Mets baseball blog

Johan scratched again

Eventually, early becomes late, and that's why any delay for Johan Santana is a reason to worry for the Mets.

The team brushed it off when Santana had to be scratched from Friday's start against Italy because of tightness in his left elbow. But now manager Jerry Manuel has decided to pull Santana from his scheduled Grapefruit league debut Tuesday and doesn't know for sure when he will make his first start. Continue

Santana pulls himself from start

There is no reason to be alarmed. Yet there is every reason to be alarmed.

To borrow a political truism, it's Johan Santana, stupid.

So even if it's just "a little stiffness" in his elbow, as Santana put it Thursday, that caused him to ask to be scratched from his first spring-training outing Friday, don't think for a second the entire Mets organization won't be holding its breath until further notice.

For one thing, "a little stiffness" often seems to turn into something more serious, just because it's the nature of pitching injuries.

For another, well, it's Johan Santana, stupid. Continue

Reyes comes out swinging

Jose Reyes wants to be the Mets' leadoff hitter. Make no mistake about that. But if Reyes keeps doing what he did from the No. 3 spot yesterday, he might leave Jerry Manuel no choice.

Reyes homered from both sides of the plate, including a grand slam, and drove in six runs as the Mets beat the Marlins, 9-0, at Tradition Field. Continue

Mets win spring opener

Jerry Manuel has tried to bolster Luis Castillo's confidence this spring with constant praise and attention. Castillo's two hits in the Mets' Grapefruit League opener Wednesday likely had a far more uplifting effect than any words from his manager.

Castillo, installed in the leadoff spot by Manuel after an offseason in which the Mets were unsuccessful in trading him, drove in four runs in a 9-3 victory over the Orioles at Fort Lauderdale Stadium. Castillo, who dropped 17 pounds this winter, did just what his manager wanted. He aggressively drove an opposite-field double over shallow-playing left fielder Luke Scott's head in the fourth to drive in two runs. Continue

Tatis on bench with sore hand

For the second straight day, the Mets' super-utility player, Fernando Tatis, had no role at all.

Tatis was sidelined again with a sore right hand and walked around the clubhouse early yesterday morning with the hand wired to an electronic stimulation device to alleviate the swelling. Later, his hand was wrapped in ice, but Tatis smiled when asked about the injury.

"It's getting better," he said. Continue

Manuel goes to Church

A smiling Jerry Manuel approached Ryan Church while the Mets stretched Monday morning. The manager then quickly put to rest any chatter about Church potentially being involved in a right-field platoon. Not that Church ever thought Manuel intended for him to consistently sit against lefthanders.

"You're getting ready to be the right fielder for the Mets," Manuel told Church.

"I knew that," Church replied. Continue

Murphy will be starting in left

 Who needs Manny Ramirez when the Mets have Daniel Murphy? That's the message Jerry Manuel delivered yesterday when he revealed that Murphy will get the majority of playing time in leftfield this season, with Fernando Tatis to be slotted in more of a super-utility role.

After so much talk about the viability of a Murphy-Tatis platoon in left, Manuel ripped up those plans on the eve of the Mets' first intrasquad game. The manager also suggested that Tatis could force Ryan Church to the bench on some occasions because he believes that Murphy - despite having only 49 major-league games on his resume - is a more consistent lefthanded hitter than Church. Continue

Speed bump for Redding

Team Tranquility has experienced its first bump on the road to Opening Day. Now that a sore shoulder has prevented him from taking the mound, Tim Redding, the early favorite for the fifth starter's job, could be forced to play catch-up with the other candidates.

With the rest of the staff already facing hitters, Redding had to settle for a game of catch from 100 feet yesterday, and he hopes for a "soft" bullpen session by the end of the week. Under that scenario, Redding expects to pitch in a game by the second week of March, and that should give him time to get ready for the regular season.

"I'll try to go a little further every day and hopefully have no setbacks," Redding said. "It's all based on how I feel." Continue

Schneider still starting in 09

Now that the shock of his first season playing in New York has worn off, Brian Schneider is being counted on to carry a heavy load for the Mets this season.

Manager Jerry Manuel said yesterday that any thoughts of a platoon situation between Schneider, Ramon Castro and Robinson Cancel at catcher aren't coming from his office. According to Manuel, Schneider is going to be his anchor behind the plate. Continue

Which Delgado will show up for Mets this year?

Carlos Delgado looked like as much of a goner as Willie Randolph last June, and there seemed little chance that the Mets would pick up the first baseman's $12 million option for 2009.

Then Delgado took off. And now he's back, and likely occupying the cleanup spot in Jerry Manuel's reconfigured lineup, no less.

Delgado was hitting .229 when he arrived at Yankee Stadium on June 27 for the first part of a two-stadium, day-night doubleheader. He belted homers off Ross Ohlendorf and LaTroy Hawkins and had nine RBI that game in the Bronx. From that point, Delgado hit .308 with 27 homers, 80 RBI and 43 walks over the final 84 games. Continue