but wonder if the sore back altered his mechanics and put strain on the elbow… i hope this all works out…
Tagged News |
The Mets lost to the Phillies today by the score of 6 to 2 in Citi Field.
For a full recap and boxscore, click here.
The Least You Should Know:
Bobby Parnell went five innings, giving up just four hits. However, two of those hits were home runs by Ryan Howard. In the first inning, Parnell hit Shane Victorino and walked Chase Utley who both scored on Howard’s homer.
Cliff Lee has won his last eight games and allowed just seven earned runs in that time.
The bullpen, including Billy Wagner who threw a hitless eighth, combined to silence the Philles until the ninth when Pedro Feliciano came in and promptly gave up a double to Utley and a RBI double to Raul Ibanez to cap the scoring.
Misc., Etc., and Other Stuff:
A day after hitting Citi Field’s first inside-the-park home run, Angel Pagan had another, although in the scorebook it wasn’t even a hit. He popped up to Chase Utley who dropped it then fired a second error into foul territory allowing Pagan to score on the play…bizarre.
The Mets had three errors today, but none resulted in any scoring.
Are we there yet? Losing three of four to the Phillies literally adds insult to injury.
The Upcoming Series:
The Mets head down to Miami and Land Shark Stadium to take on the Marlins tomorrow. Johan Santana (13-9, 3.13) takes the hill against Sean West (4-5, 4.70) at 7:10 p.m.to kickoff the three game set.
Tagged Regis Courtemanche |
update, 4:25 pm:
Howie Rose on WFAN has reported that Francoeur is day to day, considering the injury is on his non throwing hand.
…I wonder how Francoeur can hit without being in considerable pain…remeber Alex Cora is gone for the year on surgery for a similar injury…
Original Post:
Jeff Francoeur has a torn ligament in his left thumb.
Francoeur injured his thumb on the disputed catch during yesterday afternoon’s game, and an MRI taken today at the Hospital For Special Surgery revealed the tear.
Francoeur had X-Rays taken on his thumb after the game yesterday, and that came back negative.
…the question is – is anyone surprised at all…
The Mets have called up reliever Ken Takahashi and have sent Pat Misch back to Triple-A Buffalo.
Takahashi was 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA before being sent back to Triple-A, and was last seen June 21 against Tampa Bay.
Tagged Pat Misch |According to SNY, Jeff Francoeur‘s thumb swelled up overnight and he is now in the Hospital for Special Surgery getting an MRI.
Last night, MLB.com reported that x-rays on Francoeur’s thumb taken after the game were negative.
Tagged News |
The Mets conclude their four game series against the Phillies at 1:10 pm today at Citi Field.
David Wright is on the field and taking ground balls during batting practice.
However, Jeff Francoeur will be replaced by Cory Sullivan, who is at the Hospital for Special Surgery getting an MRI on the thumb he injured making a disputed diving catch during yesterday’s game.
Angel Pagan will leadoff, followed in order by Luis Castillo, Gary Sheffield, Fernando Tatis, Daniel Murphy, Omir Santos, Sullivan, and Anderson Hernandez.
Bobby Parnell (3-5, 4.74 ERA) will start for the Mets. After a great performance against the Giants on August 14, Parnell got hammered against the Braves during his last outing, lasting only three innings and allowing nine runs on nine hits. In five relief appearances, Parnell has posted an 0-2 record with a 3.38 ERA this season.
Cliff Lee (11-9, 2.72 ERA) will start for the Phillies. Lee has been lights out since joining Philadelphia, winning all four decisions and posting a microscopic 0.82 ERA over that span, dating back to July 31. Today will be his first career appearance against the Mets.
In case you missed it, yesterday, Adam Rubin of the Daily News said C Josh Thole, 1B Nick Evans and RHP Eddie Kunz will be promoted to the Mets when rosters expand in September.
For more on Kunz, including video from his time in Buffalo, check out this post from Sam Page at Amazin Avenue.
Speaking of the minor leagues, Mets RHP Brandon Moore of the Brooklyn Cyclones threw a no-hitter yesterday.
For more on Moore, read Toby Hyde’s Mets Minor League Blog.
Zoe and Coop spend time walking around Citi Field 
this weekend, and filming the experience, which you can watch on Pick Me Up Some Mets.
Speaking of Coop, at her blog, My Summer Family, she explains why Bobby Parnell is our only hope.
If you missed yesterday’s game-ending, unassisted triple-play, go to NY Baseball Digest.
There are Fiya Minaya t-shirts for sale on eBay, according to Mets Police.
Andrew of the Ropolitans does a Q&A with Phillies Nation about their recent bus trip to Citi Field.
In a post to Bleacher Report, Harris Decker takes a look at how the Mets can best handle each position this off season.
Lastly, the second Amazin Tuesday is coming to Two Boots on in NYC this Tuesday night at 7 pm, which you can learn more about here.
Tagged News |The Mets scored four runs with seven hits and a walk against Pedro Martinez, during yesterday’s loss to the Phillies.
“It shows that I’m in better shape than I was last year,” Martinez said, following the game.
…exactly… look, i will always be a fan of pedro… i’m fairly certain he will end up being the greatest pitcher i’ve ever seen in person… he’s attitude and ability to adjust are like nothing i expect to ever see again… however, this quote is exactly why i am glad the Mets did not re-sign him…
…the fact is, so far, in three starts for philly, pedro has been average… i suspect he’ll continue to be average, though he’ll probably have a gem or two in there at some point… either way, i believe the Mets needed to move on, to get some structure in the rotation and to let Johan Santana step up to a bigger role… they also needed to move on from pedro to keep from the constant blow-by-blow of his physical state… every one of his starts is about how he feels, how’s his arm, how was his velocity, etc., it’s so rarely about whether the team won or not… in any case, it’s all about pedro…
…sure, had i known this Mets season would be riddled with injury, forcing the team to the bottom of the division, i would have signed pedro for the show factor, for entertainment purposes… but, i thought the Mets would compete this season, and be healthy, and under that rosier scenario, the distraction of pedro would have been just that, a distraction…
…i wish him the best of luck in philly… well, not too much luck of course…
For more on Martinez, read Ian O’Conner’s column for the Bergen Record.
Tagged News |Last Friday, the Red Sox put in a claim on Billy Wagner.
Meaning, the Mets have until Tuesday to 
trade him to Boston; release him; or pull him off waivers and keep him.
However, last night, Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com said, “The Red Sox’s chances of landing Wagner are in serious jeopardy.”
According to Rosenthal, if Wagner is going to waive his no-trade clause, the Sox must guarantee him they will not pick up the $8 million option on his current contract for next season – allowing him to sign as a closer with a new team, as opposed to remaining in Boston as a set-up man.
Wagner needs 40 saves to pass John Franco as having the most saves of any left-handed reliever in major-league history.
Wagner has also asked that the Sox to not offer him salary arbitration, so he will be more attractive to a new team in the off-season, since the new team will not need to surrender a compensatory draft pick.
…this is going to be sticky… the way i see it, here are some variables:
- If Omar Minaya isn’t able to get a package from the Red Sox, which is better than what he believes he can draft with the two compensatory draft picks he is likely to get when Wagner signs with a new team this winter, he should keep Wagner now and not trade him to Boston.
- The Red Sox want Wagner, but it’s difficult to justify giving up such prospects if there is a chance he walks free-and-clear at the end of the season, which is the most likely scenario.
- However, Wagner wants to win a World Series, and going to Boston, right now, could be the best chance he ever gets.
- Ultimately, Minaya may be charged by ownership to cut Wagner’s salary from this year’s payroll, then he may need to just let Wagner go, for nothing, freeing up $3.5 million from the books.
…i have no idea how this is going to shake out… i have to think the three sides will figure out an agreement, since, in the end, in principle, it’s in each team’s best interest to make it happen: billy wants a winner, the Mets need prospects and to free up cash, and the Sox need a reliever…
By the way, Wagner had some choice words for Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon yesterday, which you can read at the New York Times.
To read Papelbon’s initial comments about Wagner, read the Boston Globe.
Tagged News |Yesterday, Oliver Perez let up two three-run home runs in the first inning, and was pulled from the game mid-count, before getting the third out.
The Mets ended the game by hitting in to an 
unassisted triple-play.
In a post to Brooklyn Met Fan, Adam asks, “What’s worse, Perez or the Triple Play?”
…like i usually do, i turned on WFAN last night at 2 am to hear what fans were talking about, and the majority of discussions were about whether or not Jerry Manuel should have put runners in motion, accidentally leaving his team exposed to the triple play…
…instead, though, i can’t stop thinking about ollie… the game, while crazy, is just one of too-many losses this season… bizarre, sure… but a loss is a loss… but ollie is here forever, it seems…
…to me, his problem has nothing to do with arm slots, knees, his delivery, where he plants his foot, where he doesn’t, or pitch selection… he could perfect in every one of those departments, and i still believe he’d be inconsistent… because, he’s a thrower, not a pitcher… and that’s ok, so long as i can stop expecting more than this… frankly, i see no sign this 28–year-old boy will ever mature and evolve in to someone who can manage an inning, get by with his next-best stuff and keep it together to bridge the gap from rough start to rough start… instead, he’ll throw a gem one night, then, five days later, he’ll throw 50 pitches in three innings and get rocked… and that’s just the way it will be…
…the sad part is, i have been writing this same post every few months since 2006… and, apparently, i’ll be writing it through 2011 as well…
For more on Perez, check out Filip Bondy’s column for the Daily News.
Tagged News |
