Daily Archives: February 22, 2010
Adam Rubin, in a post to his blog for the Daily News, says Ike Davis is giddy and in awe of his surroundings, telling Rubin:
“…To get on the field with these guys is going to be neat. I’ve been watching them since I was in high school…I saw David Wright. He’s an All-Star and unbelievable. It’s pretty exciting.”
Davis told Rubin the biggest challenge he had in his transition to professional baseball has been getting used to the game at this level, and says because he felt more comfortable in 2009 than he did in 2008, when he struggled with Single-A Brooklyn he was able to produce.
According to Rubin, Davis’ goal this Spring is to see how the big leaguers prepare for the game, and when asked about his leadership qualities, Davis said:
“I wouldn’t be able to answer that, but I like to have fun when I’m playing…I try to stay loose. The only way to keep your mind off negative stuff is to stay positive and loose. Just have fun playing. That’s what we’re here to do.”
…perhaps Davis can send that message to the rest of his teammates in camp…there has been talk of Davis potentially making it to flushing at some point during this season, but i’d like to see him, as well as Fernando Martinez have a complete season at triple-A Buffalo first…i think one of the reasons why F-Mart was disappointing during his stint in the majors last year was that he was simply not ready, and if that’s the case, i’m ok with that because he is still so young, but then they shouldn’t make the same choice with another prospect…i don’t think there is any reason to rush Davis to the majors this year, especially since they appear to have so much faith in Daniel Murphy, and they acquired Mike Jacobs to compete with Murph…
For more on Davis, check out the Daily News here.
Rich Coutinho of ESPN 1050 Radio says one of the bigger surprises early on at camp is Ryota Igarashi.
Coutinho says Igarashi has tweaked his curve ball grip and is already showing great command, and suggests he could be a possibility for the eighth inning role.
…igarashi is considered to have a power arm with a good, hard splitter which he can throw for strikes…the biggest question about igarashi is that he’s never pitched in the majors so it’s unknown how major league hitters will react to his delivery and stuff…
The 30–year-old Igarashi was 3-2 with a 3.19 ERA in 56 games with the Yakult Swallows last year, but missed all of 2007 and part of 2008 after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.
It was a busy day for the Mets at Tradition Field. Here is a quick rundown of today’s events:
- According to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, Mets pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia has impressed Omar Minaya to the point where he believes he could pitch in the Major Leagues now, but a more realistic landing spot for him is Double-A Binghamton.
- Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax watched Oliver Perez‘s bullpen session this morning at Tradition Field, and then, according to David Lennon of Newsday, signed autographs for fans, which you can see here.
- According to Jon Heyman of SI.com, Jerry Manuel is serious about batting Jose Reyes third in the order until Carlos Beltran returns.
- Speaking of Beltran, he arrived at Tradition Field at around noon today, and said he is on schedule with his rehab and holds no ill-will towards the Mets for how his knee injury was handled in January.
- Jerry Manuel spoke with Carlos Beltran this afternoon, and is excited he has decided to continue his rehabilitation program with his teammates.
- Matt Cerrone has arrived in Port St. Lucie, and don’t forget to grab your Mets Spring Training desktop wallpaper here.
Rich Coutinho, in a must read post to his blog for ESPN Radio, says Carlos Beltran cares very much about his Mets legacy, and getting back out onto the field.
Coutinho says Beltran decided to take the “high road” on the incident regarding his January knee surgery, but wonders if there are still some scars, as Beltran said:
“It took me about a week to forget about everything and now I am focusing on what is important for me and that’s being with the team and getting ready to be on the field as soon as possible.”
Beltran told Coutinho he is excited to play in the outfield with both Jeff Francoeur and Jason Bay, and is anxious to move onto “Phase 2″ of his rehabilitation, which will include easing into baseball activities towards the end of Spring Training.
However, Coutinho also says Beltran was perturbed over the back and forth between he and the team last month, but believes Beltran’s media address today is the first step in repairing the damage between both sides.
…i know it’s easier said than done, but i hope this is the last we hear about this fiasco…i hold both sides accountable for the mess last month, but in the end, if the surgery was the fastest path to getting a 100 percent healthy Beltran back on the field, then i am all for it, even if it means he misses a month or so…an injured Beltran coming into Spring Training would have been FAR worse than what he and the team are dealing with right now, because he clearly required surgery, and prolonging the inevitable would have kept him out longer…
For more on Beltran, check out Coutinho’s post for ESPN Radio here.
According to SNY Producer Matt Dunn, Jerry Manuel spoke with Carlos Beltran today, but just about how he was doing as a person, and later he will converse with him about where he is physically.
Manuel does not plan to talk about the problems between Beltran and the team with him, unless he brings it up to him.
…like i said earlier, i hope this issue doesn’t linger, because neither the player or the team need any sort of distractions right now…
Manuel is happy Beltran decided to rehabilitate with the team, as he can always add value by simply being around other players, much like he was with Angel Pagan last Spring.
In regards to Jose Reyes batting third in the order, Manuel said it wouldn’t be an issue if Beltran wasn’t injured.
Regarding Beltran’s absence last year, Manuel said the team wasn’t built well enough to overcome that.
…to be fair to Manuel and the Mets, i’m not sure any team is built well enough to overcome the loss of their core players, like what happened to this team in 2009…the core players give each team the best possible chance to win, and if a team loses all of it’s best chips, the chance of success becomes more and more remote…
In regards to Kelvim Escobar, Manuel said he has not been cleared to do anything more than what he is doing now, which are basic workouts and pitchers fielding practice.
Regarding Francisco Rodriguez‘s bullpen session today, Manuel felt he threw very well, with a lot of life on his pitches.
…i completely agree, ted…it’s easy to give into the temptation of mejia and his stuff, especially since the Mets haven’t really developed an ace-caliber pitcher in what seems like forever…he just needs more time to develop, considering he has command and control problems, and i think throwing him into the fire, right now, is not a recipe for success…
Adam Rubin of the Daily News says Carlos Beltran was riding a bike with no pain the day after surgery, but due to stability issues in the quadricep and hamstring, he is not yet ready to do any running.
In addition, Beltran said his surgeon “couldn’t believe” he was able to play on his ailing knee, considering how many little pieces were floating around in the joint.
Beltran says there is now no pain when he bends and moves his knee, and he is positive and happy with the outcome of the surgery.
Update, 1:22 pm:
Rich Coutinho of ESPN 1050 Radio says Beltran is right on schedule with his rehab, and is ready to move on from the problem between he and management in January.
…i’m hoping this matter isn’t meandering because, in the end, it doesn’t get Carlos back in the lineup any faster and all of the talk and discussion about what happened in January does nothing but cause a distraction, which, in my opinion, this team really doesn’t need at the moment…
Original Post, 12: 14 pm:
Adam Rubin of the Daily News says Carlos Beltran has arrived at Tradition Field, and doesn’t appear to be limping, and Steve Popper of the Bergen Record says he and Omar Minaya just went into a closed door meeting.
Kevin Burkhardt of SNY says Beltran will speak to the media “at some point.”
← Older posts
