Amazin' Stories

The lineup

Cora SS Murphy 1B Wright 3B Sheffield LF Church RF Reed CF Schneider C Castillo 2B Perez P Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Another Step For Mankind - I mean Delgado

Carlos Delgado is out on the field playing catch and now fielding ground balls, which is a step ahead of where he is supposed to be. He hit off soft-toss pitching for the first time Tuesday and running is expected to be next. But this step shows something - not sure what, maybe that he's feeling good.

What we can't tell is how good or bad he is since he didn't exactly fly around by first base before the hip surgery.

Of Manny and Mice

Well, Manny Ramirez might be the biggest distraction in baseball right now and it wasn't enough to divert the reality from sinking in at Citi Field Tuesday night.

Sure, Manny was a show - drawing some boos, a few cheers and putting together a night's work of drama in just five innings before getting ejected to shouts of, "'roid rage" from the crowd.

But once that faded you could see the Mets flaws on display once again. As we detailed in today's Record, the Mets troubles seem to be just beginning. Carlos Beltran and  Jose Reyes are set back farther in their returns than the Mets hoped - dreamed of? - and will not be coming back when the team returns from the All-Star break next Thursday.

And the remaining pieces on the field displayed little prowess or hope for the Mets to turn their rapidly fading fortunes. They have now lost 9 of 11 games, been shut out for 22 consecutive innings and are hardly looking like a team with a pulse. David Wright admitted afterward, "We stink right now."

Asked to compare them to the Dodgers, owners of the best record in baseball, Jerry Manuel could not hide the reality anymore than he would if he donned a Manny dreadlock wig.

"The way we're playing and performing now there's definitely a difference," Manuel said. "The question becomes, do I think we're capable of playing on that level?"

And that answer is the one the Mets don't really want to face right now. Maybe Manny will provide a distraction again tonight. The Mets could use it.

The Sad Truth

With too much going wrong to get into details in the constraints of newspaper space, here's a little more on the Mets' troubling updates of Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran today.

Reyes:
Out since May 20, Reyes has been set back twice already, finally being diagnosed with a tear of his lower hamstring behind his right knee. Well, he reported to Port St. Lucie last week to try to accelerate his progress and returned to New York Tuesday to receive a cortisone injection. Omar Minaya tried to portray this as not a setback, but it's hard to see it as anything but.

Reyes will be shut down for a few days now before trying to resume his play in Florida. He will certainly be shut down beyond the wishful-thinking prognosis of just after the All-Star break.

Beltran:
He went on the DL on June 22 after playing much of the season with a deep bone bruise in his right knee. Since a trip to Colorado last week affirmed the diagnosis of rest as a solution, Beltran received his second bout of platelet replacement treatment, hoping to speed the healing. But he's still inactive, just riding a bike and doing work in a pool.

While Carlos Delgado was the biggest question mark before, a 37-year-old trying to return from major hip surgery, Minaya confessed that the best he could hope for was that maybe they would return before Delgado.

 

“I would like to think that they’re closer than Carlos Delgado is,” Minaya said. “When that is, I don’t know that. Delgado, we’re talking about the middle of August. We hope that these other guys are (back) before that.”

Manny and me

J.P. Pelzman here at the media circus that is post-suspension Manny Ramirez. While Steve was in the Mets' clubhouse, I went over to the LA locker room to see what Manny had to say.

As you might guess, not much. He repeatedly said he wanted to talk about baseball, and not about his 50-game suspension by MLB for testing positive for a banned substance.

"You want to talk about the game, I'll talk about the game," Ramirez said at the outset. When asked a question dealing with his suspension, he said, "Next!"

"I already talked about that" in San Diego, he added, referring to the first stop on his post-suspension tour. "That's in the past," he said of his suspension.

He refused to speculate about what kind of a reaction he'll get from the NY fans tonight. "I don't know," he said. "What do you think?"

The NYC native then was asked if he wished the Mets had pursued him harder when he was a free agent last winter. "That's in the past," he said. "I don't want to talk about that."

He was then asked about next week's All-Star Game and said, "I don't want to talk about that." When a questioner reminded him the ASG is in the future, Ramirez said, "I gotta go hit. I have to get ready for the game. ... If you guys want to talk about baseball, my locker is right here."

So here's my moment with Manny that inspired the title of this post. After his brief media briefing broke up, Manny passed me, still writing in my notepad. He looked over my shoulder. I thought he was going to criticize my horrible scribble/penmanship [which he would've been within his rights to do], but instead he said, "put in a good word for me for the All-Star Game next year."

I couldn't help but laugh. Just Manny being Manny.

Strange but true

The Mets are on the field for early work - fielding and calling for pop-ups.

Well, since they have dropped three and also had the Wright -Cora mix-up.

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The lineup

Castillo 2B Cora SS Wright 3B Sheffield RF Tatis 1B Church CF Evans LF Santos C Pelfrey P

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Practice Makes Perfect - or Passable

Well, in today's Record we tried to detail how to fix the Mets. Okay, a tough task that greater minds - I kid - have tried to handle with no success. But if the Mets aren't getting healthy or getting help yet, at least they took No. 3 on the fixes to heart.

The Mets are out on the field now with a huge contingent of players out for early work. So far it looks like little more than kids hanging out at recess, a few groups chatting and swinging bats like golf clubs. But they are out there and look like they will put some work in - infield practice I suppose because I see David Wright and Alex Cora already loosening up.

The Mets did this last time they opened a series at Citi Field and it didn't seem to work wonders. But at least they are trying. That's all we can ask right now.

All-Stars? Really?

It's hard to imagine today, waking up from the last two disastrous days for the Mets, but the announcements of the starting lineups for the All-Star Game were just released and the Mets have four players who made it.

Now, while we're in a negative mode here, David Wright and Carlos Beltran deserve to be voted in. Wright has been leading the NL in hitting much of the year and when he wasnt, Beltran was.

Of course, that doesn't weigh in Wright's mysterious lack of power and his sudden strikeout output. And Beltran almost certainly will not play, currently on the disabled list and not expected back until after the break.

The pitchers are debateable. Frankie Rodriguez made it from the bullpen and Johan Santana is an interesting case. For two months he was one of the top pitchers in the game. But in June he plummeted, going 2-4 with a 6.19 ERA. Does that deserve a spot coming from a sub-.500 team?

The lineup

A slight focus on defense today with Jeremy Reed in center? Actually no real choice with Gary Sheffield getting a day off and Fernando Martinez unavailable.

Cora SS Murphy 1B Wright 3B Church RF Evans LF Reed CF Schneider C Castillo 2B Santana P

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F-Mart is out

Fernando Martinez is out of action with pain behind his right knee.

He said he experienced similar pain two years ago and it cost him six weeks. But he insisted this should just be a couple days.

He will be examined by team doctors Monday in New York.

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Ollie is in

Well, that was quick - the Mets just announced that Ollie is starting Wednesday.

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Wednesday Starter

This is by no means official or final, but the pitching chart on the wall lists Tim Redding still as Wednesday's starter.

Oliver Perez is here so a decision is looming.

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The lineup

Great news - help is here! Oliver Perez has joined the team here today. He's not activated yet but the cavalry is here. Right?

Castillo 2B Cora SS Wright 3B Sheffield RF Tatis 1B Church CF Evans LF Santos C Nieve P

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The lineup

Cora SS Murphy 1B Wright 3B Sheffield RF Church CF Tatis 2B Evans LF Schneider C Hernandez P

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A Showdown In Philadelphia

While the Mets have been compared to their 1962 incarnation lately by finding comically tragic new ways to lose, perhaps it is the 1973 version of the Mets that they need to channel.

Tonight, the Mets begin a three-game series in Philadelphia with first place on the line. Really.

The Mets crawled back to .500 with two straight wins after their five consecutive losses and they hope that they have left all their troubles behind - the rain, the struggles and even the furry creatures. The Phillies have been just as bad, maybe worse - at least without the furry creatures though.

So the two teams will do battle. Jerry Manuel has already said that this series is less about a statement than survivial. No doubt the Phillies are thinking the same way. 

Mets Sign Urbina

The Mets have signed Juan Urbina, the son of former major leaguer Ugueth Urbina, on the first day of international signings.

Urbina, a lefthanded pitcher from Venezuela, is the lone signing by the Mets today. His father, who pitched 11 seasons in the majors, is currently serving a 14-year prison sentence on charges of attempted murder in Venezuela.

Mets Delayed until 1:05

There is no official word here yet, but with a 12:35 start time and the tarp still on the Mets and PIrates will certainly be delayed. A Mets official said that they have gotten no word of a start time - although they were told that the rain is expected to continue until at least 1 p.m.

Right now the Pirates are showing Abbott and Costello's Who's On First, which seems a waste of electricity since there aren't many more fans in the seats than there are press in the box. They just showed the fan of the game which prompted remarks that it was the only fan at the game. It looks like there are a few hundred fans here now.

The rain is very light right now, but with the tarp still on and no players out warming up this game has a while to go before it can start.

UPDATE:

The first pitch is now scheduled for 1:05. Pirates starter Paul Maholm and Mets' starter Tim Redding just made their way to the bullpen to start warming up.

The lineup revised

Too early:

Tatis is in left, Sheffield in right and Church in center.

So much for only risking this defensive configuration on a ground ball pitcher.

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The lineup

Castillo 2B Cora SS Wright 3B Sheffield LF Tatis LF Church RF Evans 1B Santos C Redding P

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Mets Latest Camp Trip

From my window here in Pittsburgh, I can see the Clemente Bridge leading from downtown to PNC Park. I can see into the stadium. I can see all the roads around it. And so far no Mets team march. No bus coasting along with camp songs bellowing from the team.

Thankfully.

It's hard to believe that the Wilpons spent $143 million this season and what we're counting on to carry them to victory is a team unity bus ride to the park. But, hey, whatever works.

As we detailed in today's Record, team meetings and bus rides got the attention, but it was Mike Pelfrey who made the difference in snapping the five-game losing streak. Somehow, after a week that felt like the end of the season the Mets arrived here in Pittsburgh for this - weather permitting - makeup of a rainout. I can also see that the tarp is on the field right now and a rainout might be the reprieve the Mets need.

The makeup game took away a much-needed off-day as the Mets ready for a three-game set in Philadelphia starting Friday. The Pirates may be depleted by trades, but I'd imagine they would still like to take a shot at the Mets. Remember, when the Mets left last time, Adam LaRoche angrily denounced Carlos Beltran's claim that the Mets should have beaten up on the Pirates and that the Mets were a better team.

Beltran won't be here - and most of the Pirates who were here for the series then aren't either. Beltran's claim feels a little hollow now anyway since the Mets are only 2 1/2 games better than the Pirates right now and both teams are under .500.

Hey, I see a bus - no, that's just a Department of Corrections bus. I don't think that's the Mets.

John Franco on the lack of leadership

John Franco was on Sirius XM Radio today and probably didn't endear himself to the players in the clubhouse - although he's probably right on most every point.

Here's an excerpt:

Host, Jeff Joyce: “Have you ever seen a team decimated by so many injuries?”

 

John Franco: “No, you know, it’s one after another with them.  But, you know, there’s still something missing there.  I don’t know what it is the last couple of years.  Watching them almost every day, there’s no leadership there.  Nobody wants to step forward and be a leader.  Something is missing and it’s hard to put your finger on it.  They got some great, talented players – [Jose] Reyes and [David] Wright and [Carlos] Beltran, now [Johan] Santana’s there – but I just can’t put my finger on it.  It seems like, to me, they’re not having fun, even when they were winning.  Playing in New York, the pressure cooker here, so I’m sure there’s a lot of pressure on them, but they need to relax a little bit and look like they’re having fun.  It kind of looks like they’re not having fun and everybody’s on their own page.”

 

Host, Kevin Kennedy: “They make mistakes, I mean mental mistakes, even like the game the other day: the errors and giving up early runs to the Yankees in a one-run game or two-run game it turned out to be on Sunday.  I mean, you can’t do that if you want to win this division.”

 

Franco: “Absolutely.  You know, you can’t give away outs.  When you have to get four or five outs an inning, that’s cause for trouble.  I was down in Spring Training and [manager] Jerry [Manuel] had them guys working on fundamentals every day and doing the things that you need to do to win ballgames – taking the extra base, heads up, knowing situations.  Every day you go in the meeting room and that’s what they talk about.  They go out on the field and do it.  But once the game starts, I think they have maybe too much individuality, where guys are worried about their own stats instead of worrying about getting the guy over, not stealing third base with two outs which is really meaningless.  These are the kind of things that they’re dealing with, but as far as management and the coaches, they have those guys prepared.  And as you know, Kevin, you’re only as good as your players, and if they can’t go out there and do the job, it’s making the manager look bad.”

 

Joyce: “What kind of player does it take to really step up and push the guys and be a leader?  It’s gotta be an everyday guy, doesn’t it?  You were a closer out there, but I’m sure you probably didn’t feel comfortable doing that because you weren’t one of the guys out there playing nine innings every day.”

 

Franco: “Well, I was appointed captain of the Mets as a closer, so it was kind of weird that nobody wanted to do it.  And I was a guy, even though I was a closer, if I thought there was a team meeting or something needed to be said, I had no problem getting in somebody’s face or kicking them in the rear.  And everybody knew where I was coming from because on some of the teams I played with, some of them were very bad and some of them were good, and sometimes some guys maybe weren’t respecting the game enough or some guys weren’t playing the game the right way or some guys weren’t doing things that they should’ve done.  And I would call a team meeting and call them out on it.  And I didn’t care if they liked me or not.  I wanted to win just as bad as the next guy, but I think I got my point across.  With the Mets, a guy like David Wright is a guy that I’m hoping – you know, I tried talking to him and tell him to come forward and be that guy, but I think David feels that being that he’s such a young player and you have the [Carlos] Delgados and [Gary] Sheffields and veteran guys like that, he’s afraid that they’ll look at him like, ‘Be quiet and sit down.’  Gary’s here and Gary’s been great.  Gary Sheffield’s been great, so I don’t have a bad thing to say about Gary, but I think you need a guy who the organization is building around and is going to be here for the next five, six years.  David’s been here for five years already, and he’ll probably be here for another five years, him and Jose [Reyes], so that’s the core of the team.  One of those guys has to step forward and take charge.”

 

Kennedy: “I agree with you.  It’s gotta be a guy from within that’s gotten the contract like David and the upside is there, but you’re right.  I’m glad you’re talking to him, Johnny, because that’s what I see when I watch that team, too.  I just see a bunch of different individuals, and if they win, it’s almost like, ‘OK, well we won that day.’  It’s not a group yet.”

 

Franco: “And if they don’t win, guys pack their bags and they go home for winter and they say, ‘OK, I get my paycheck and that’s it.’  So something’s not right there and hopefully they’ll get it right soon because otherwise it’s going to be a long summer.  Thank God the Phillies aren’t playing as well, otherwise they would be a lot further back than they are right now.”

The arrival

Odd sight this morning - told that everyone was riding the bus together this morning, the Mets followed through and the bus arrived with the entire squad trekking in at 11:15.

So far this unity camp trip is working perfectly.

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The Lineups - Jerry Changes His Mind

Jerry Manuel said Tuesday afternoon that he would rest David Wright and Gary Sheffield today. A dose of reality hit him though - although it seemed to escape him when he told the team they have enough to win. Wright is in the lineup while Sheffield does get a day - and Fernando Tatis, who was going to play third as Manuel insisted he wanted to get him regular at-bats, sits out. Anyway, here's today's lineup:

Cora SS
Castillo 2B
Wright 3B
Church RF
Evans LF
Murphy 1B
F. Martinez CF
Schneider C
Pelfrey P

Brewers
Counsell 2B
Hardy SS
Braun LF
Fielder 1B
Hart RF
Gamel 3B
Kendall C
Gerut CF
Gallardo P

The Mets Slo-Motion Implosion

Admit it. You want to turn away.

You'd like to see if a sitcom, something happy and light and fun, is on another network. Maybe a movie is on HBO. Even some yardwork seems like a promising option.

But you can't. You just have to watch the Mets right now.

It's rubber-necking at it's worst. You are watching a team fall apart in the ugliest fashion. You have to watch this afternoon to see. The truth is you are thinking, "What could happen next?"

It's a five-game losing streak right now, but it feels like 50. The Mets are two games under .500, but it feels like 1962. The Mets have already lost a dozen games this year in the most embarrassing fashion - a missed base, two walk-off errors, dropped popups, Daniel Murphy in the outfield. Like I said, embarrassing.

But there has been nothing like what the fourth inning looked like Tuesday. Fernando Martinez, the team's top prospect, five innings before he would connect on his first major league home run, does a faceplant into the grass in centerfield as a routine fly ball falls behind him. While that was still on your mind, the Mets top it with what was unanimously termed a LIttle League grand slam in the press box - and I take offense as the father and coach of an eight-year-old Little Leaguer.

A double by Ryan Braun clears the bases and he takes third on the throw home. The throw bounces past Omir Santos. Johan Santana picks it up and David Wright is at third base waving frantically for the ball since Braun has made a turn towards home. Santana bites and throws to third - but high, over Wright's head, and even past a diving effort by Alex Cora, into leftfield. Braun trots home.

If it's funny to you, it's not funny to the Mets anymore.

Jerry Manuel, who has laughed off much of the injury-depleted struggles, changes his tone from the mantra of surviving until the injured players come back to a 28-minute, closed-door session in which he implores the team to stop feeling sorry for itself and insists that there is enough in the room to win. That's probably not true, but it's the right thing to say.

There are more troubles. Johan Santana struggles again - completing a month in which he went 2-4 in six starts with a 6.19 ERA - the worst he has ever posted for a month since becoming a full-time starter in 2004. His readings on the radar gun top out at 91 and in the sixth inning never even touch 90. He stays on to face the first batter in the seventh and Prince Fielder responds with a 452-foot home run.

So what happens today?

Yovani Gallardo is on the mound for the Brewers. Would a no-hitter shock you if Manuel really puts out the lineup - no Wright, no Gary Sheffield - that he promised? Admit it. It's a car crash. It's Jon & Kate divorcing. It's ugly. And you can't turn away.

Mets release on Beltran

MEDICAL UPDATE ON CARLOS BELTRAN June 30, 2009 – Outfielder Carlos Beltran was seen by Dr. Richard Steadman yesterday for a second opinion. Dr. Steadman agreed with Mets Team doctors that the bone bruises in Carlos' knee were causing the pain. Dr. Steadman also agreed with the Mets doctors’ plans to rest the knee until he is pain free and then start him back on activity as tolerated. The Mets doctors will see him back in New York this week for further treatment. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The Lineup

It's a beautiful day here in Viera, Florida for a B-squad game, the regulars staying behind in Port St. Lucie...What, this is regular season? This is the best the Mets can do with the remnants of a $143 million payroll? Uh, yup.

There are three players in the lineup who started the season in the minors, three more who were supposed to be role players and that includes Fernando Tatis, who gets just his second start of the season at second base. At least the Argenis Reyes leadoff experiment ended after one day.

Alex Cora SS
Fernando Tatis 2B
David Wright 3B
Gary Sheffield LF
Ryan Church RF
Nick Evans 1B
Fernando Martinez LF
Omir Santos C
Johan Santana P

Beltran Gets Reassuring News

A person familiar with the results of the examination in Colorado Monday said that the meeting with Dr. Richard Steadman backed up the diagnosis of Carlos Beltran's right knee.

The exam by the reknowned orthopedic surgeon found a bone bruise and recommended rest, not surgery for the Mets' centerfielder. While this injury can lead to microfracture surgery as a solution - and Beltran already had both knees cleaned out surgically after the 2007 season - Steadman, the inventor of the microfracture technique, did not believe surgery was necessary.

Beltran is eligible to come off the disabled list July 7, but Steadman's assessment was for him to rest slightly longer - at least through the All-Star Break, which would give him slightly more than three weeks off since he last played Jun 21. Beltran was unlikely to be back on schedule anyway since he is currently shut down completely from any activity.

The bone bruise has bothered him much of the season and he received a cortisone injection May 26 and sat out two games before returning to action and attempting to play through the trouble.

A Mets' official could not comment on the meeting with Steadman until he speaks with team physician, Dr. David Altchek, who is still in surgery.

And Then Depression Set In - Again

While the .500 mark has been the bar set by Jerry Manuel for when to press the panic button, when the Mets dipped below it Monday night that hardly seemed like the cause for concern.

Sure, the Mets seem to be in a freefall and that three-game deficit in the National League East feels like it could be six or seven very quickly. As we detail in today's Record, another loss just feels like another day off the calendar.

But the standings and the record are secondary today to what could be much more serious trouble. Carlos Beltran went to Vail Monday for a second opinion and it certainly is a cause for concern. While the Mets took a calm stance, insisting that the precautionary second opinion is just Beltran's decision to try to reassure himself, it looks much worse.

Here's the layman take on it - and that's all I can give. He's got a deep bone bruise in his knee. He played with that and it got worse. When I covered the NBA - much more pounding on the knees there for sure - the players who had this injury usually wound up with microfracture surgery, which usually led to a severe drop in their performance if they returned at all.

Oh, and the doctor that Beltran is going to see is Dr. Richard Steadman, the inventor of the microfracture procedure - and the doctor who operated on Allan Houston (never the same until he retired), Jason Kidd (severe dropoff) and Kenyon Martin (from max contract to role player).

So as Bob Klapisch writes today the mood has turned sour at every level.

The Mets could certainly use some good news today. But winning a game and getting back to .500 won't do it. They need either good news on an injured player - Beltran would fit that bill, but it's hard to imagine - or a deal to change the tone. When Argenis Reyes is leading off I think it's safe to say we've gone as far as we can go with the lineup possibilities of the current squad.

The Hits Keep Coming - Beltran Edition

Carlos Beltran traveled to Vail, Colorado today to receive a second opinion on his ailing right knee - not a promising sign for a speedy recovery.

He is meeting with Dr. Richard Steadman at the same facility that has become the hip hip clinic - where Alex Rodriguez went this spring. The Mets are on board with the decision to seek a second opinion, but so far believe that there is nothing troubling in the first opinion that would merit a scare.

Conversations we would like to hear

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The lineup

A Reyes SS Murphy 1B Wright 3B Sheffield LF Church RF F Martinez CF Schneider C Castillo 2B Nieve P

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Mets not biggest disaster here

The Mets may be sinking - but Miller Park is already underwater.

A storm hit Friday that washed away the berm behind the service entrance of the stadium. That led to a flood that submerged the clubhouse level under about three feet of water.

So they have cut out all drywall up to that level - including on the wall around Jerry Manuel's office. All of the furniture has been replaced.

And the Mets have Argenis Reyes leading off. You tell me which is worse.

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Nieve May Not Turn Out Well

Okay, I know that's not going out on a limb since Fernando Nieve was released by the pitching-needy Astros in spring training after 10 years of waiting for him.

But here's a note courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau.

He is the first pitcher to start his Mets career by winning his first three starts since Jorge Sosa. Okay, so that's a template you don't want to follow.

Another Game Beltran Won't Play In?

The latest round of All-Star Balloting results is in and the Mets lineup continues to look better for the All-Star Game in St. Louis than for any regular season game within memory.

David Wright holds a commanding lead at third base and Carlos Beltran is hanging on to a slim margin over Alfonso Soriano for the final spot in the National League outfield. Beltran currently has 2,085,028 votes while Soriano has 1,916,598.

Now, the Mets are hopeful that the All-Star Break could be about the time that Beltran, currently on the disabled list, returns to action. But if somehow he is ready, it seems a longshot that they'd give the go-ahead for Beltran to play in the All-Star Game.

Willie is waiting

So the Mets head to Milwaukee today for three games with the Brewers and panic - reality? - has begun to sink in.

The deficit in the NL East has quickly jumped to two and a half games this weekend. The Mets have dropped to .500. Jerry Manuel is looking for a bridge.

And who gets to enjoy the view?

Willie Randolph, bench coach for the Brewers. There has to be some sort of karma there.

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Jerry Manuel's Endurance Test

It's not about Jerry putting his team to any test - it's his own patience that is being tested, as well as his will to live.

Manuel joked about looking for a bridge if the Mets fall below .500 - and they can drop to that level tonight if they don't change their fortunes against the Yankees. As we detailed in today's Record, Manuel has plenty to worry about. If that story wasn't convincing, Bob Klapisch ruminates on the Mets' troubles, too.

It's easy to say it's just two games and look back at the three of four wins the Mets picked up against St. Louis, but it's also just as simple to look at reality - injuries, lack of offense, lack of defense, patchwork pitching - and wonder if the Mets aren't living on borrowed time.

I was on WFAN earlier this afternoon with Richard Neer and it's hard to be optimistic about the Mets right now. Maybe it changes. But it sure doesn't seem like a team that is just 1 1/2 games out of first place.