Official Mets 2009 Season Thread.

NEW YORK (AP)—Carlos Delgado(notes) could be put on the disabled list by the New York Mets as soon as Friday because of his injured right hip.

Delgado missed his third straight game Wednesday against Atlanta, and Mets manager Jerry Manuel said the team likely would make a decision during a road trip that starts in San Francisco on Thursday night.

“I think he’s still somewhat sore, more than anything else,” Manuel said before an 8-7, 12-inning loss to Atlanta. “I’m not confident at all. I don’t want to be a pessimist, but because of the reoccurrence, it’s not comforting— or I’m not confident in the fact that it will be OK. But if it’s something we can manage, which is what we’re trying to do, then I’m OK with that.”

Manuel wasn’t worried that Delgado’s hip would become even more painful during a cross country plane ride.

“How else you going to get to the West Coast? Take a horse?” he quipped.

Delgado was injured April 26 while sliding during a triple against Washington. He missed five straight starts, then returned to the lineup May 4 and played seven straight games—all won by the Mets—before the pain became too great. The 36-year-old cleanup hitter is batting .298 with four homers and 23 RBIs.

“I feel a little better today. You know, it’s still pretty sore and stiff,” Delgado said. “I guess in the next couple days we’ll have a better picture of what we are going to do.”

Delgado already had a cortisone shot, but it doesn’t appear to have helped as much as a cortisone shot that relieved hip soreness during spring training last year. He isn’t contemplating another shot.

“We’re not talking about vitamins. It’s not one a day,” he said. “We’ll stick to plan and see how I bounce back over the weekend and we’ll make a decision.”

Manuel hasn’t started to think about a replacement for Delgado on the active roster.

“We would probably need another position player. Obviously, for me, it would probably be a left-handed hitter. And obviously, hopefully, a pretty good hitter,” Manuel said. “We’re hoping that we don’t have to go that way. We’re hoping. We’re trying to take every measure that we can to not go that way. But at some point over this next couple days we’re going to have to explore those options.”

By: Ronald Blum AP Baseball Writer

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Reyes sits with tightness in calf
Mets shortstop expects to return to action Friday

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SAN FRANCISCO -- The baserunning gaffes that plagued Jose Reyes and the Mets in the late innings of Wednesday's game now come complete with a handy excuse: Reyes was hurt.

But don't expect him or any other Met to take that bait.

"That doesn't excuse it," manager Jerry Manuel said. "We can't go down that route."

Instead, the Mets spent Thursday discussing how the injury -- tightness in Reyes' right calf -- might affect the team moving forward. Reyes will miss Thursday's game, and he hopes that is all he will miss.

"I expect to be in the lineup [Friday], because one day of rest for me should make me feel better," Reyes said. "Let's see how it feels."

When describing his injury, Reyes pointed to the front of his shin, saying a pain there was reverberating to the back of his leg -- the calf. But a test administered Wednesday revealed nothing abnormal in the bones or muscles of that area, leading the Mets to believe a day of rest will do the trick.

Luis Castillo, a leadoff man for the bulk of his career, batted first against the Giants on Thursday, and Alex Cora filled in at short.

"It's painful right now," Reyes said Thursday afternoon. "But let's see how I'm feeling [Friday]."

Reyes made headlines the previous day for two critical baserunning errors -- one in the 12th inning, when he admired a leadoff hit long enough to shorten it from a would-be triple to a double, and one in the seventh, when he was thrown out trying to advance from second to third base on a groundout to shortstop.

Manuel addressed both issues with Reyes after the game and didn't foresee the errors being a chronic problem. Reyes, whom Manuel removed from a game last year after not hustling to first base on a routine grounder, has largely been a model citizen on the basepaths this season.

"He's a guy who wants to play every day," Manuel said. "He's one of the fighters, one of the warriors on the team. He just has to tone down that baserunning a little bit."

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Unnamed Sources told the Daily News early Saturday that Carlos Delgado's(notes) ailing right hip will force the first baseman to be put on the disabled list prior to Saturday's game. The injury might require surgery, according to the Daily News report.

The Mets have no plans to promote 20-year-old prospect Fernando Martinez(notes) to replace Delgado on the roster. Outfielder Angel Pagan(notes), who has been rehabbing from right elbow surgery, might be an option. More likely, an infielder such as Mike Lamb(notes) or Ramon Martinez(notes) would be promoted.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel confirmed that Tim Redding(notes) is expected to come off the DL for Monday's start at Dodger Stadium.

Source: New York Daily News

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LOS ANGELES (AP)—New York Mets slugger Carlos Delgado(notes) will have arthroscopic surgery Tuesday on his right hip, and there’s no immediate word on when he might return to the lineup.

The Mets, who entered Monday leading the NL East by a half-game over Philadelphia, said Delgado has a bone spur and a torn labrum in his hip. Team spokesman Jay Horwitz said no timetable for Delgado’s return will be decided until after the operation.

New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez(notes) had surgery in early March for a torn labrum—cartilage that lines the hip socket to stabilize and cushion the joint. He missed exactly two months.

“The way Carlos was responding to all the things he was trying—and it wasn’t getting any better—I wasn’t too optimistic about it,” Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. “What we have to do now is try and find out how we’re going to continue to play good baseball without Carlos Delgado.”

The two-time All-Star first baseman was put on the 15-day disabled list Saturday. Delgado is hitting .298 with four home runs and 23 RBIs in 26 games. His 473 home runs are two shy of Stan Musial and Willie Stargell for 28th place on the career list.

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Frontpage Stardom said:

no <3........

Im rlly scared about this series.

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The Mets placed outfielder Ryan Church and shortstop Jose Reyes on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday. In order to fill their spot on the 25-man roster, New York called up touted prospect Fernando Martinez and 31-year-old shortstop Wilson Valdez.

Reyes' DL stint is retroactive to Thursday, and Church's is retroactive to Saturday.

Valdez was acquired for cash considerations from the Indians and was hitting .198 for Triple-A Columbus before being called up.

Mets general manager Omar Minaya said he was comfortable with having Martinez -- a 20-year-old who was batting .294 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs for Triple-A Buffalo -- play either corner-outfield position. Manager Jerry Manuel will use Martinez in right field, batting him sixth, while playing Gary Sheffield in left field on Tuesday.

Center fielder Carlos Beltran (tibia) is already expected to miss the next two games, and Church is on the shelf with a right hamstring strain. In addition, Reyes' right calf proved too strenuous to play through.

Minaya, however, told The New York Daily News he had no regrets about waiting so long to make the DL moves, saying, "The Beltran situation also forced the Church situation."

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WASHINGTON (AP)—New York Mets reliever J.J. Putz(notes) will have surgery to remove a bone spur and pieces of bone from the back of his right elbow and is expected to miss 10 to 12 weeks.

Putz was put on the 15-day disabled list Friday. The surgery on his pitching elbow is scheduled for Tuesday.

Picked up in the offseason to lock down the eighth inning ahead of new closer Francisco Rodriguez(notes), Putz is just 1-4 with a 5.22 ERA and two saves for the Mets. He has allowed eight runs and nine hits in 1 1-3 innings in his most recent outings. He complained of pain after Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh.

“That’s why he’s pitching not the way we’re used to seeing J.J.,” New York general manager Omar Minaya said before the Mets’ game with Washington.

Minaya said Putz wouldn’t begin throwing for at least six weeks, and estimated his return in “anywhere between 10 and 12 weeks.”

Putz has been bothered by elbow inflammation this season, and received a cortisone shot on May 14, but that hasn’t helped.

“The condition got worse in the past couple of weeks,” Minaya said.

New York purchased the contract of right-hander Fernando Nieve(notes) from Triple-A Buffalo. He was 3-0 with a 3.70 ERA in four starts with Buffalo.

The Mets also claimed left-hander Pat Misch(notes) off waivers from the San Francisco Giants and optioned him to Buffalo. To make room on the 40-man roster, lefty Billy Wagner(notes) was moved from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day DL.

The 27-year-old Misch was 0-0 with a 10.80 ERA in four games for the Giants this season. He is 0-7 lifetime over parts of four years with San Francisco.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel said Nieve would be used in the bullpen.

Bobby Parnell(notes) will be Rodriguez’s setup man in Putz’s absence, and Manuel will search for a seventh-inning option.

“It’s going to be very challenging for us,” Manuel said. “Everybody’s going to get a shot.”

Shortstop Jose Reyes, who’s been on the 15-day DL for right calf tendinitis since May 21, will rest for two days after sustaining a tear in his right hamstring during an extended spring game on Wednesday in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

Minaya said that he wouldn’t estimate a time for Reyes’ return. “All the tests that he’s been given are positive and encouraging,” he said.

In Reyes’ absence, Minaya said he’s comfortable with Alex Cora(notes) and Wilson Valdez(notes) at shortstop. Cora has been hampered with a ligament tear in his right thumb, and he said he’ll try and postpone surgery until after the season.

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• According to the New York Daily News, the are whispers being traded among members of the New York Mets that are begging general manager Omar Minaya to make a deal and help the struggling team.
"A deal would send the message they want to win and will do what it takes to help us," one veteran player said. "I'm not saying to make a deal for the sake of making a deal, but something that can make a difference every day like a hitter. The other teams in our division have been losing lately so we're missing an opportunity. Yes, we've been shut down by good pitching. But playoff teams should be beating the better pitchers a lot of the time."
According to the Daily News, Minaya has said that the asking price for reinforcements has been too high, possibly because so few teams are completely out of contention. But on Saturday night the Cardinals — a team that might battle the Mets for a wild card - made a trade with the Indians for Mark DeRosa(notes). DeRosa was batting .270 with 13 home runs and 50 RBI. No Met player has more than nine home runs or 40 RBI. Before last night's game, manager Jerry Manuel smiled and then said, "It was a good move for the Cardinals."
The Mets dropped to 37-37 last night and the .500 mark is a key benchmark, according to Manuel. The manager says real concern will begin if the Mets fall below that level, and it would be time to shake things up.
"There is no doubt that if a caliber of player was added to the team, that it changes the morale of the team," he said. "When we added Gary Sheffield(notes), despite what we already had, to add him boosted the morale of the team. If you added a quality of player to walk through that clubhouse to say 'I'm here to help out,' there's no question it would boost the morale."

Source: New York Daily News

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New York Mets ace Johan Santana(notes) is done for the season with a hurt left elbow and he has likely taken any whiff of a chance for the massively injured team with him. But if the team had been close to contention, Santana is saying that he would have gone right on and pitched hurt, according to the New York Daily News.

Santana will now undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove bone chips from the elbow. He's saying there is no doubt he'll be ready for 2010.

Perhaps it's for the best that the Mets aren't in contention right now. If Santana had kept pitching with all those bone chips floating around in his elbow, maybe he would have injured himself further and not been ready for next year.

Source: New York Daily News

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CHICAGO (AP)—New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes may need surgery to repair his torn right hamstring tendon.

The Mets say Reyes is still getting physical therapy for the torn tendon behind his knee and that surgery is an option. The speedy infielder has been on the disabled list since May.

Reyes went on the DL May 26, retroactive to May 21. Earlier this month he returned to New York from rehab in Port St. Lucie, Fla., to be examined by team doctors.

Reyes has played in only 36 games this season with a .279 batting average, one of several key players the Mets have missed to injuries, along with Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, and Johan Santana.

Star third baseman David Wright, who had a concussion, could be activated Tuesday.

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