The SNY post game show interviewed Jose Reyes who said that his hamstring is sore and he won’t play tomorrow. He’s going to take it day by day. He left the game in the fifth inning after being doubled up on a ground ball.
Likely Damion Easley will fill in for Reyes. If a long term solution is needed Anderson Hernandez would be the logical choice but a roster move would be required to get him on the major league roster.
Image via WikipediaAaron Heilman pitched the eighth inning tonight despite having three poor performances to start the season. I have to admit that I thought it would be better to put him in a less stressful position. Willie Randolph is loyal to his veteran players, sometimes to a fault. He kept Heilman in his normal eighth inning role.
Heilman is pitching to a 9.00 ERA so far this year and has been the goat of several recent games. He even walked two batters in his appearance tonight.
Clearly Randolph is standing by Heilman as his setup man but the leash has to be shorter than when the season began last week. I don’t sense any sentiment among Mets fans that Heilman is the closer of the future for the Mets. Billy Wagner is still under contract for next season so there’s no immediate need for concern. I like Heilman’s stuff as a setup man and hope tonight’s eighth inning is a sign that he’s back on track.
Multiple media sources are reporting that the Mets have signed former Milwaukee Brewer Claudio Vargas to a minor league contract. As I posted when Vargas was released by the Brewers, he was with Omar Minaya in Montreal and is a good risk as a substitute starting pitcher. With Pedro Martinez and El Duque both on the disabled list, it’s a good idea to stockpile some potential replacements. We’ll see one of them tomorrow night as Nelson Figueroa gets a start against the Brewers.
The Post is reporting that the Mets offered Claudio Vargas a minor league deal with the news of El Duque’s rehab setback today.
It’s a good move for the Mets as insurance. Right now, the Mets need all of the starting pitching options that they can get.
Multiple media sources are reporting that El Duque has a strained tendon in his foot and will be wearing a walking boot for the next two weeks.
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I don’t think we’re going to see much of El Duque or Pedro Martinez in the first half of this season. It would be great if the Mets could get a lead or hang in there until the All-Star break. Having those two pitchers come into the rotation at that point would be a nice shot in the arm for the team and avoid having to part ways with valuable prospects to obtain more pitching.
After watching Santana pitch against the Florida Marlins on opening day last week, one A.L. executive told Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci:
“Santana’s going to win 30 games in that league. Mark it down. Who’s going to hit him with those lineups? In that league he might win 30 and strike out 300. I’m not kidding.”
Verducci put the over/under on Santana’s wins this year at 21. I’ll take the over. If he gets 35 starts in this season, I think that he could win 22 or 23. As the column states, Bob Welch won 27 games in 1990. He was the last pitcher to win over 25.
Luis Castillo left today’s game after four innings due to knee soreness. He’s had knee problems since he arrived in New York via trade with the Minnesota Twins last season. He blamed the cold temperature after chasing a foul pop up in the first inning for the pain.
Castillo expects to miss tomorrow’s game but may be back soon. From MLB.com:
“I’ll play when I’m ready,” he said. “I want to be 100 percent before I start playing.”
The Mets have Damion Easley and Marlon Anderson that can fill in. It would be nice to have Ruben Gotay right now.
The Mets Report 