Month: March 2009

Mets Santana Takes Spring Mound Tonight

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/Javascripts/PisV3.jshttp://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/javascripts/DataV3.ashx?ImageId=722055&PublisherId=1326New York Mets vs Washington Nationals

All eyes will be on Johan Santana tonight, taking the mound for the first time in a game situation this spring. Apparently, the elbow tightness that troubled him earlier this month is no longer an issue. At least that’s what we’re hearing.

Santana has thrown a bullpen session and two batting practice sessions without ill effects. So the Mets are giving their most prized pitcher the “A-OK” to take the mound in a game.

The Mets play against the Marlins tonight in a rare 7:10pm start for a spring game. The game will be broadcast on SNY and MLB Network.

I only expect Santana to pitch two innings tonight. They’re not going to push him beyond his limts. All of the other pitchers started out throwing two innings in a game so I’d be shocked if the Mets pushed Santana beyond that.

Keep your fingers crossed that he makes it through a couple of innings with a pain-free elbow.

Mets Pagan Opts For Surgery

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/Javascripts/PisV3.jshttp://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/javascripts/DataV3.ashx?ImageId=718050&PublisherId=1326MLB: FEB 28 Spring Training - Mets at Tigers

Angel Pagan will be out until sometime in May. He decided yesterday to have arthriscopic surgery on a bone spur in his elbow. It’s a solid decision, if he decided to rehab and it didn’t get better he could miss the entire season.

Pagan only has 2.144 years of MLB service time going into this season. So the Mets could send him to Triple-A Buffalo when he recovers from surgery, that’s the gamble that he’s taking. If he rehabs the elbow and it responds quickly, he could be on the major league roster next month.

I assume that Bobby Kielty will make the major league team, in the roster spot that Pagan would’ve had. If Kielty makes in impact, Pagan could be buried in the minors all year.

We’ll see how this plays out.

Video: Ignorant Woman Wants Reyes To Speak English

Here’s a video I found on Yahoo Sports of some ignorant woman talking to Jose Reyes in Port St. Lucie. You can hear her say something to the effiect of “Now we’re going to practice English”. What a moron! The guy is from the Dominican Republic. What does she expect? And he speaks to her in English, which is more than she could do in Spanish. Stuff like this drives me crazy.

Angel Pagan Considering Surgery

http://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/Javascripts/PisV3.jshttp://cdn.pis.picapp.com/IamProd/Resources/javascripts/DataV3.ashx?ImageId=715340&PublisherId=1326New York Mets v Baltimore Orioles

The bone spur in Angel Pagan’s elbow may require surgery. But that surgery wouldn’t cause Pagan to miss the entire season. Great news for the Mets!

If Pagan does opt for surgery he’ll miss 6-8 weeks according to the NY Post.

I’d like to know what the other option(s) are for Pagan. I assume that he may miss less time if he opts to rehab the injury without surgery but runs the chance that rehab won’t cure the problem.

Mets Release Duaner Sanchez

Duaner SanchezThere’s been so much chatter recently about the Mets having a looming decision about whether to keep Duaner Sanchez or release him. I thought they would at least give him a look until the end of March.

By releasing him now the Mets are only responsible for one-sixth of his $1,687,500 salary for the 2009 season. The Mets didn’t have much of a choice after he got knocked around pretty well last season. He didn’t look great this spring either. I watched him get knocked around a bit yesterday against the Orioles. He was only able to hit 89 mph on the radar gun yesterday and that was high for him over the past two seasons.

From the NY Times:

“We looked at it, really, his over all performance based upon last year to what we see now and we didn’t see the improvement,” Minaya said.

This could end up being a good thing for Sanchez. He could sign a minor league deal elsewhere and have a chance to work his way onto the major league roster. He didn’t have options so the Mets had to keep him on the major league roster or release him.

After not pitching at all in 2007 after an accident in a taxi in July 2006, he came back last season to very mixed results. He had a 4.32 ERA and 1.320 WHIP in 66 games in 2008. He was really a shadow of his former self with very reduced velocity and couldn’t find himself as a finesse pitcher.

Santana Resumes Mets Spring Thursday

Johan SantanaMets ace Johan Santana will get back on the mound in a start against the Florida Marlins on Thursday in Port St. Lucie. The game is an unusual 7:10pm start on SNY and MLB Network.

Santana has pitched several successful bullpen sessions and batting practices since experiencing tightness in his left elbow.

If Santana pitches well this could quell some of the concern surrounding the fifthe spot in the rotation. Right now, with Mike Pelfrey slightly injured, Santana not ready to pitch in games yet, and the fifth starter candidates flopping badly Mets fans are extremely concerned about the rotation. And rightuflly so.

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If Santana and Pelfrey can solidify their spots this week it’ll go a long way toward making us feel like the Mets rotation is going to be okay this season. Mike Pelfrey is scheduled to start on Saturday against the Washington Nationals in PSL.

If all goes well with Santana and Pelfrey we can start to remember that the fifth starter is the the FIFTH starter. There are several guys that the Mets can rotate in and out to find soemthing that works. I realize that nothing is working at this point. But let’s worry about the first and second spots in the rotation this week as the priority.