Category: Latest News

Mets Sending Injured Santana For Tests

Red CrossOmar Minaya told reporters that Johan Santana is being sent to New York for tests on his left elbow. The early diagnosis has been that he has some tightness in his tricep ligament. The New York Post is reporting that the Mets are still allowing Santana to throw a light bullpen session this morning of 30-35 pitches.

If Santana is seriously injured, the move to allow him to continue to throw will be criticized to no end. This smells of the Mets lack of caution they displayed last season with Ryan Church. They flew him all over the country with the team and didn’t put him on the disabled list immediately after his second concussion of the season.

The importance of Johan Santana to the 2009 Mets can’t be understated. It’s hard for me to understand why they would let him throw again today.

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Mets Eye Santana Bullpen Today

Johan SantanaAll eyes are on Johan Santana’s bullpen session this morning in Port St. Lucie. Jerry Manuel told reporters yesterday that he isn’t overly concerned yet about the situation. But the Mets are being cautious about their ace.

Even with the Mets exercising caution, Mets fans are extremely worried and rightfully so. I’m not sure that we can say the fate of the 2009 Mets rests with Santana’s tricep but that wouldn’t be too far from the truth. If he’s out for an extended period of time this season the Mets chances of making the playoffs will be seriously impacted.

We shouldn’t get too worked up until we know the extent of the injury. At the same time, we need to start bracing ourselves for the possibility of starting the season without our ace.

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Report: Mets Santana Injured Worse Than Thought

Johan SantanaNewsday’s David Lennon is reporting that Johan Santana is still feeling tightness in his elbow and it may be more severe than we had hoped. He’s already been scratched from pitching in two games this spring. And now we find out he’ll throw a bullpen session today and if he still doesn’t feel good he’ll come back to New York for tests.

From Newsday:

“We have 162 games,” Santana said. “What we have to accomplish takes 162 games. Everything starts April 6, if it’s going to be me or somebody else. It’s tough to say right now.”

Now they’re talking about the opening day start being in jeopardy. This could be terrible news for the Mets if Santana is going to miss significant time this season. Really, the season could be in jeopardy if he’s going to miss a lot of time. More news to come soon, I’m sure.

Manuel Works Mets, Media With Mind Games

Jerry ManuelJerry Manuel has been busy working the local beat writers to his own ends this spring. And as such, he’s been working us in the blogsphere that write and talk with friends and fellow fans about the Mets.

Is he really going to hit Luis Castillo leadoff? Is he really going to platoon Ryan Church and Fernando Tatis in right field? Does he really think Daniel Murphy is a better hitter than Ryan Church? Is he really going to play Brian Schneider more frequently than last season? Why is he discussing these issues with the media before telling the players that are impacted?

Manuel is proving himself to be a master manipulator, using the media and us for his own purposes. He’s verbalized the fact that he’s going to challenge his players this year. We just didn’t know he was going to do it through the media.

Although Manuel took over the Mets last June, we were used to three plus years of Willie Randolph’s stoic personality. Randolph didn’t give us much except a quiet, occasionally bewildered, discussion of the day’s events.

Manuel is using all of us to push, pull, and prod the players. He’s poking at them with his comments, giving confidence to some while putting others on notice. He clearly knows what he wants from the players and is busy preparing them mentally as well as physically for the season.

I like what he’s doing this spring. Each player needs to be treated differently, in the way that will draw the most out of them during the season. Castillo and Murphy are getting confidence building comments. Church, Jose Reyes, and Ramon Castro are being challenged to improve.

While I applaud Manuel’s ability to read his players, I take his comments with a grain of salt. I anticipate that Reyes will get the vast majority of games batting leadoff, and Fernando Tatis will get most of his playing time in left field. I’d like to see Manuel take advantage of Ramon Castro’s big bat at least twice a week. But Manuel is sure showing that he’s a manipulator… He’s gone gangsta on the media.

Phillies Hamels Clarifies Mets Chokers Comment

Cole HamelsThis story won’t go away. Cole Hamels agreed with WFAN’s Evan Robets that the Mets were chokers. And the story keeps raging on. Hamels appeared with WIP in Philly with Howard Eskin on Friday and clarified his comments about the Mets below.

On why the Mets are thought of as “chokers”:

“The word choke means you weren’t able to fully come through when you were supposed to. I think the Mets had the top teams, they pretty much had the championships in the bag and they weren’t able to come through.  A lot of guys will perceive them as choking in the end and not ,fulfilling their end of the bargain because they should have taken it.  You know what, it really does show the strength and hard work and I guess the deep down guts that we have to take it away from them.”

Eskin thinks Hamels calling the Mets “chokers” was WFAN putting words in his mouth:

“I wouldn’t have thought of it myself.  I like to do most of my playing out on the field and I don’t need to be mentioned in the media or trying to attack someone because that’s not the person I am.  I’ll attack you when I’m out on the mound.”

I never thought that it was that big of a deal that he agreed with Roberts about the Mets. Hamels didn’t bring up the topic on his own. Clearly, he needs to be a little more media savvy though.

What I don’t like is him going to to discuss the issue in further depth. It’s about time for him to shut up about the issue.

Thanks to Sports Radio Interviews for the story. You can listen to the full interview here.

Mets Won’t Platoon Murphy In LF

Daniel MurphyMets manager Jerry Manuel told the media today that he likely won’t employ a straight platoon in left field this season. The bulk of the playing time will go to Daniel Murphy. Fernando Tatis will come off the bench and spell David Wright and Carlos Delgado in the infield.

I was tentatively supportive of the left field platoon idea originally. And I’ll do the same for handing the job to Daniel Murphy. I like what I’ve seen from Murphy generally. But he’s a below-average outfielder and hasn’t shown tremendous power at the plate either. He’s definitely more of a gap hitter than a power hitter. I like his attitude and the little things that he does well though. He seems to fit perfectly into Manuel’s team-first concept. I’ve told some friends this too… Murphy reminds me a little bit of Pete Rose in his approach to the game. Go 100% all of the time.

I also was cool to the idea of seeing too much of Fernando Tatis in left field. I love what he did for the Mets last season and was thrilled that they rewarded him with a good one-year contract. He deserved that after what he did last year. But some players are better seen in small doses on the field. Ramon Castro and Endy Chavez are perfect recent examples. Tatis is a guy that I’d like to see get one start per week in the field and come off the bench to do some damage. He seemed very adept last season at coming in cold and succeeding in pressure situations. That’s an unusual talent and he seems to have it.

Now that I’ve voiced my cautious support of Murphy getting the bulk of the time in left field, he should know that there will be some huge names available at the trading deadline if he doesn’t produce. My guess is that Matt Holliday and Maglio Ordonez will both become availabe via trade at some point this season. Even in a down economy, and despite the Bernie Madoff damage, the Mets will have the resources to bring one of them in to play left field for half a season. So the pressure will be on Murphy to produce.

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Mets Hitting Drills And Propoganda

Jerry ManuelThere’s been a lot of talk this spring about a new hitting drill manager Jerry Manuel has installed for the team. Each player takes 80 pitches from a machine and has to swing at every one during a lightning-fast six minute session. The goal is to get the players into the mindset of having to put a pitch in play, even if it’s a bad pitch. This is all part of Manuel’s team-first philosophy.

Ben Shipgel of the NY Times does the best column on the drill that I’ve read. There’s been plenty written about the drill but this is the best one.

The next part of the hitting program for the Mets will be for the players to spot their favorite hitting zone and can’t swing at a pitch unless it’s in that zone. The goal is to improve discipline at the plate.

These are some of the drills that Manuels has identified as being successful during his career as a player and coach. There has been some concern about the players getting blisters on their hands from the grueling drills. But Manuel has been quick to point out that this will toughen them up and make them prepared to fight through fatigue throughout the season.

The other thing that Manuel has done is install TV’s throughout the Mets locker room this year. The TV’s play an endless loop of the Mets best opposite field hits from last season. The TV’s, even in Charlie Samuels’ office, all play the same video. The players are getting the propoganda treatment to show them how important the hits were that went the other way.

The coaches keep telling the exhausted players after hitting that it’s the price they’ll have to pay for a championship. I know that managers are hired to be fired, and I’m sure that Manuel will run his course eventually with the Mets. But I think he’s been a great fit so far for this team. His personality and dealings with the media have been excellent. And he seems to have built a good rapport with the players as well. Now all he needs to do is win.

Click below to watch the Mets players talking about the drills.

Mets swing into spring training
Mets swing into spring training