As promised, Carlos Beltran is off tonight. He needs to be refreshed Jerry Manuel says. I think Beltran was rushed back if he needs to be treated with kid gloves.
I also think he should be playing one of the corner outfield positions and batting lower in the order.
Here’s tonight’s line-up vs. Rockies:
Jose Reyes, SS
Fernando Martinez, RF
Angel Pagan, CF
David Wright, 3B
Ike Davis, 1B
Chris Carter, LF
Josh Thole, C
Ruben Tejada, 2B
Mike Pelfrey, RP
Good morning. It was good to see my family again and I apologize for not being around this weekend.
I tried to keep up with the team as best as I could, and not really all that surprised with how they played and what happened in Philadelphia.
Emblematic of the weekend wasn’t that the lost, but in the release of Alex Cora. They waived him simply because they didn’t want to the $2 million option for next year to kick in.
Small time thinking, but indicative of this franchise. They’ll save $2 million by not having to bring back Cora, but will spend $20 million on the contracts for Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo.
One thing I did like about this weekend was the promotions of Fernando Martinez and Ruben Tejada. If the competitive aspect of the season is over as it surely seems to be, then let’s see what these guys can do.
It was encouraging to see all the homegrown talent in the lineup yesterday. With the exception of R.A. Dickey and Carlos Beltran, the lineup was the by-product of the farm system.
The Mets played with life when Tejada was in the lineup earlier, and seemed to get flat when Beltran and Castillo returned.
Game #77 vs. Marlins
Jenrry Mejia was placed on the minor league DL with a strained posterior cuff in his right shoulder, which GM Omar Minaya said shouldn’t impact trade discussions for Seattle lefty Cliff Lee, who’s starting tonight in the Bronx against the Yankees.
Minaya said “we’re not about one prospect only,’’ when asked about Mejia’s injury complicating trade talks.
The news isn’t good on Carlos Beltran, who was examined Tuesday in Vail, Colo. Beltran remains in neutral with no word on a potential return that is anything other than guesswork.
Beltran, who underwent knee surgery in the offseason, hasn’t been cleared to start running. And, until he runs there’s no telling when he’ll begin baseball activities, and after that a return to the line-up.
Initially, the prognosis was up to six weeks following running for a return in May. That’s not happening. Try June now, or maybe after the All-Star break. Who is to say? I mean, who is to say with any authority?
“It’s kind of unfortunate,’’ manager Jerry Manuel said. “But what we have to do is we have to continue to play the way we have the last three or four games and hope that Carlos recovers quickly. He’s obviously an integral part of our lineup, but Angel (Pagan) is playing real well.’’
Maybe so, but there’s a reason why Pagan is a role player and Beltran a perennial All-Star.
Let’s assume at least until the end of June at the earliest. For now, Pagan is the center fielder. Gary Matthews will be kept for insurance. For now I don’t believe they’ll bring up Fernando Martinez as long as Pagan is producing.
I’ve always liked Beltran. He works hard, he hustles and he plays hurt. This was an unfortunate injury, but it would be unfair to say he was a bad signing.
This is a player who played hurt. I don’t think it would be fair to say just because this injury has lasted that the Mets should regret signing Beltran. This guy showed what he is made of when he played with a broken face after his collision with Mike Cameron.
The only thing of hindsight was the issue of the surgery. It should have been done last year, not last winter. Had it been done in September instead of trying to get him back in a lost season they might have him now.
Fernando Martinez (shown here), Jenrry Mejia, Ike Davis, Ruben Tejada and Jon Niese. That is the future core of the Mets, along with David Wright, Jose Reyes and Jason Bay. That’s your team over the next few years.
But, should the future be now?
All spring I’ve been saying these guys aren’t ready and should open the season in the minor leagues where they’ll fine tune their games. That they for the most part have played well this spring makes me wonder if I should reconsider.
There have been players who played a minimum in the minor leagues and became stars in the major leagues. Maybe, if these guys are as special as the Mets are saying, they’ll adapt right away and become productive.
Afterall, it’s not written in stone anywhere that if they start out in the majors they’ll fizzle out. It’s also not written anywhere that going to the minor leagues now guarantees future success.
I just look at the team now, and despite all the bluster early, they are playing near a listless .500.
Why is that?
Ok, it’s spring, and results aren’t supposed to matter, but the following ERAs make me wonder about this year, and that if it’s a lost year, why not give the kids a chance?
* Johan Santana has a 9.00 ERA in three starts, but I’m not worried so much about him. However, he is coming off a surgery, and you just can’t throw out 20 wins for him.
* Mike Pelfrey has a 7.36 ERA in four starts, including four homers yesterday. Pelfrey said he wanted to start being a pitcher. Now is as good a time as any to start.
* Oliver Perez has a 5.73 ERA in three starts. He’s had good and bad moments, which is the way it always has been for him. The only thing given about him is the roller coaster.
* John Maine has an 11.37 ERA in three starts. He had a good first start, but three bad appearances (don’t forget that relief effort when he said he wasn’t in it). I just wonder about Maine, and it isn’t a good wonder.
So, if the starting pitching holds true to form from last year and this spring, and with Reyes and Beltran out for at least the first month, the Mets aren’t exactly poised to sprint out of the gate.
If another listless season is in the making, then seeing the young players should come sooner than later.
