Category: Spring Training

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

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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.

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.

Mets Angel Pagan Hurt Again

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A really sad story for a guy that I liked to have an impact on the Mets this season. Angel Pagan has been a really fast starter the last two seasons only to be injured along the way. We found out today that Pagan came back to New York for tests on his inflamed right elbow. The diagnosis is a bone spur that may require surgery.

Pagan was hitting .467 in 15 at-bats this spring and, in my mind, was a lock to make the team as corner outfielder that can switch hit. The Mets really need someone that can sub in defensively in left field for Daniel Murphy or Fernando Tatis. They also need a right-handed bat off the bench.

Last season Pagan got off the a hot start and got a ton of playing time because of Moises Alou’s injuries. He injured his shoulder in May in Los Angeles going for a fly ball over the wall.

Hopefully, Pagan won’t require surgery and will have a chance to do some damage for the Mets this season. I was really looking forward to seeing him play a key role off the bench. It looks like Bobby Kielty will fill the role of reserve outfielder and he’s also a switch hitter.

Mike Pelfrey Another Injured New York Met

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Mike Pelfrey is reported to be experiencing some pain in his lower left leg. He had an MRI on the leg and is expected to miss at least a few days of work outs. Pelfrey is the latest Met to be experiencing some minor pain this spring.

The list of Mets that have minor injuries is somewhat alarming. But we have to remember that every team is overly cautious in the spring to avoid problems that spill over into the regular season.

The reason to be concerned about Pelfrey is sherely because Johan Santana has experienced some elbow problems. So if Santana can’t go on opening day in Cincinnati, it would have been Pelfrey that likely would have led the rotation. But let’s not get crazy in the first week of March until we have more conclusive information.