Mets News Aug. 28,2009 Wilpons, Fans, Injuries

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23:  Johan Santana #57 of...
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The Mets make their annual trip to Wrigley for a weekend series. There are a few stories that peaked my interest today that I thought you might like. By the way, if you haven’t been to Wrigley it’s a fantastic venue for a game. The stadium is still holding up really well, the neighborhood is perfect, and the Cubs are perennial losers so you have a pretty good chance to see the Mets win in most seasons.

Anyway, here’s the news for today:

  • Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports gets into the Mets injury situation. Basically, he accuses the Mets of not taking proper care of their players.
  • Matthew Cerrone of MetsBlog links to an article that says that the Wilpons lost so much money in the Madoff scandal that they’ll be forced to sell the team as early as next season. I can think of several readers that will be thrilled to read that.
  • The Daily News has an article about how nobody showed up to watch the Mets-Marlins on Wednesday at the Ziegfeld Theater. Big surprise! Mets fans are smart. This team isn’t worth paying to see.

Piling On Omar Minaya; Mets Won’t Fire Him

New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya befo...
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As the 2009 season slips away, it seems that more fingers are pointing in Omar Minaya‘s direction when we try to determine who’s to blame. Although Minaya didn’t cause the severity and depth or the Mets injuries this season, he didn’t have a good backup plan either. As I’ve said all along, I can’t see the Wilpons firing Minaya with three years left on his contract.

Sure, Minaya has his share of bad deals. Oliver Perez certainly comes to mind. But don’t forget that he’s also the one that brought Johan Santana and Francisco Rodriguez to the Mets with very fair contracts. And he didn’t give up much of anything to the Twins to get Santana.

Certainly, I don’t defend Minaya’s meltdown/attack of Adam Rubin. Those were the actions of a person that isn’t prepared to be in front of the public. I’m sure that incident put him on extremely thin ice. It had to. I don’t think it was a fire-able offense, but I’m sure it means that Minaya needs to watch his step over the next year or so. Continue reading “Piling On Omar Minaya; Mets Won’t Fire Him”

Video: Ken Rosenthal Previews Mets-Cubs Series

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 04:  Rich Harden #40...
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Fox Sports Ken Rosenthal previews this weekend’s Mets-Cubs series at Wrigley. It’s funny that they introduce that piece as a preview of the “great” match-up’s on Fox this weekend. I’d hardly call this series “great”. I think that I’d use the adjective “weak”. Both teams are in the tank and the Mets already threw in the towel for this season. The rumors are that the Cubs have too by putting Rich Harden on waivers with word that he was claimed by the Twins.

View the video here.

Mets News Aug. 27, 2009 Perez, Minaya, Putz

NEW YORK - APRIL 29:  Johan Santana #57 of the...
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I’m a little behind on my Mets news. But I’m ready to jump back in. As I’m writing this I’m listening to the Mets-Marlins game on the radio. I usually watch on TV but this team has become one that I can’t bear to watch anymore. They could get swept in Florida for their sixth consecutive loss. It’s gone from ugly to I don’t know what to call it.

Anyway, here’s the news:

  • Oliver Perez is done for the season. He’ll have surgery to address tendinitis in his right knee. He stole $12 million from the Mets this season. I can’t imagine that he’ll be able to repay them over the next two seasons.
  • Joel Sherman of NY Post writes about Omar Minaya’s horrible press conference announcing that Johan Santana is done for the season.
  • J.J. Putz is done for the season after an MRI showed fraying and tearing in his right forearm. He doesn’t need surgery though. He left the team on June 4 for surgery and only appeared in 29 games this season. What a waste!
  • Matthew Artus of Always Amazin’ asks the question that everyone wants to know: Why did the Mets keep pitching Santana when they knew he was injured? Artus says that heads need to roll over this and I can’t say that I disagree.
  • Dave Singer of NY Sports Dog writes that several Mets bloggers were recently injured and lost for the season.
  • Dave at Mets Lifers ponders the worst Mets lineup ever.

Audio: Minaya Addresses Wagner, Santana, Putz, Perez

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Here’s the conference call with reporters to address the surgery that Johan Santana will have. Omar Minaya also gets into the Billy Wagner trade to the Red Sox, J.J. Putz‘ next rehab appearance being delayed, and Oliver Perez coming back to New York to have his knee examined.

As usual, Minaya stumbles and bumbles his way through the call. It’s bizarre that he doesn’t even remember that Santana had elbow problems during spring training that almost caused him to miss opening day. It’s also odd that Minaya hasn’t spoken to Santana yet about the injury and impending surgery.

Oliver Perez To Have Knee Examined

NEW YORK - MAY 13:  Oliver Perez #46 of the Ne...
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On the heels of the news that Johan Santana is finished for the season, WFAN is now reporting that Oliver Perez is leaving the team to return to New York to have his right knee examined. This comes after Perez was rocked for 6 runs on Sunday against the Phillies in .2 innings.

Perez missed most of May and June on the disabled list because of his knee. But I always suspected it was more of a phantom injury because he was pitching so poorly. He seemed to tweak the knee while covering first base on a play on August 18 against the Braves. But he did his side work and made the unsuccessful start against the Phils on Sunday.

Perez has pitched decently, but not great, since returning from the DL on July 8. He hasn’t pitched more than 6.1 innings in a game since then. We don’t know what this will mean for the rest of the season.

Johan Santana Surgery Will End Season

Johan SantanaWFAN is reporting that Johan Santana will have arthroscopic elbow surgery to remove bone chips in his arm. Santana’s season is over, much like the Mets.

Santana finishes the season at 13-9 with a 3.13 ERA and 1.212 WHIP for a team that is currently 57-68. Reports from the team are that Santana hasn’t been throwing between starts since the All-Star break. The last thing Mets fans had to cheer about is over. Santana went 8-3 at home and 5-6 on the road. He pitched 3 games against their biggest rival, the Phillies, and went 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA.