SaberMets.com: Mets Injuries Archives

Mets Injuries | Main

December 14, 2004

Mein Labrum

The only thing holding up the Pedro Martinez to Mets deal is Petey's labrum, or lack thereof. The details are somewhat wishy-washy, though Pedro has gone on record with a Dominican television station as saying that the deal is done. Other sources indicate that he still has to pass a physical, and the rumor floating around is that the Mets are considering allowing Pedro to decline an MRI.

This would, of course, be very foolish, considering all of the anecdotal evidence of a torn labrum in Pedro's pitching shoulder. Regardless, I don't expect things to be held up for much longer, and would expect to see a Pedro news conference at Big Shea by next week.

For those who don't know, the labrum is a rim of cartilage that helps keep the shoulder's ball-and-socket joint in place. When the labrum tears, there is not much left to keep the "ball" in the "socket" (ref: google search).

Eric | 04:53 PM EST | Comments: 2 | TrackBack: 327

August 20, 2004

Zambrano Done For The Year?

We find out today that the injury Victor Zambrano sustained in his start Tuesday night was not a new injury, as previously reported. It was disclosed yesterday that it is actually a flexor strain, a condition that bothered Zambrano prior to being acquired for Scott Kazmir, who by-the-way is slated to start for the Devil Rays against the Mariners on Monday.

There's not really much to say here that hasn't already been said. If anyone has anything refreshing to add, please feel free to drop a note in the comments. WTF!?!?!?!?

Eric | 02:32 PM EST | TrackBack: 0

August 12, 2004

Piazza To The DL

Mike Piazza was put on the 15-day disabled list yesterday with inflammation of the left knee. He was placed retroactive to five days ago, so he will be eligible to come off on August 22.

Victor Zambrano makes his home debut for the Mets at noon today in the rubber match against the Astros.

What should the Mets do about first base next season? Sign Sexton or Delgado? Trade for Helton? More thoughts to follow.

Eric | 10:08 AM EST | TrackBack: 2

June 10, 2004

Orber And Out

Come on, that was a pretty clever title I think. Anyhoo, Orber Moreno has apparently been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain. Do you know what tipped me off first? When I saw the little red "DL" next to his name in my fantasy league. I quickly shot over to Rotoworld.com and, sure enough, there he was. According to Rotoworld:

This is a significant loss, as Moreno has a 3.20 ERA in 23 appearances this season. It's uncertain how much time he'll miss. "This sort of thing has happened before and I have to get an MRI and see what the doctor says and go from there," Moreno said.

This finally gives Art Howe a real excuse not to bring Moreno into a tight game. If he was actually used in high leverage situations, I would consider this a big loss. As it is, Moreno was only used in blowouts and/or when the Mets had run out of pitchers older than him. This might be the break the Mets needed to get Scott Erickson to the big leagues. Please kill me.

Update: Moreno will be replaced on the roster by Tyler Yates.

Eric | 09:47 AM EST | Comments: 3 | TrackBack: 1

May 21, 2004

Reyes Update

The New York Daily News reports that Jose Reyes could be playing rehab games sooner than expected.

REYES OF HOPE: A Mets official said it's expected that second baseman Jose Reyes will be playing in Class-A Florida State League games before the middle of next week, possibly as early as the weekend.

If this is true, the new leg specialists the Mets hired must really know their sh*t.

Eric | 02:00 PM EST | Comments: 2 | TrackBack: 1

May 18, 2004

Roberts Will Have Surgery

According to the New York Daily News, Grant Roberts will indeed have surgery on his frayed labrum. The Mets have yet to confirm this fact, though the Star Ledger reports that they have given Roberts permission to seek a third opinion on his shoulder.

This whole thing has turned into a ridiculous soap opera, and I think Roberts is as much to blame as the Mets. This could have been handled much more smoothly by all parties, with Roberts simply having the surgery performed in the offseason when he was given permission to.

If he does have the surgery now, the Mets may have caught a break in being able to retain his services. His injury likely scared off other suitors as he passed through waivers, and if he fully recovers and again pitches in the low-to-mid 90's, he could be a valuable asset, either to the big club or, if the relationship is irreparable, as trade bait.

Eric | 09:50 AM EST | TrackBack: 1

May 13, 2004

Cliff's Back

The long-awaited return from injury of Cliff Floyd will apparently happen tonight in Arizona. Floyd has been out since he pulled up lame running to first base April 11 in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Floyd's presence will immediately be felt by everyone, some more than others. Shane Spencer and Karim Garcia will likely return to the platoon roles they barely grew accustomed to during the first week of the season. Unless...

According to this article in the New York Post, Garcia took grounders at first base yesterday, and Eric Valent will soon do the same. This potentially sets up a scenario where Floyd would play left field, Spencer or Valent would play right field, and Valent or Garcia would play first base, with Jason Phillips now-feeble bat taking its rightful place on the bench. With a little practice, Garcia could certainly be as serviceable as Phillips was at first, and would provide an immediate boost in range at the position.

In other injury-related news, in light of Jose Reyes' continued struggles rehabbing his hamstring, the Mets have hired two "leg" coaches. One, leg specialist Mark Lindsay, will work almost exclusively with Reyes in Port St. Lucie, and actually began treatment on Tuesday. According to an article today in the Bergen Record:

Reyes almost immediately began to sense a difference.

"This person knows what he is doing," Reyes told Greenberg on Tuesday night while the two had dinner.

"Those were Jose's exact words," [Reyes' agent Peter] Greenberg said.

The other specialist, Vern Gambetta, was recommended by Mets Assistant GM Al Goldis, who, while a member of the White Sox organization, hired Gambetta in 1987. Gambetta worked with the White Sox until 1996, and was a consultant with the U.S. men's World Cup soccer team in 1998. Goldis said:

"This guy is here for complementing and enhancing strength and quickness and prevention by making guys stronger. His strength is evaluating individual players and setting up a conditioning program for each player."

When asked if the new hirings had anything to do with the Mets rash of leg injuries, GM Jim Duquette responded, "It is a little bit of a factor." I'll say.

Eric | 10:11 AM EST | Comments: 6 | TrackBack: 364

May 11, 2004

Roberts Injured

The saga of Grant Roberts continues, as the pitcher has revealed that he has been bothered by shoulder pain. Roberts will see Mets team physician Andrew Rokito this week for an MRI. The Mets designated Roberts for assignment last night, but this puts a bit of a wrinkle in those plans. Check out the Star Ledger for the rest of the article.

Eric | 09:58 AM EST | TrackBack: 1

May 06, 2004

Poor Lonely Jose

There's a good article in the New York Times today about Jose Reyes' rehab for his recurring hamstring injury. It paints a very sad picture of a lonesome Reyes longing to be with his team.

There's also some info about how the rehab is/should be handled. Thus far, it has been overseen by Mets' team physician Andrew Rokito. After reinjuring his hamstring during batting practice on March 31, the Mets gave Reyes permission to visit New Orleans-based fitness expert Mackie Shilstone, who has worked with other athletes' hamstring injuries. Reyes' agent Peter Greenberg urged his client to go, but Reyes elected not to, saying:

"I wanted to stay here where I'm relaxed. They do the best job here with me."

Okay, so the kid is comfy with the Mets training staff, no biggie. The article continues:

Shilstone has said he could have solved the problem at the root of Reyes's injury in three to seven days. But Rokito was dismissive of that assertion, noting it was made by someone who had not examined Reyes or studied his medical records.

"Where else in medicine can that take place?" Rokito said. "You would never have a medical expert making those statements from a thousand miles away."

"I've never met Mr. Reyes,'' Shilstone responded Wednesday night. "I was only speculating. But I sure did raise something that made them defensive, didn't I?''

Rokito brings up a good point, and it's clear that Shilstone was being purely speculative about the treatment of Reyes. If the Mets OK'd the visit and his agent thinks it's a good idea, someone should smack Jose upside the head and have him go see what the "expert" has to say.

Eric | 12:07 PM EST | Comments: 1 | TrackBack: 0

May 04, 2004

Wiggie On The Mend, But Who Cares?

Ty Wigginton is getting ready to rejoin the Mets, but should he be allowed to start? When he landed on the DL on 4/23, Wigginton was batting a robust .188/.216/.333, for an OPS of .549. He had three extra base hits (two homeruns) and two walks. He didn't strike out much, only five times in 13 games, but everything he hit he did so into the ground, sporting a 1.83 groundball/flyball ratio. He was also last among ML third-basemen in P/PA (pitches per plate appearance), looking at only 3.02 offerings before grounding out.

Meanwhile, his replacement Todd Zeile has been a man possessed. Zeile is hitting .322/.414/.458 with nine walks, a homerun, and leads ML third-basemen with 4.73 P/PA.

Zeile has also been better in the field than Wigginton (based on rudimentary ESPN fielding stats). He holds an edge in RF (Range Factor) of 3.27 to 2.31, and an edge in ZR (Zone Rating) of .744 to .676. Not that Zeile is a defensive whiz by any stretch, he has just been superior to Wigginton, and would likely continue to be so.

Until Zeile stops hitting altogether, I see no reason to put Wigginton in there unless Jason Phillips is taking a day off. Wigginton can only help the club as trade bait or a placeholder, though he no longer seems qualified for either.

Eric | 10:41 AM EST | Comments: 3 | TrackBack: 1

April 23, 2004

Sick Little Wiggie

Ty Wigginton was placed on the 15-day disabled list by the Mets on Thursday, though the official "injury" hasn't been disclosed. Wigginton was hospitalized on Wednesday with faintness and dizziness, perhaps caused by too much swinging and missing. Danny Garcia, who was hitting .222/.364/.278 at AAA Norfolk, was recalled to take Wigginton's place on the 25-man roster.

Eric | 12:32 AM EST | TrackBack: 1

April 09, 2004

Kazmir Hurt

As bad as the Mets pitching has been thus far, we Mets fans know that the future looks brighter. The Mets have a plethora of young arms in the system that promise to lead the 2005-and-beyond Mets to postseason glory. A top-three of Scott Kazmir, Matt Peterson, and Tyler Yates beckon us, waving from their cushy seats along the ticker-tape parade. Oh, by the way, Kazmir is hurt:

Scott Kazmir, the Mets' top-rated pitching prospect, was forced to leave Thursday's season opener between the Class A St. Lucie Mets and Vero Beach after suffering from pain in his midsection.

[...]

"I was running yesterday [Wednesday] and I felt like, when I stopped, that my midsection, my abs and both my groins were on fire," Kazmir said. "I thought it was all right but then it felt tight again tonight."

On fire? That sounds good. I am sure more details will follow, but it could be a pulled groin or an abdominal strain, if we're lucky.

Eric | 11:30 AM EST | Comments: 1 | TrackBack: 3