Tag Archives: Offseason

Apr 21

April 21.10: Although news not good on Beltran, it was still a good signing.

Posted on by

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.

Apr 10

April 10.10: Chat Room, Game #5 vs. Nationals: Trying to build on a win.

Posted on by

For the first time in nearly a year, the Mets will have Jose Reyes back on the top of the lineup. The Mets were 51-75 during the time Reyes was out with a severe hamstring injury.

“Nobody wants to get hurt,” Reyes said. “I’m happy to be back and playing baseball. It was tough being away.”

Gone, at least for today, is the thought of Reyes batting third. Maybe later this summer, but for now the Mets are just happy to have him back at shortstop.

Another story line this afternoon is Oliver Perez’s first start since last August. Perez, who underwent knee surgery in the offseason, came into camp in excellent condition. So far, during spring training it has not translated into success.

The Mets are coming off a well-rounded 8-2 victory last night over Washington, a game which featured a strong start by Mike Pelfrey and four homers.

Mar 12

March 12.10: Have to wonder about Reyes.

Posted on by

Let’s do the math. Two weeks from today puts us a week before spring training. Then Reyes has to start over, because they aren’t going to push him and certainly don’t want to rush him considering his hamstring. That puts us at the middle of April. And, since nothing with the Mets ever goes as planned, and there is no such thing as a best-case scenario, we’re not going to see Reyes before May.

Is anybody to blame for this or is it simply just another case of bad luck for the Mets?

Just because Reyes can’t eat seafood doesn’t automatically mean his overactive thyroid resulted by diet. Is it diet, heredity or some other external factor that caused the spike in Reyes’ thyroid levels?

The elephant in the room is HGH.

Reyes was treated Dr. Anthony Galea, who is under investigation after being charged with attempting to HGH into the United States. Reyes denies taking the stuff, that he only had the blood-spinning treatment. Who knows? Maybe it was the blood-spinning treatment that’s the cause.

Even so, MLB doesn’t test for HGH and since there is a correlation between HGH and thyroid levels (an excellent article this week in the Daily News), we can’t dismiss it out of hand. Would you really be surprised?

Maybe we’ll never know the cause. Hopefully, his levels will stabilize and this won’t be an issue again. But, for now there is speculation.

What is known is that the Mets are again a team with its core on the sideline. Don’t count on seeing Reyes or Beltran in April, and if the pitching doesn’t come around they could be in serious trouble before either returns.

The Mets spent the offseason counting on their injured returning and their pitching would improve. Well, half of that wish hasn’t been answered. It remains to be seen about the other half.

Mar 03

March 3.10: Positive reports so far on Perez.

Posted on by

It’s only spring training, and more to the point, it is only throwing off the mound and batting practice in spring training, but the reports so far have been good on Oliver Perez, beginning with his upbeat attitude and showing up in good shape.

PEREZ: Hoping for the best.

Perez spent the offseason working out as a sports institute in Arizona, where he worked on his conditioning and mechanics.

It is the latter where the first spring impression has been the greatest, with Perez throwing with a consistency, from his wind-up to his arm slot to his delivery. The result has been a better command and movement on his pitches. This is also something Sandy Koufax preached to Perez during his visits to Port St. Lucie.

Perez, entering the second season of a three-year contract, is slotted third in the rotation behind Johan Santana and Mike Pelfrey. In 2007, Perez won 15 games for the Mets to give us a glimpse of what could be. The last two years he’s shown more of those glimpses, but all too often gave us the Bad Ollie.

The Mets, thinking of those positive moments, didn’t bite on rotation help this winter, instead believing in the promise of Perez and Pelfrey. So far, the Mets have been pleased with how he’s throwing, but we’ve heard that before.

Spring training is for the promise of better things, and here’s hoping Perez keeps the headscratching to a minimum this year.

Feb 22

Feb. 22.10: Koufax eyeing Perez.

Posted on by

Sandy Koufax is back in camp, taking a special look at Oliver Perez today. There’s something about Koufax. He’s worked with other Mets, and other players, before, and it has translated well. Perhaps it is his demeanor and touch.

Not all great athletes can teach, but Koufax has been able to impart something to others. Well, others have tried with Perez, from Pedro Martinez to Johan Santana, but nothing has stuck. Maybe this time will be different. At least, let’s hope so.

Word is Perez is healthy and in shape after working out at a sports institute in Arizona in the offseason. He’s won 15 games before, so the potential and history is there, but he’s also shown an aptitude for wildness and disaster. Perez is a wild card for the Mets. He does well and the team can be competitive; he does poorly and he can take the Mets down with him.