Image by Getty Images via Daylife Mets manager Jerry Manuel told reporters before tonight’s game that outfielder Ryan Church will be activated prior to Friday’s game against the Astros. He expects Church to be in the lineup Friday and Saturday, then get a day off on Sunday.
We’ve heard that Church is close to coming back from his post concussion syndrome before. But it sounds like this is legitimate.
The Mets got the news that Billy Wagner still has pain and swelling in his left elbow after being examined in New York. His return is unknown and there’s early speculation that he may not be back this season at all.
Wagner’s had a checkered record this season but he’s the only legitimate closer on the team. There isn’t a back up eighth inning guy that can walk in and take his place.
This could be a huge blow to the Mets playoff hopes if he can’t come back this season. Omar Minaya needs to work the phones for a waiver deal to see if he can work a team that’s out of contention for a legitimate closer.
The Mets did make a deal with Washington last week for Luis Ayala but he’s not the solution to this problem. Ambirorix Burgos is working his way back from Tommy John surgery and may be able to get on the roster by the end of August or September. But who knows what we’ll get out of him this season?
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
The Mets activated relief pitcher Luis Ayala acquired in a trade with the Washington Nationals. To make room on the 25 man roster the Mets optioned Eddie Kunz to Triple-A New Orleans.
Kunz was clearly overmatched in his short stint with the Mets. He pitched in four games to a 13.50 ERA. He looks like he has potential but he’s certainly not there yet.
Image by Getty Images via Daylife
Billy Wagner pitched a simulated game in Pittsburgh on Saturday. He’s attempting to return from a stint on the disabled list for a problem with his left forearm. But he suffered a setback when his left elbow felt sore. He’ll return to New York today to be examined by the Mets medical staff. Obviously, he won’t come off the disabled list as planned tomorrow.
The Wagner setback leaves us crossing our fingers, holding our breath, or covering our eyes at the end of games into this week. As many saves as Wagner has blown this season, it’s still difficult to watch the patchwork bullpen working through close games in late inning situations.
Ryan Church was the designated hitter yesterday in the Gulf Coast League. He’ll return to New York to play with Brooklyn or Binghamton as inclement weather is expected in Florida. The Mets want him to keep playing games as much as possible. His next step is to play right field in a game tomorrow.
I’m still surprised that the Fernando Tatis and rookie platoon in left field has gone as well as it has since Church went on the disabled list.
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Image by Getty Images via Daylife
Closer Billy Wagner is scheduled to pitch a simulated game in Pittsburgh today. The plan is to activate Wagner from the disabled list on Monday when he becomes eligible.
Wagner pitched an inning on Thursday night in Bingamton and decided not to pitch another rehab game in Brooklyn today. He’ll be throwing to hitters in front of pitching coach Dan Warthen. If all goes well look for him to be available to pitch Monday in the final game of the series against the Pirates.
>The Mets Blog at NY Post is reporting that Ambiorix Burgos is pitching again after having Tommy John surgery last year. He pitched a scoreless inning today for the Gulf Coast Mets.
Of course, you remember that Burgos was acquired in the ill-fated trade with the Kansas City Royals for Brian Bannister.
I’ve written before about the stunning turnaround the Mets pitching staff has taken since the firing of Rick Peterson and promotion of Dan Warthen. Oliver Perez looks like a completely different player. Mike Pelfrey, who started to figure it out under Peterson, has been astounding. But Aaron Heilman, Duaner Sanchez, and Pedro Martinez haven’t been so successful under Warthen.
But I like Warthen’s approach, maximize each pitcher’s strengths. There’s no one approach that applies to every pitcher like Peterson seemed to have.
David Lennon of Newsday wrote a good column yesterday and had some interesting quotes:
“My first two years here, I didn’t feel like I could talk to him,” said Mike Pelfrey, who is 7-1 with a 2.83 ERA since Peterson was fired. “It always seemed like he wanted everything done his way … He always got you to believe that what he wanted was right, I just felt like sometimes he wanted to clone people and try to make people the same way. I think we’re all different, and we need different things to get problems solved.”
“All these guys have to have a voice and I don’t think they did have a voice – there was only one voice,” Warthen said. “They do a lot more speaking than I do. That’s the first thing I told them. I don’t want a bunch of clones. I want five different-looking starters, I want you guys to be who you are, and we’ll adjust to that. I’ll adjust to you, you don’t adjust to me.”
“I had a great relationship with Rick before, but you can see this is different,” Santana said. “The guys are much looser. They feel more comfortable. With Rick, there was always a lot of numbers and other stuff. This is more about being yourself.”
It’s pretty clear that the pitchers have responded well to Warthen. He’s not a “guru” in the sense that Peterson was, with his own philosophy that everyone had to abide by. In many ways he appears to have the opposite approach of Peterson, and it’s working in most cases.
Flickr photo courtesy of tedkerwin
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The Mets Report 