Reyes opts for surgery

As expected, Jose Reyes will undergo surgery on his right hamstring tendon.

From the Mets…

The Mets today announced that shortstop Jose Reyes will undergo surgery to clean up scar tissue around the accessory hamstring tendon behind the right knee (semi tendinosis tendon). He will not require surgery for the separate hamstring muscle tear in his right leg which he suffered in late September while working out for his return to baseball.

Mets Medical Director Dr. David Altchek of the Hospital for Surgery in Manhattan has directed that the surgery be performed by Dr. Daniel E. Cooper - the leading expert in the country in the surgical treatment of the chronically torn semi tendinosis tendon in athletes. Cooper, affiliated with The Carrell Clinic and based in Dallas, is the head team physician for the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Stars. Cooper trained under Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

The date of the surgery is yet to be determined. Reyes is expected to fully recover and be ready for Spring Training.

How many months late is this?  I lost count.

Reyes tears hamstring while testing torn hamstring tendon

Truly unbelievable.

Today, Jose Reyes tested his torn hamstring tendon.  According to the Mets, while Reyes was testing his torn tendon today in Washington, he tore his hamstring muscle in the same leg.

In a season that we thought couldn’t get worse, just did.  And there are only three games left to play.

Reyes’ next move is probably onto the operating table, though a team spokesman would not comment.

Mets DL trips [Graph]

This is truly remarkable.Above is a chart of the Mets roster and call-ups and their time on the DL, as of Sept. 1.

Obviously, there’s too much data to fit here.  Click over to Sean Engelhardt’s site to view the full image.

Prepare to chuckle to yourself and shake your head in disbelief.

Report: Jose Reyes has torn hamstring, may require surgery

In a report for the Daily News, Adam Rubin relays info from a source that Jose Reyes has a completely torn hamstring and may require surgery.

Rubin writes:

While hardly ideal, surgery is not necessarily as ominous as it might sound. That tendon is expendable, and is sometimes partly removed and inserted into the elbow when a pitcher undergoes Tommy John surgery.

This morning on Twitter, pAuLiE_bRuZ asked me, “Do you think it’s a joke that they are deciding now that Reyes needs surgery?”

To put it plainly: No.

This season has seen a multitude of injuries and another one getting worse is no surprise.  The Mets front office needs to take a very serious look at their training staff and their medical professionals.  Things like this shouldn’t be found out months after the fact.

Something is very, very wrong with all of this.

Perez out for season with patella tendon tendinitis; Broadway called up

Oliver Perez will miss the rest of the 2009 season after being diagnosed with patella tendon tendinitis.  He will have surgery on the knee, costing him the rest of the 2009 season.

Dr. David Altcheck (again) at the Hospital for Special Surgery diagnosed the condition.

Perez is expected to be ready by spring training.

Lance Broadway has been called up from Triple-A Buffalo to take Perez’s spot on the roster.  Broadway came to the Mets in the Ramon Castro trade.

Santana going for MRI

As we track the Billy Wagner trade, an update is necessary on Johan Santana.

Santana was scratched from tonight’s start and will have an MRI on his ailing left elbow later in the day.

Santana saw Dr. David Altcheck at the Hospital for Special Surgery earlier today.

Keep your fingers crossed he doesn’t get on a plane headed for Alabama.

Cora out for the year with two bum thumbs

Alex Cora will miss the remainder of the year as he will have surgery to repair torn ligaments in both his thumbs.

Yeah, Cora had been playing with torn ligaments in not just one, but both his thumbs.

Crazy.

First up for surgery, his right thumb.  Followed five weeks later by his left thumb.

Wilson Valdez was pulled from the Triple-A Bisons game in anticipation of a call-up.

Cora was a good bench signing who was forced into a major role due to the Mets injuries this season.  I wouldn’t mind seeing him back with the Mets, purely as a guy off the bench.

Wright to DL, Green called up

The Mets erred on the side of caution with David Wright, placing him on the 15-day disabled list.  The Mets called up infielder Andy Green to take his place on the roster.

Green, 32, has seen time in three different seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, from 2004 to 2006.  In 260 major league plate appearances, he’s batting .199 / .280 / .265 with two home runs and 12 RBI.

He signed with the Mets in July of 2008, only to be released on Nov. 3.  Fifteen days later, he re-signed with the Mets.

This season with Triple-A Buffalo, Green has hit .269 / .333 / .412 with three home runs and 14 RBI in 35 games.  He’s split his time between third base and second base this season, but is a second baseman by trade.

Green missed 2 1/2 months with a fractured thumb, reports Peter Botte.

He’s a perfect fit.

Wright diagnosed with post-concussion symptoms

David Wright was admitted to the Hospital of Special Surgery after getting drilled in the head by a fastball from Matt Cain.  He has been diagnosed with post-concussion (which means he had a concussion in the first place), but has not been put on the disabled list.

I know the Mets trainers and medical staff have been through a lot in the past few months, but in case they don’t know what they should do with Wright, here’s a little reminder of recent concussions…Just sayin’…

Wright gets drilled in head by fastball

Scary stuff.

David Wright was just hit in the helmet by a 93 mph fastball from Matt Cain in the 4th inning.

Wright was down 0-2 as Bengie Molina called for the fourth straight fastball from Cain.  It obviously got away and nailed Wright on the left side of his helmet, near the temple, roughly where the brim of the helmet connects to the main body.

He went down in a heap as soon as it happened and only rolled over once the trainers got out to him.

The television cameras showed Wright saying, “I’m all right,” to trainer Ray Ramirez before they got him to his feet.  He walked off the field under his own power, held on the arm by Ramirez.

He obviously left the game, replaced by Fernando Tatis.

Mets DL trips

This list was put together by reader and friend David Cancel.  It lists the date, the player, the injury and where it took place.  It’s long and excruciating.  Take a look.

• 8/5 Jon Niese (Torn hamstring) - 8/5 @ Citi [Added]
• 7/25 Gary Sheffield (Strained right hamstring) - 7/17 @ ATL
• 7/20 Fernando Nieve (Torn right quadriceps - out 6-8 weeks) - 7/19 @ ATL
• 7/9 Fernando Martinez (Right knee inflammation) - 7/1 @ MIL
• 6/22 Carlos Beltran (Bone bruise, right knee) - bruise first mentioned between LA and BOS (5/21), finally out after OF slide 6/21 @ Citi
• 6/12 John Maine (Right shoulder fatigue) - last pitched 6/7 @ WAS
• 6/5 J.J. Putz (Right elbow surgery - out 8-10 weeks) - 6/3 @ PIT
• 6/3 Ramon Martinez (Fractured left pinkie finger) - slide 6/2 @ PIT
• 6/1 Angel Pagan (Strained right groin) - 5/31 @ Citi
• 5/26 Ryan Church (Strained right hamstring) - 5/22 @ BOS
• 5/26 Jose Reyes (Right calf tendinitis) - complained of stiff right calf after 5/13 game @ Citi, rested 6 days, re-aggravated @ LA on 5/20
• 5/18 Alex Cora (Torn right thumb ligament) - slide @ SF on 5/17
• 5/16 Carlos Delgado (Right hip impingement) - slide @ Citi on 4/26, rested for 5 games, played 7 games, then shut down.
• 5/7 Oliver Perez (Right patellar tendinitis) - last start 5/2; was complaining about it since Spring Training
• 4/17 Brian Schneider (Strained back muscle) - @ Citi
• 4/5 Angel Pagan (Right elbow sugery - out 2-3 months) - bone spur, prolly from Winter ball
• 4/5 Tim Redding (Right shoulder fatigue) - spring training

Yikes.

Thanks, David!

Jose Reyes has scar tissue

Unfortunately, not the song.

Jose Reyes had an MRI today on his ailing knee that revealed scar tissue and inflammation behind the knee.  This all stems from the hamstring injury earlier in the year.

Reyes will remain in NYC for physical therapy to try to break up the scar tissue and reduce the inflammation.

With Reyes, Jon Niese and Gary Sheffield all in for MRIs today, do you think the Mets will get a group rate?

Niese tears hamstring and Sheffield leaves game

Jon Niese went down in a heap.  Gary Sheffield simply walked off the field.

Niese injured himself covering first base during the second inning of today’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals.  The results from the MRI were just released, and they showed a complete tear of his hamstring tendon.  Niese immediately had surgery on the tear, reports Bart Hubbuch.

As you would expect, he will miss the remainder of the season.  He is expected back for spring training, 2010.

Sheffield walked off the field and into the clubhouse after singling in the sixth inning.  His hit looked like it would have been a double, but the 40-year-old stopped at first base, turned and walked straight into the clubhouse, trainer in tow.

Two more losses for the already injury depleted Mets.  It’s time to bring up the kids.

Castillo latest Met to go down

Steve Somers had a beautiful monologue to open his show tonight. 

When speaking of Luis Castillo’s injury, he rattled off about 20 things Castillo was not doing when he got hurt.  From getting hit by a pitch to breaking up a double play to breaking up an on-field fight, none of them were the reason Castillo left the game early.

Nope, it was those pesky things called stairs.

After leading off in the seventh inning and grounding out, Castillo was returning to the dugout and heading down the stairs when it happened.  He attempted to avoid a glove someone had left on the step, and landed awkwardly on his ankle.

X-rays were negative and the early diagnosis is a sprained left ankle, but no word on the severity of it.

As to who left the glove on the steps…I’m looking at you, Angel Berroa!

This is just another freak accident in a season of mishaps and misplays.  I’m really not even surprised.

Reyes returns to New York with leg discomfort

As the final nail in the coffin of people-who-still-think-the-Mets-have-a-chance-if-their-players-all-come-back-healthy, Jose Reyes has returned to New York with leg discomfort.

The news was tweeted by Steve Popper, David Lennon and Kevin Burkhardt.  Each of them believe this signals the end of any hope of Reyes returning in 2009.  I must agree.

Reyes will be re-examined by Mets doctors in NYC.

With the season swirling the drain, there should be no reason for any of the Mets players to rush back.  That is, except for Carlos Delgado, who needs to prove to teams he is still able to play.

So long, 2009.  Hello, 2010.

Injury updates on Wagner, Putz, Beltran, Delgado, Reyes, Maine

Player: Billy Wagner

Update: Pitched in his first rehab game for the Single-A St. Lucie Mets.  He threw 10 pitches, eight of them for strikes in a perfect inning of work.  He struck out two.

ETA: Still a couple of weeks away.

Player: J.J. Putz

Update: Threw in the bullpen, 25 pitches, at Citi Field.  He claims he was “pain free” and hopes to be back within three weeks.

ETA: Three weeks, I guess.

Player: Carlos Beltran

Update: Tested out his knee by hitting BP before the games.  He was said to have launched one into the Pepsi Porch.  He’s still weary of running on it (i.e. playing the field).

ETA: Why not?  Three weeks for him too.

Player: Carlos Delgado

Update: Has been taking BP and has also been seen teaching Daniel Murphy the tricks of the trade at first base.

ETA: Month away.

Player: Jose Reyes

Update: Was scheduled to run bases, but due to a “setback,” did not.

ETA: Month or more.

Player: John Maine

Update: No action since Dr. James Andrews backed up diagnosis of no structural damage.

ETA: 2010.

Minaya and Manuel safe; Update on Nieve: Tear

SI/SNY/WFAN’s Jon Heyman just posted this to his Twitter…

minaya, manuel have been told by mets boss jeff wilpon they wont be fired over this painful season.

Very interesting

** *** **

Heyman also just tweeted that Fernando Nieve has a tear in his quadriceps muscle.

We already knew he was heading to the DL, as Cory Sullivan is en route to D.C. as I write this, but no one knew how bad the injury was.

I really feel bad for Nieve.  He was getting a chance and making the most of it.  And now he’s down with an serious injury.

Nieve hurt; Niese or Figueroa will get chance

Another day, two more Mets losses.  One gets notched up in the loss column, the other scratches a player off the roster.

Fernando Nieve went down in the bottom of the second inning trying to leg out a groundball.  His foot landed on first base awkwardly and he went down in heap on the first base line.  He was said to have a right quadriceps strain, but more will be revealed after an MRI today.

One has to feel terribly for Nieve who was making the most of his chance at the big league level.

Now, the Mets have a choice to make: Nelson Figueroa, the journeyman pitcher they’ve designated for assignment twice in 2009, or Jon Niese, the young prospect who has seen the majors with little success so far, but is mowing down the International League.

Figueroa, who pitched once for the Mets in 2009, despite being called up twice, turned in a quality start against the Milwaukee Brewers before being DFA’d the first time.  For Triple-A Buffalo, Figueroa was the team’s lone All-Star representative.

For the months of June and July, Figueroa made eight starts, winning six of them.  His ERA was a miniscule 1.41, with a WHIP below 1.000 at 0.998.

Niese made two starts for the Mets in 2009.  In 10 2-3 innings, he surrendered 14 hits and seven earned runs.  But over June and July for Buffalo, he was equally impressive as Figueroa.

In the past two months, Niese has made nine starts, winning five.  His ERA over the past three games is an unbelievable 0.41, as he allowed only one earned run in his last 22 innings.

If the Mets choose Figueroa to fill the roster spot, I feel that it will signal that they still believe they can compete in 2009 and want a “veteran” to come up to fill the spot.  If they opt for Niese, it would seem that they are planning ahead for 2010 and will let Niese progress at the major league level, a la Mike Pelfrey a few years ago.

Though the Mets have two solid options waiting in upstate New York, whichever player they choose will show their attitude for the 2009 season.

F-Mart tore meniscus, had surgery; Other updates

Fernando Martinez tore his meniscus and had the subsequent surgery on Tuesday.  He is out six to eight weeks.

I’ve had this surgery before and it’s no fun, but for the knee, a meniscus is a good thing.  The Mets are very lucky that is wasn’t the ACL, MCL or any other CL.  You may remember Ramon Castro had the same surgery a few years ago.

For the rest of the Mets walking wounded, Omar Minaya updated reporters earlier today.

• John Maine should be pitching again within a week or so. 
• Jose Reyes is swinging, but not running yet. 
• Carlos Delgado’s is swinging and taking grounders. 
• Carlos Beltran had another MRI and he still has a bone bruise. 

Wonderful.

Lineup for Game 84; F-Mart to DL, A. Reyes recalled

Fernando Martinez has hit the disabled list with inflammation in his right knee.

Argenis Reyes was recalled from the minor leagues after heading down only on Tuesday when the Mets needed to make room for Oliver Perez.

Here’s the lineup for the finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers, noticeably without Daniel Murphy after two doubles and a gem of a play yesterday.

1. Luis Castillo – 2B
2. Nick Evans – LF
3. David Wright – 3B
4. Gary Sheffield – RF
5. Fernando Tatis – 1B
6. Ryan Church – CF
7. Omir Santos – C
8. Alex Cora – SS
9. Livan Hernandez - RHP