New York Mets 2011

[sonny10305]

When Constanza slid into Murphy’s knee Daniel knew immediately he was in trouble, he had felt that pain before he knew what it meant. As Collins and the trainers tried to comfort him the only words they heard were “Get Me off The Field” which he said repeatedly to any question he was asked. He was in terrible, one might say excruciating pain. He was taken in and an X-ray was taken which was negative and showed no breaks or fractures but that was little comfort to Murph case he already knew what had happened, this was not his first time at that fuckin rodeo. He left immediately for the hospital for special surgery for an MRI and a few hours later we had the news that he had Grade 2 MCL tear.
I want to point out something very important, at least to me, I spoke to three Mets players who all agreed that there wasn’t any malicious intent behind Constanza's slide into Murphs knee, it was a clean slide that went terribly wrong when Murph applied the tag and Constanza's spike drove into the lower part of leg. Fortunately this is not the MCL he damaged last year on his right knee one. which was a grade one tear this time it is being called a grade two tear which is not as bad, so there is that. Murph still wears a brace on that right knee
So there will be no surgery and he will rehab for at least 4-6 weeks and he is out for the season.
The only contact I have had with Murph is thru text, I did not want to bother him just let him know I was thinking about him, his response was “Do u freakin believe this” talk 2 u later” I did talk to Evans late last night who said that Murph was in a lot of pain but he had also not spoken as yet to Murph after the incident, Nick was just sick about it. Murph and Nick are best buds who just hours before were having a little fun in the clubhouse, Murph was all over Nick for “robbin his spot” on the roster that night. Nick played first and Murph had the night off against the lefty Braves pitcher. Unfortunately he was used to pinch hit which is a choice Collins prolly regrets making now.

I will get into the office get some things caught up and then the plan is to spend the day with Murph, I will pick Murphs brother Jonathan at the airport and we then seeing what we can do to make Daniel comfortable. I have a message from Daniels sister Patty not sure what she wants I am trying to get back to her. I am thinking Murph will want to go to home to Florida as soon as possible

I wont be writing any more today maybe tomorrow if you guys are interested drop by here maybe I will have more info.

You nailed it on Murphy gtru, he is a great kid and he did not deserve this thanks for your thoughts I will pass on your message.

Jose Reyes also came out of the game yesterday with his hamstring acting up again with what is being described as a mild left hamstring pull, Jose also went to the Hospital for Special Surgery for an MRI. Reports What I hear this morning is that he will not be put on the DL right away (Murph will) but could be out for about 3 weeks…again not sure of that let you know when I know for sure.
Meantime Ruben Tejada is coming back today to play shortstop with at least one other move expected later this morning.
.

 

[sonny10305]

^^In my post above I said 4-6 weeks rehab but that includes about 4 months for full recovery

 

[syam24]

Pretty bummed out by the injuries to Reyes and Murphy, especially, Murph. He's having a terrific year at the plate. Jose, hopefully, will rebound quickly and get back into the lineup. More opportunities for Nick Evans at first, I would presume, with Duda in against righties. Let's go Mets!!

 

[syam24]

Wow, what a wild game last nite was. Mets hit 3 HR's, lead 4-1, then Pelfrey gives it all back. Bullpen throws fuel on the fire and the Mets trail 8-4, Beato and Igarashi were not good at all. We get a couple of runs in the eighth to make it 8-6, with the help of a double by Baxter, a most recent call up from Buffalo. In the ninth, the Mets tag Heath Bell for three runs with Duda's two run single the winning hit. Hurray for all the replacement players who have been augmenting the remaining starters with some key hits. DWright had a very good game with a couple of hits and a beautiful diving catch of a foul pop. Lots to be happy about form this effort. Lets go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

Well if you are wondering about Daniel Murphy’s mental state you can rest assured it is great. Physically he has that injury but his mind is set on going forward and getting healed even faster than last year. The reasons are simple to understand, as Murph explains, the pain is no where near as bad as last year He also considers himself lucky the injury turned out the way it did cause it was confined to the MCL in his knee and did not affect the ACL or meniscus, and that is hugh and makes all the difference. Yes he is frustrated cause he is going to have to miss the rest of the year, his biggest regret is that he cant help his team win, he is not feeling sorry for himself just hates letting his team down and not being able to contribute. But again he is full of optimism cause he knows what the outcome of this injury will be, he knows basically how it ends. Knocking on his other knee, which was injured last year, he said this one feels great now and has all season, also he knows he will be fine and fully recover again this time, no doubt about it. He also predicted the healing time will be quicker, last time it was almost four months to full recovery but yesterday he said he expects to cut that by at least a month maybe two. Right now getting around is a pain in the butt cause he will for a while at least need crutches to move around so everything we take for granted is a challenge for him simple things like getting up and moving from one room to another to taking a shower etc is all a little tough, Yes he grumbles about it under his breath but never complains.

The day started with me not knowing how to react to seeing him for the first time since he got hurt, do I goof on him or play it down, well I got my answer as soon as I walked in the room, there was Murph sitting in a chair with a ball in his hand and he turned to me and said “wanna play handball?” See Murph and I play handball sometimes racquetball but I know it will be a while before we do that again so to hear that to see he was upbeat and not at all depressed by what has happened jus lifted my spirits but then again I shudda known that would happen cause well…that’s Murph.

He wanted to get to Citi Field to clean out his locker and wish his team well in the rest of the season so a little after 5 that’s where he went. The outpour of love and excitement to see him from everyone there was overwhelming, I could mot properly put it into words or give it justice.
There happen to be press at Citi when Murph got there so they were all over him like white on rice but Murph was the same ole good natured dude he always is and answered questions for about 20 min. Eventually Terry Collins came in and took him away to spend a few private moments. I asked Murph what Collins said and he told me how encouraging he was telling him to get well and not worry about next year, what Terry has been saying and Alderson as well, is that Murph is going to be a big part of the Mets in 2012 and they are going to find a spot for him someplace.

Since Ike Davis will be back next season at first base, Murph will need to reinvent himself….. again. Collins and Alderson have both said that if not second they would like to see him work on learning to pay the outfield. Collins also said even if Murphy’s medial collateral ligament tear in his left knee heals quickly enough to allow for participation in the fall instructional league or in winter ball, he does not want him playing that soon. Terry feels that Murph has got 400 at-bats and he does not have to prove anything. He wants Murph in St. Lucie in January, where he can learn what ever position the Mets decide to place him in.

Sandy Alderson also said yesterday that Murphy will be a regular player for the Mets somewhere next year, although he did not indicate it would be exclusively one position. Sandy also fells that they did not do Daniel justice by bouncing him all around all season never getting the chance to learn any one spot and that has to be changed. Sandy said a lot of nice things about Murph yesterday including “Any time you’re fourth of fifth in the league in hitting, you need to try to find a place for that player to play, and so I think he got to that level, and that’s how we view it.” In a statement I heard Sandy say just made me feel so good when he said, .and I’ll try to say it exactly as I heard Sandy say it, “When you talk about a team like the Mets that has made it on guts, effort, commitment and enthusiasm you think about Murphy who personifies that.
Well said Sandy…yup that’s our Murph.

Just a a reminder of what he accomplished in 2011 he finished the year at .320, drove in a ton of runs with RISP at .365 I wonder what he would have done had he finished the year…well we will find out in 2012

Ike Davis was off early this morning to North Carolina to see that doctor he saw when he first got injured he really liked that doctor and wants him to have a look at his ankle, more on that tomorrow.

Gtru whata ya mean “Usually I read all the comments” how will I ever covert you to a Mets fan if you don’t read ALL the comments?

Thanks Syam for keeping the thread alive with posts on the games, I am a little preoccupied these days with my boys and their injuries. I will have some things to tell you guys about Mike Baxter soon, I know him having met him in Buffalo and was so proud of his at bat yesterday. That was his grandma that the camera showed in the stands all excited.

 

[sonny10305]

No change in Ike Davis plans after he saw that doctor at Duke University in North Carolina yesterday who agreed with team doctors that he should rest for another three weeks, after that the team will decide whether or not he should have surgery on his ankle. Ike just needed that secon opinion it was worth a shot, at least now he can forget about changing the plan for now. He is going home to Arizona now but will spend time with the Mets this weekend in Phoenix when they face the Diamondbacks.

As I mentioned yesterday Mike Baxter got the call up from Buffalo on Monday night, what is especially great is that it was only weeks after being claimed off waivers by the Mets and only like hours after being called up from AAA, I just get so excited for those guys when that stuff happens. Monday night he stood at the plate and hit the first pitch he got which was a sinker that resulted in a run-scoring double which stared us off on a five-run Mets rally. This kid has been a Mets fan a while he grew up watching the Mets at Shea, If you know Queens you maybe familiar with Cunningham and Little Bay Park near the Throgs Neck Bridge which is where he played as a kid. Turns out he had about 50 family and friends watching him hit that ball Monday at Citi. Of course that hit he got in his first at bat in the majors is something he won’t soon forget. You will see more of him tonight (Wednesday) Collins will give him the start in the outfield.

You may have seen Manny Acosta get hit in the hand with a ball last night and leave the game, turns out not to be serious he lost half the nail on his right pinkie he won’t be available tonight but should be ok in a day or two.

I will miss Kevin Burhardt the next three days, he is off to Dallas today do his first Cowboys broadcast. He will be back with the Mets on Friday in Arizona. I just love when the boys pass it on to Kevin during a game for one of his great stories and of course the after the game interviews. Kevin is probably the most beloved broadcaster the Mets have all the guys on the team love and respect him so much. He has established a close relationship with guys like Wright, Murphy and Pelfrey to name a few.

How excited am I to hear that my good buddy TJ Chism is going to join Richard Lucas, Danny Muno, Travis Taijeron, Charley Thurber and Tyson Seng to compete in Tuesday's NYPL All-Star Game in Lowell, MA. I am so Proud of TJ and just wait till they get a look at that change up and curveball of his which he will tell you improved as a result of taking my advice and dropping his arm slot a just a little bit. Danny, Travis and TJ are like my kid brothers just mention their name and watch me smile.

 

[sonny10305]

I liked the way Baxter handeld right field last night.
This afternoon my boy Nick Evans gets a chance to play out there..Go get em Nick.
Last night in he bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded I thought wow what a great spot that would have been for Murphy and his bat.
Instead we got Harris

Murph wanted to go to the park again last night here he is, can you hear him say
"Put me in I ready to play"?

Seriosly I'm ready



After the inning ended "Aww, we will get em next time"

 

[gtru1981]

Gtru whata ya mean “Usually I read all the comments” how will I ever covert you to a Mets fan if you don’t read ALL the comments? .

I been super busy and without SNY i havent really been paying attention. I just discovered a Chicago channel that i can watch Cubs and White Soxs games lol. i been to lazy to switch tv providers. Also, i been paying alot of attention to the Yankees, bc i LOVE David Robertson (sorry replacing one David for the other). I even going to his function for the flood victims.

I still have love for the Mets, been taking tons of non-Met fans this year to Citi Field (Yankee and Soxs fans). They all seem to love Citi Field and i thinking of getting season tickets for next year

Also, what The Jets and Giants didnt want to hire your boyfrind Kevin, so he had to get a job with the Cowboys lol. That just as bad as working for the Soxs! lol, let me call Sanchez and see if we can work something out lol.

I am going the next two weekends to games at Citi Field bc they are having wonderful promotions. I am super excited to stalk, wait i mean meet Ryan Braun lol. Sonny, how close are you with the Mets security just in case lol.

 

[syam24]

THis road trip has been less than great so far. The Mets have gotten a couple of wins, but many more losses. One great thing was Izzy getting his 300th career save!! That is very cool. Now, the Mets say they will begin, in earnest, the transition to see what Bobby Parnell can do in save situations. I'm hoping for success, but I have my doubts. He needs to get a little movement on his fastball, or get an effective offspeed pitch. Mets leading as I type this in SD 4-0. Lets go Mets!!!

 

[Red Storm]

what happened to Ike? and when is he coming back? anyone know? havne't been following much on our alumni but noticed he is not starting.

thanks

 

[syam24]

Ike Davis injued his ankle back in late April or May, and has been sidelined since. He's had a few fits and starts with the recovery, but it has been extremely slow in healing, and may eventually require surgery. Probably no more baseball for Ike this season.

 

[sonny10305]

Red Storm if you go back and read this thread you will find out plenty about Ike Davis I write about him often.

Yup syam it was not out best road trip that’s for sure. As for Izzy, wasn’t that some terrific milestone for him. As to Parnell, Collins has been saying he wants Izzy to help prepare Bobby in the transition to closer I am just not sure Bobby Is ready for the role, neither is Beato. For me neither one is ready for that role and I wonder just what Alderson will do for 2012 in the closing position I just don’t see him spending a lot of money via free agency to fill that void. Hey With Francisco Rodriguez coming to Citi Field with the Milwaukee Brewers maybe we can borrow him this weekend.
Syam you also mentioned Parnell’s pitches but I think his arsenal of pitches makes him even more equipped to be a closer than K-Rod. Think about it a minute, Bobby has better stuff than K-Rod, difference is that K-Rod knew what to pitch, recognizing bad swings. Did you know Bobby was a third baseman in high school?
Looking toward the future our options internally are rather limited. Actually if you think about it the closer market over the last couple of years, it hasn't been a place where free agents are getting major contracts. Our bullpen is not in very good shape right now and will have to be a major focus for 2012 especially on the back end. As a matter of fact I expect a few changes across the board next year we certainly have the talent waitin to come up. I think our player development guy; Paul DePoesta did a great job especially this past week with the signing of Brandon Nimmo, who was our number one pick. As a matter of fact we got just about everyone we wanted signing nineteen of the first twenty, we ended up signing everybody in the top eleven rounds, including a couple of players that I was particularly happy to see who look really good I am so glad he was able to convince them to start their pro careers rather than go to college.
Another couple of pitchers we signed that I like are right hinders Logan Verrett and Christian Montgomery,

Now that we can basically say we are out of he playoff race, we can look forward to what is always an exciting time for me (you know how I love the up and coming kids) getting a look at some of the young and hungry September call-ups which is always a ton of fun to see and of course gives us a look at the future of our team. Some of them we have already seen like Nick Evans and Fernando Martinez but there are a lot of other guys you are going to see more of next month I think you l be impressed with. the guys seeing their first major league action, just a great chance to see some of the players who will be playing and scrappin for a spot on the roster next season. Nick Evans will of course stay with us and we will see very talented kids like Zach Lutz who was our fifth round selection, I think it was in the 2007 MLB draft. He is a.289 hitter and has eight home runs in 41 games this year. He is primarily a third baseman, so he likely will see most of his at-bats come from off the bench if he does get called up. Then there is Dale Thayer who can certainly help us out in the bullpen, Thayer is not a prospect since he is 30 now but he is someone who could help the Mets next season. I watched him pitch in Buffalo and had a chance to get to know him a bit he pitched well in the minors. Next I would like to see Josh Satin, problem is he is not currently on the Mets' 40-man roster but we do have an open spot on the roster. I have watched Josh play all around the infield, mostly at second base. Checking his stuff between AA and AAA, Satin is hitting about.330 with about a dozen homers and at least 70 RBI. Speaking about infielders we also have Jordany Valdespin I am sure you guys will get to see him on September. In AAA he is hitting just about .285 with 15 home runs and around 30 stolen bases. Ole reliable Fernando Martinez should also see some playing time with us in September I know you guys know this kid he has been around for a while now and has been up several times since signing in 2005 Problem with F-Mart is he has seen limited playing time in the majors; he has dealt with a number of injuries. I think he only played about 60 games at AAA cause he keeps getting hurt but he has had eight home runs and 30 RBI this year. If the kid can stay healthy he will have a chance to make the Mets out of spring training next year. Expect to see guys like Miguel Batista, Chris Schwinden, John Lujan, Pat Misch and Robert Carson, Mike Nickeas should also be back.
You probably heard that Jason Bay, Chris Capuano, D.J. Carrasco, Willie Harris and Angel Pagan had cleared waivers and will be eligible to be traded to any other major league team. You may have also heard that Scott Hairston, Jason Isringhausen and Tim Byrdak, became eligible as well becoming free agents this winter, but don’t look for that to happen I think they will all remain Mets for the remainder of the season. That’s because all three of them were claimed off waivers but then pulled back by the Mets, making them ineligible to be traded this month. I wanted to explain to those of you don’t understand that once a Mets player is claimed in August, Alderson can only work out a trade with that particular team during a brief window. If the sides cannot work out a deal, Alderson could dump the contract on the claiming team or pull the player back. That’s why are no longer eligible to be traded this month. But don’t read into that the Mets intended to trade Hairston, Isringhausen or Byrdak. Just that Alderson is free to speak with any team for the remainder of the month about acquiring their services. Now to take this a bit further, Capuano and Pagan clearing waivers does not mean the Mets intend to trade them. A lot of players go through waivers, if only to make it harder to determine which players a team really does want to trade.

In injury news, Ike Davis is counting down the days to decide on surgery he will make that call in about 15 days He is not running only working on the tread mill for now. Daniel Murphy is doing well he feels pretty good, and its funny how this injury mirrors his last one, he can wake up and say, ok this or that is what will happen next. You will be happy to know he is in a good place now accepting what happened and looking forward to January when he will report to Florida. The only real discomfort he gets is sometimes while he is asleep he might make a sudden move to roll over or something on his knee and will get a jolt form that but the pain quickly subsides.
Johan Santana should be throwing off a mound next week. He still wants to get in at least one pot two starts in before the season ends Sept. 28
Jose Reyes is scheduled to do some running on Friday, and if it goes well I'd guess he'll return I would think quickly perhaps as early as next week. Jose is said to be feeling great and anxious to get started swinging, hitting, catching groundballs, throwing and some lateral exercises.


I wanted to write a little something about Lucas Duda who is becoming the Murph for the end of the season; I mean how great has he been playing. I can’t write a lot about him on a personal level cause even though I first saw him in Brooklyn and later in Buffalo. The kid doesn’t talk much he is very shy and soft spoken never say much, just a lot of yup, ok and thanks. Not that he is unfriendly or he just does not talk much and is a hard kid to get to know. I wish Collins would put him out in right field we need to see what he can do out there. He sure won’t be paying first base for us in 2012 so why Terry keeps playing him there makes no sense to me. He should have given more playing time to Evans at first and put Duda in right instead of Pridie. But I love Collins he usually know s what he his doing so I will respect his decision.

For you Cory Vaughn fans you will be happy to hear I spoke with him last weekend and he was planning on returning to the lineup Tuesday after that nasty bruised heel injury

Yesterday I went to Buffalo for a game nothing was gonna keep me from seeing. The Bisons manager Tim Teufel’s son, Shawn, pitched his first AAA game for the opposing team Toledo Mud Hens which is a Detroit Tigers team who promoted Shawn from A in the Florida State League and got the start against of all people his dad. Howe bout that
Shawn by the way was born in 1986, in the middle of Tim’s season playing with the 1986 World Series champion New York Mets. So how did Tim feel about his son on the mound against the Bisons, well Tim Teufel said that the perfect scenario would be his son Shawn to have a great start for the Mud Hens. And guess what, he pitched six innings of shutout baseball, striking out seven batters and giving up three hits. Final score Bisons loose 4-0. Tim later said It was one of those situations when you're caught between the love of your team and the love of the guy pitching, who happens to be your son, I could not take my eyes of Tim after every pitch Shawn threw, Tim was standing in the third bases coaching box, coaching against his son. He was nervous as a dad and thought he did a really good job throwing strikes and being calm about things. In fact Shawn was a lot calmer about things than he was, Shawn was not nervous he remembered what he was told and that was that it's the same in AAA as it is in A as long as you throw strikes and pitch your game. After the game Shawn said It was a good feeling that I helped the team win, and beating pops a little bit, it was fun, I would have to say as a major Bisons fan I found myself strangely rooting for that kid I remember in the third or fourth inning the Bisons loaded the bases and Shawn struck out Zach Lutz swinging and Valentino Pascucci looking to end the inning Was I supposed to be happy about that, well… for what ever reason I wont admit to any Bisons player…I wasn’t, weird huh?.

 

[sonny10305]

Yeah I know the Mets have been going down hill but it s stuff like what happened last night that keeps me going. Lucas Duda continues to get it done, finally, Collins put him in RF so we could have a look at him out there since that is prolly where he will play next year, he was a little shaky but that’s ok he needs to learn a few things pout there, but he cam thru with his bat again with his seventh home run of the season, finished the game 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.
Did you notice how patient he was letting those curve balls go waitin for the one to hit
Justin Turner is feeling better that poor kid has been beat up so bad this season but keeps on toughing it out last night he picked up two doubles and an RBI and that was with him batting in the eighth spot
Nick Evans finally got some at bats and came thru with two hits, a double and a fastball he crushed for a triple, in four at-bats scoring two of the Mets four runs I am forgiving that bases loaded thingie  Nick gets first again this afternoon lineup will, be Pagan-CF, Tejada-SS, Wright-3B, Duda-RF, Bay-LF, Evans-1B, Thole-C, Turner-2B, Pelfrey-pitching

Jon Niese and Scott Hairston headed to the disabled list; Mike Nickeas is back mainly cause Paulino hurt his toe may have broken it, will have to have X-ray. Meantime he can pinch hit with someone else running Of course, why not I expected Mike back in the September call ups anyways so an early call for him. He had quite an adventure getting here; first he took the AAA team bus from Columbus to Toledo last night, then a $120 taxi ride to Detroit and then flew to Philly. jezz

Niese reinjured a muscle on his right side; under his rib cage Hairston injured a muscle swinging on Tuesday blaming it on one of those pitches where it's a sudden movement
Not sure yet who will cover the other roster vacancy maybe Miguel Batista I also figure that, Batista, Pat Misch and Chris Schwinden are prolly gonna have two starts during the Marlins series next week specially with that makeup double header and Niese landing on the DL.

I hope you have been watching Kevin Burkhardt talking about the prospects during the games the past couple of days. Kevin follows those guys even closer than I do and will talk about them for the next couple of days I will also write more about those guys when I return from Buffalo next week. KB spoke about Reese Havens and right after Reese hit a three-run homer in Binghamton how bout that. Kevin has also promised to get to my golf buddy Cory Vaughn. Kevin is also gonna talk about the Twitter stuff going on with the players especially Dickey who tweets a lot as does Turner. That will be on the preshow.

Speaking of Binghamton Jose Reyes is going to play three straight rehab games there beginning Thursday, followed by an off day and then he is due to be activated from the disabled list Monday. But don’t expect to see Reyes play in both games of the double header Collins will play him in just of the two games and said he wants to rest Reyes periodically the rest of the season to try to guard against a recurrence of hamstring issues. Reyes in typical Jose form said he wanted to pay in both games. But no way Jose

Johan Santana threw off a mound in Port St. Lucie yesterday throwing a long-tossed a baseball at 100 feet. Santana is still hoping to get in one official minor league rehab game before those seasons end the first week of September. Prolly see him pitch in the fall instructional league in Fla., which begins Sept. 18, and even participate in a comparable fall league in the Dominican Republic. Winter ball in Venezuela is also a possibility. So it’s not looking like Johan will appear in a major league game this season, but it's not out of the question just yet.
I sure hope he is able to pitch at least one game it would be so great to se him out there one more time in 2011.

Ike Davis is getting close to a decision on his surgery. From what Ike says if he does have it it'll end up being the less invasive arthroscopic procedure to clean it up, rather than the micro fracture procedure with the tiny cracks that's more involved. More on that soon.

You guys know I love my Cyclones and if you have any interest in them as well please watch a great SNY show on tonight (Weds) at 7 pm, the show is called Brooklyn Cyclones: Baseball on the Boardwalk. It features my boys TJ Chism and Chase Greene, or as they are called by Cyclone fans “The Flow Bros.”

 

[syam24]

Hey, the Mets sweep the Braves!! Of course, it was only a one game series with Irene interfering and causing two rainout. Spectacular performance by Capuano! Well deserved for someone who obviously loves the game, what with coming back from two Tommy John surgeries. Lots of support in the lineup too. Hairston to the DL and Mets recall Miguel Batista, yes that Batista, who's been around forever it seems. Hopefully we'll get a few useful innings out of him.

 

[sonny10305]

Hey syam a sweep is a sweep a gift from Irene.
You said it, cappy was brilliant no doubt the best performance by a pitcher of the season, a two-hit,
13-strikeout shutout. He is a bit of a brainiac too; Chris graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in economics from Duke University, So now we have him with a 10-11 record with a 4.43 ERA what happens next. The Mets have to decide if they should resign him for next season, what is he worth and for how long. He’s been a pretty good pitcher for us I imagine now his confidence has gone up and we know he’s healthy so he could very well be a plus for our starting rotation. I want him back.

A scary moment in the game when Dobbs line drive caught a kid in the stands in the face, he needed significant medical attention. Justin Turner was very shook by that and after the game he went over to wait for the boy by the railing. Turner took off his jersey and handed it over as a souvenir. Terry Collins also came over, and Dobbs gave the boy a bat. We are still waitin to hear how the kid is Justin says think positive thoughts for him

Ike Davis was working the phones Monday checking in on everyone here in the east to see how we all were after Irene struck. He said he ran twice last week with absolutely no pain and was gonna do that again yesterday and today then a decision would be made about whether to avoid surgery, so any time now we will know. As I told you guys Ike has two surgical options the first is a less-invasive arthroscopic cleanout, and the other would be more involved micro fracture surgery which would make theses tiny cracks to stimulate blood flow and cartilage regeneration. But he is feeling really good and just might not need the surgery at all. We will know by the end of the week. If he has any surgery Ike says he will defiantly do it right away before Labor Day in fact. His last words were “see you soon” cause he is coming to New York for one more consolation and then the big decision.

Well I have to mention my boy Nick Evans and the job he has been doing, he had two hits in each game of the doubleheader hitting .526 he is 10-for-19 with five RBIs in his five starts at first base. You guys know for a long time I have been writing about Nick not just he is a friend but because I love the way he plays the game. He has had so many starts and stops bouncing back and fourth between the minors and the majors it has been very frustrating. He always plays really well in Buffalo but until now he has struggled in Flushing. Nick thinks a lot of that’s has to do with his confidence level in the bigs which ha gone way up now and the tremendous support he is getting from other players especially DWright. Plus of course he is finally getting to play every day. Hopefully the opposing pitchers won’t catch on to soon that Nick is a high ball killer if you throw him one it will be gone goodbye. A plus this year is that now he will remain on the 40-man roster through the winter and will surly come to spring training. Of course then we go thru the same thing again and that is make the team or get exposed to waivers which when he does he'd again have the option of becoming a free agent which he does not want ne wants to be a Met.

Caught up with Daniel Murphy who is almost positive he will not play winter ball, he will speak to Collins soon to decide for sure but it is looking like he won’t play. He expects to just come to Port St. Lucie in January and get started at second base and maybe some right field but mostly second. Murphy lives in Jacksonville, Fla. Just about a couple hours drive from St Luice and count on him to be the first player to show up next year he has always had a habit of getting to spring training early anyway but next year he will be the first one there, trust me. If you think about it besides his obvious talent value he also has financial value for the team cause he will only have two years, with just a little over 100 days of major league service time after this season and that keeps him short of being arbitration-eligible and ensuring his current salary remains set by the team, I wont post how much that is but I will say it is a really good deal for the Mets.

So Reyes came back and was a bit shaky out there but to be fait that is totally expected, watch for him to turn it around in a day or two Lets just hope that hammy stays healthy. In order clear roster room for Reyes, Mike Baxter was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo, but he will be back when the roster expands although he will need to serve 10 days in the minors, but he will be eligible to return about Sept 5th which is after the Bisons' regular season ends. I was surprised they did not just put Ronny Paulino and his broken toe on the disabled list to make room for Reyes, I mean Ronnie is pretty much useless, he can hit but can’t run and he can’t squat to catch so why is he on the roster? I need more info on that one.

I hope you guys saw the Mets public service announcements to launch an anti-bullying campaign. The Mets are teaming up with Stop bullying now to educate and support children about all forms of bullying. If you missed it they will be showing during the games at Citi Field and on SNY.
In the spots are Daniel Murphy, Jason Bay, Chris Capuano, R.A. Dickey, and David Wright, who all taped parts of the spots. Murph and Wright have teamed with the Stop Bullying web site to develop content to teach children about the importance of this problem.

 

[sonny10305]

Oh no when will it end, now Josh Thole took a hit to his hand and had to leave the game but the good news is it’s just a bruise , he did stay behind yesterday to have an MRI. It was feeling and looking better this morning the swelling went down, he says he will go to DC later to join the team and he should be ok although he will not catch tonight which worries me cause I just don’t know if Nickeous is up to catching Dickey. If Thole needs a few days off I would think we will need to bring someone up for a few days maybe Raul Chavez who is in AAA Buffalo. I think we should bring him up anyways since Ronny Paulino, is pretty much useless to us right now.
Rest of tonight’s lineup along with Nickeous and Dickey, Reyes, Turner, Duda, Wright, Pagan, Bay and Evans

How fun it was to see Josh Satin and Josh Stinson join the Mets when the roster expanded. I’ve met but don’t know Josh Satin all that well but I do know Josh Stinson I spent a lot of time with him last year, great kid and deserves this break. He was in PA and his car was still in Binghamton so he took a cab at a cost of $400 for a taxi from Pa. to Binghamton picked up his car and then drove to New York, the team paid the cab fare. I felt bad last night when Satin got as close to the on deck circle behind Reyes for his ML debut but Reyes made the last out and Josh lost that chance.

I was very interested in seeing how Batista would do last night and although he was a bit shaky in the first innings he did very well keeping the Marlins to two runs in six innings he also picked up his 100th career win. In spite of that outing I am betting Terry Collins won’t start him again when he would be due up Tuesday in Miami I’m thinking he may go to the minors and use Chris Schwinden. We could also see Pat Misch as soon as Buffalo’s season ends Monday.
Other Position-player candidates to be called up will be first baseman Valentino Pascucci, also Mike Baxter will be back. But I don’t expect Pascucci or Satin to take much time away form Nick Evans at first base. Satin can play first, second and third, but I think he will see a lot of time on the bench. Also coming up will be Left-hander Danny Herrera, expect him tonight.

Ike Davis as a September call up??
Well…not exactly, but he had this bright idea of joining the Mets in Florida next week to give that ankle a real try out before he decides on surgery. He had been saying he wanted to make that decision by or before labor day but now since he has been running so well and with no pain what so ever his thinking is let me try some light baseball work with the team and see how that goes. So after talking to Alderson, who checked with the trainers, the decision has been made for Ike to fly down to Florida and try some things like taking BP and grounders and most importantly first base moves like pivots and turns to test out the ankle. If he continues not to have pain then there will be no surgery and Ike can move on. Sounds a hell of a good idea to me keeping in mind the coaches and trainers will be there to watch over him, the trainers will decide what the next step for Ike will be. A big big plus for Ike will be working with his boys on the team again which he misses so very much. I will let you guys know how he does. The Ike man never gave up on the idea that he might escape surgery keping positive and never giving up and now it looks good for him to not need it.

I wanted to mention that Murphy no longer needs the crutches to walk; in fact he can walk without the brace and does not wear it all during rehab which is mostly body weight, squatting down and then moving back up. He should be moving on to the elliptical very soon which is the next step. So it is going very well for Murph. Most noticeable is that he can flex that MCL a little more each week I might even say he is a head of schedule, and why not, he is after all The Irish Hammer

Kevin Burkhardt returns tonight rejoining the team in DC, I dono about you guys buy I always miss KB when he is away, there is just something missing from the broadcast with his fun stories and great interviews cause no one does it better.

 

[sonny10305]

The minor league season is over and the Bisons have been eliminated, it ended with them having had one of their worst seasons at 61-81. Matt Harvey led the organization in wins and strikeouts, while Danny Muno had the best average. but it was a very good year for a lot of the boys who came to flushing to show their stuff and help the Mets finish the season with so many players in and out with injuries. Manager Tim Tuffell took everyone out and made a great speech about how proud he was of all the Bisons who have contributed to the Mets, pitching coach Ricky Bomnes also talked about his hard working dedicated pitching staff. It was a bittersweet weekend for me I always get sad when the season ends and all the guys go their separate ways and wait for the start of the new season. We also learned that two more players are coming up to NY, Valentino Pascucci and Chris Schwinden were both promoted yesterday they will join Mike Baxter who is coming back to NY. Chris Schwinden will make his major league debut Thursday in one game of a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves. I first got to know Chris in Brooklyn with the Cyclones in 2008, he was in the pen at first but quickly moved up into the rotation and wound up becoming one of the best pitchers on the staff. As I recall his ERA was about 2 as I recall his fastball runs about 90 mph fastball but he has hit 95’ it might be just a bit straight however. Still thou he does get some good arm side when he elevates it in the zone which gives him plenty of some swings and misses You will notice how he is able to paint almost always on the black on either side of the plate. He also has a killer changeup and expect him to throw an excellent curve which I think he said was his favorite. one other thing, and I know you hear me talk about this all the time with pitchers, his changeup doesn’t get enough separation from his fastball and he leaves it up in the zone far too much, but it is still a decent third pitch. Don’t care for his slider it just doesn’t have a lot of break but he does command it well and keeps it down in the zone. He will make a good addition to our staff for theses at few weeks along with the outstanding Josh Stinson

Then there are my Cyclones who on Friday had a one-game lead in the Wild Card, needing just a combination of two wins and/or Williamsport losses to clinch a playoff spot. And that is what they got with a victory over the Staten Island Yankees. So the Cyclones will be making a third consecutive playoff appearance. It will be their eighth total playoff appearance in franchise history. The team will be seeking their first NYPL Championship since 2001 Game One of the first round of the playoffs start today at home against the Staten Island Yankees.
Weather sucks so we may be in trouble with that. I spoke to both Daniel Muno and Travis Taijeron this morning and the weather is a big concern. Of course I will keep you guys up to what happens
Here is the scene on Friday after we clinched




On Ike Davis news, as I told you last week Ike had decided to go to Florida to do some baseball activities and really give that ankle a test. He ended up leaving home Friday and went to Port St Lucie to start workouts with the plan being to join the team when they come down on Sunday to play the Marlins. All went very well in Lucie Ike had no problems and met the team late Saturday when they arrived in Florida. He was like a kid in a candy store so excited to see all the guys and getting to do his work outs with them. So far so very good Ike has been testing the ankle to the limit not holding back at all giving it a good test and all has been pain free. He is running jumping taking ground balls including some piviting and all is good to go. So he will do that for two more days today and tomorrow and if all remains good and the team doctors sign off on it surgery will be ruled out, he will see the doctors on Thursday. Then he will in about a week go back home to Arizona to basically do nothing but fish (the kid loves to fish) and then decide what will be next. Ike dos not want to wait till January to start training for 2012 in St Lucie he is thinking so sort of baseball activates before then what exactly will be decided will he rests his ankle the next month and just goes fishin. About the only thing he still ahs is some stiffness but that should improve as the days go by.

Here are some pics of Ike working on the field on Saturday and one of him in the dugout last night with Duda.

 

[syam24]

Well, the Mets could have swept the Nationals, except for Parnell blowing the save in game 2 of that series. After a very lack luster game vs the Marlins on Monday, the Mets bounced back with an extra inning win on Tuesday nite. Another blown save by Parnell, but the Mets prevailed late, led by Nick Evans who had 3hits and 3 RBI's, the last one the game winner. Batista pitched well again. Season is in the home stretch, lots of young additions to the roster to get a major league look see. It's been a very interesting season as far as getting to see some of the young players, really before we expected to, and some have done a remarkably fine job. We need lots of pitching help, perhaps that will be the next layer of young blood, the Harvey's, Schwinden's, Stinson's (who has done well so far). Let's go Mets!!

 

[sonny10305]

You got it Syam it’s all about the new kids now and watching them strut their stuff and showin what they are made of that makes the games fun to watch. After all, the season is over for us but these kids make the games worth watching.

I cannot put into words how excited I am for Nick Evans who has finally been able to transfer all that success in had in the minor leagues to Flushing. I have been watching him play the way he is now for years but only now with the Mets. As I wrote earlier its all about his confidence which he has now and the support of his teammates who show him such great support that has helped turn it around for him. A big help is the fact that Collins is letting him play every day now and Nick is working hard with Chip Hale on things like scoping the ball and such and he is doing a bag up job at first. DWright loves how Nick is playing and tells him that often. Nick became the third player in franchise history to have three tiebreaking RBIs in the same game, joining Mike Piazza and Jason Phillips. For the first time I am feeling like Nick will finally get the break he deserves and has for sure enhanced his chances of making the 2012 Mets as a right-handed bat for the bench, the kid can play first base, third base and the corner outfield positions. In 13 starts at first base Nick is hitting .385 (20-for-52) with four doubles, a triple, three homers and 12 RBIs. Of course it’s a long way to opening day 2012 but I like Nick’s chances of finally making it next year.
After that great game Nick had last night I sent him a simple text that read “DUUUUUUDE”!!

I think Terry Collins who has been saying that he will stick with Parnell as our closer is now having second thoughts I think we can do better than Bobby. I just don’t see him as our closer next year.

David Wright was named National League Player of the Week.

Happy birthday today to Jason Isringhausen.

Tonight’s game is at 5pm, the Marlins were gracious enough to allow the early start in order to give the Mets a chance at an early trip home to NY for the double header tomorrow, Lets hope their isn’t another rain delay tonight to mess that up. Line up tonight Jose Reyes, Ruben Tejada, Lucas Duda,
David Wright, Angel Pagan, Jason Bay, Nick Evans, Mike Nickeas catching Dickey

 

[sonny10305]

So as I told you guys Ike Davis was going to se the doctor of Thursday regarding his surgery, and the doctors agreed he will not need to have it, Ike is going to have an MRI on the ankle as a final confirmation. He sayz he will hang around NY with the team until they go out on the road again and then he will head on home to take it easy for a month or so and then he will begin "training hard"

With Jason Isringhausen and that herniated disc in his back, the Mets will add Dale Thayer to the roster. You may remember Thayer who made four appearances with the Mets in late May and I think in early June.

I was sorry to hear that Mets PR chief Jay Horwitz broke his ankle while walking to work and needed surgery yesterday. Last night was the first game jay has missed in 21 years. The injury is pretty bad he stepped in what he thought was a puddle but turned out to be a hole and suffered multiple displaced fractures. Jay has been with the Mets since 1980 and is beloved by all the players and staff and has always been there for anyone needing help with just about anything. Jay is the go to guy. Feel better Jay.

Johan Santana is scheduled to make a rehab start tonight with the Savannah Sand Gnats. Darrell Ceciliani who plays on that team will call me tomorrow and let me know how it goes and I will pass it on.

Cyclones lost the first game of the playoffs and are playing game two this afternoon where they lead right now 8-5 in the 6th. I will head on over to the park later and get more on how the game went.