The New York Times had an interesting article this past Sunday about the Mets handling of Jose Reyes’ injury. October 5, 2009, the day after the last game of the 2009 season, a season in which for the third straight year the Mets failed to make the post season Jeff Wilpon and the Mets had a media blitz, talking about what went wrong in 2009, what to expect in 2010 and the injuries that occurred this season. Jeff Wilpon, Omar Minaya and Dave Howard that day went on WFAN to talk with Mike Francesa as part of this media blitz. When talking about the injuries Jeff Wilpon said to Mike:
“most of the injuries happened while the team was on the road and that the team relied too heavily on other team doctors”
Jeff Wilpon also mentioned that the Dodgers team doctors had made the original diagnosis that Jose Reyes had a calf injury. The Dodgers were not happy about this and felt that Wilpon was wrong when he made that statement, they released a statement of their own saying that:
“the Mets have official documentation showing that the correct diagnosis of Mr. Reyes was made here in Los Angeles in May.”
According to the Dodgers, Dr. Neal ElAttrache examined Reyes and concluded that Jose Reyes did have a partly torn accessory hamstring tendon. The Mets decided to have Jose play in one game during that series in which he lasted only a couple of innings, he ran to first, came up lame and did not play another game for the Mets for 2009.
The Times asked the Mets to respond to Dr. ElAttrache’s diagnosis Mets public relations guru Jay Horrowitz said:
“The Mets and Dodgers doctors have spoken.”
This is so typical of this team. The Mets have shown this whole season that they refuse to take responsibility for anything that they do wrong, always trying to blame it on someone else. We saw that earlier this season when Omar Minaya had to fire his friend Tony Bernazard he tried to discredit Adam Rubin, saying Rubin wanted a job with the Mets and once again Jeff Wilpon is now blaming the Dodgers and their medical team in the mishandling of Jose Reyes’ injury.
Word going around is that the Dodgers are not happy about the Mets making these false statements and now there is a rift between the Dodgers and Mets. I’m not surprised in the least, I wonder how the Mets will try to spin this latest mistake, they will probably embarrass themselves and most Met fans I’m sure.
*Mets Merized Online Needs Your Help*
There’s no latest mistake,
Enough already on this subject! He’s going to have surgery and he’s going to be fine by spring training.
Give it a rest.
He’s going to have surgery eventually, why he hasn’t had surgery yet I don’t know. They have mishandled this injury from day 1, insulted our intelligence and they continue to do so by lying to us, the “customer” as Dave Howard likes to call us. I have had enough of the Mets lying and covering up as well, but I don’t see it ending.
Greg, don’t listen to the Omar/Wilpon pom-pom waivers, and I believe the “latest mistake” Greg is referring to is the statement made by the three stooges during their interviews. I have said all along that I fail to see how the sum of the injury mishandling is the fault of other teams doctors. This article may be the smoking gun in the Reyes case, but clearly Reyes was not the only Mets player to have an injury mis-diagnosis, etc. Hopefully the MLB or players union will investigate this issue so it will not happen again.
Also Ace Adam Rubin was interviewed by another blog last week and he said to that blog that J.J. Putz was told by the team doctor, Dr. Altchek to have surgery, the team instead wanted to give him a cortisone shot and had him play through the injury and had to have surgery anyway. The team has lied to us for months now and I’m tired of it.
Agreed Greg the lies have not stopped, just more people believe them after those interviews. I am forced to live with the status quo in Mets management, but to me the mis-handling of several injuries, including the biggest investment in Mets players (Santanna), is absolutely the worst offense in 2009. Teams have bad years, I can live with that; but to consistently mis-manage injuries is unexcusable!i still say it’s about money to the Wilpons, fixing the complaints of Met’s memorabilia in Citi is the easiest and CHEAPEST complaint to fix.If they fired Omar and the rest of his staff would be a significant loss, along with the added hiring of real managers. Just my $.02. I like your posts though Greg, and they are all not negative but sometimes pointing out the truth tends to hurt.
Thanks Ace, I don’t mean to be negative in my posts but at the same time I don’t wear rose colored glasses, if I see something I don’t like I’m going to talk about it. I still don’t understand what was so great about the media blitz and the interview with Mike Francesa, they were vague with their answers, telling us more of the same, for some reason people are still buying their lies.
Greg,
My finality with the situation was not the Met management media blitz but it was another show when Mike Francesa discussed in depth that he spoke to his own sources who were doctors who’s opinion he respected and they all told him that yes everything was mishandled but the injury is NOT career threatening at all. That the hamstring tendon is a tendon that is primarily used in Tommy John surgery and that the other injury Reyes suffered was a regular hamstring injury that take the regular time to heal. They assured Francesa that Reyes would definitely be ready by spring training. I don’t always agree with Francesa but I respect his opinion and when he said that he was perfectly comfortable with that decision then that was also good enough for me.
I just wanted to clear that up because it seems that some people are always misinterpreting what i say. I know you don’t. We may not agree all the time but I know you always understand my talking points the first time around.
GREG, LIVING IN NC I MISSED THE FRANCESSA INTERVIEW; BUT I GATHER ONE OF JEFF’S LIES, ERR,OMISES, WAS AN IMPROVMENT IN THE MINORS. I SAY LIE SIMPLY BECAUSE UNLESS THEY ARE WUILLING TO PAY FIRST ROUND BONUSES TO FIRST ROUND TALENTM WHO’S DEMANDS PREVENT THEM FROM BEING PICKED IN ROUND 1, THUS FALLING TO ROUND 2, TO BE PICKED IN-TURN BY ANYONE USUALLY WILLING TO PAY THAT FIRST-ROUND MONEY(A PRACTICE FOLLOWED BY BOSTON & NYY; BUT PREVENTED BY WILPONS ADHEREING TO GUIDELINE SLOTS)
UNLESS THEY PLAY UNDER ‘BIG BOY’ RULES THEY WON’T BE ABLE TO ACQUIRE THE TOP TALENTS WITHOUT FIRDST ROUND TALENT PICKS. TO KEEP RESTOCKING WITH SECOND ROUND & LATER TALENT IS REDICULOUS, ESP IF U ATTEMPT TO FASTTRACK THEM. TASLK ABOUT LIPSTICKS & PIGS. THIS IS HOW WE GET LESSER TALENTS TO HYPE IN THER FIRST PLACE. WHY NYM FASTRACKERS FAIL MORE OFTEN THAN THOSE OF OTHER TEAMS. THEY START WITH BETTER RAW MATERIALS(HIGHER DRAFT PICKS)
IT’D NOT THE MNGT OF THE PIPELINE; BUT THE LEVEL OF QUALITY SUPPLIED TO THE PIPELINE.
THAT TAKES YEARS TO FIX & UPGRADE. UNLESS THE ALTER THEIR OWN DRAFT PRACTICES THEY CAN’T ALTER THE TALENT LEVEL THEY’RE PUTTING ON THE FIELD.
this is what happens when your organization is being run by a petulant, spoiled chid. I wonder how jeff is going to handle being snubbed by his favorite team in baseball?
In addition, I would think that the Mets management team might have some trouble trying to negotiate trades, etc. with other teams when you start to burn bridges like that. Just poor business mentality.
What worries me most is the very real possibility that Reyes will not return with the same speed he had before he got hurt. Jose Reyes makes his living with his legs, and without that same burst from home plate and his baserunning ability, he is nothing but a .280, 10 homer guy. He beat out a lot of hits with his speed and that certainly bumoped his average.
I AGREE WITH GIVING IT A REST; HOWEVER LET ME SAY I BELIEVE THEY’RE ALL LYING SINCE REYES’ INITIAL INJURY MYSTERIOUSLY OCCURED DURING THE FLIGHT TO SF, CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG; BUT WASN’T HE HEALTHY WHEN HE WENT 3-5 IN 8-7 ATL LOSS; BUT DEPLANED HOBBLING MISSING THE TEAM RECORD 7SB GAME OPENNING THE SF SERIES WHEN CORA WENT 1-4 AS SS?
PERSONALLY I SUSPECT A WBC INJURY IMPAIRED HIS RUNNING GAME FROM DAY 1 OF SEASON & HE WAS SELF-TREATING AT HOME; NOT ABLE TO HIDE GIMPINESS AFTER AN ALL-NIGHT FLIGHT WITH TRAINERS & MNGT/COACHES. JUST MY SUSPICIOUS MIND? PERHAPS.
I love conspiracies. With the mets, it is impossible to deny anything, except their intelligence, of course. Funny thing about Reyes is how few infield hits he gets. But yes, this will affect the steals, which went down some in recent years anyway. I think Reyes peaked about two yers ago myself. I think he is the Mr. Night Life actually, and it is wearing on him.
I love conspiracies. The mets can deny til the cows ame home, but there is no reason to believe anything they say. The only thing you can believe in is their innate lack of intelligence as to how to build and run a baseball team. Funny thing about Jose, he never got a lot of infield hits, for all of his speed. And his steals have been coming down in the last year or so. I actually think he peaked about two years ago, right after he fully realized that he had made it big. I think Mr. Night Life has been dancing thhe nights sway, whether he happens to be injured or not. I question his dedication.
sorry about the two posts. The first did not go through initially and I could not remember verbatim what I had posted. Duh!
Wait…….I thought the Mets were the Dodgers?
What I don’t understand is why does Mets Management feel compelled to lie to their fan base about these injuries? What aggravates me the most about them is not the fact that they may be losing one of their players for an extended period of time. It’s the misdirections & misdiagnosis that they try to feed us. I’m sorry but I just don’t understand why they just can’t come out & say for example: Reyes tore his hamstring & he will be out for 3-4 weeks? As a fan I can live with that. Of course I won’t be happy about it but it’s a heck of a lot better then what they put us through this year. I can honestly say that it had no bearing on me buying tickets to the game. Holding back the truth about injuries obviously isn’t going to get a player back on the field any sooner. All it does is make the Management team look inept. I cannot believe as a Met fan I had such a short time “on top”. It just seems like yesterday that it was ‘06 & I was so proud of my favorite sports team. Now I’m back to reality where I’m actually embarrassed to admit that I’m a Mets fan – DISAPPOINTING!!!
TODD, THINK WMDs, IT’S NOT LYING IF U CHOOSE TO BE OPTIMISTIC BY CHOOSING FROM A PROGNOSIS OF SAY 2-6 WEEKS AND REPORTING A 2WK RETURN DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LYING. IT CONSTITUES OPTIMISITIC INTERPRETATIONS. EVERYONE IS TOO QUICK TO THROW OUT THAT LIE CONDEMNATION. TO ME LYING IS DELIBERATLY STATING AS TRUE THAT WHICH U KNOW TO BE UNTRUE. IF THEY’D PREDICTED A 6 WK OUTAGE AND HAD A 2 WK RETURN, IS THAT LYING? SAME THING!
Todd–it is because they count every nickel, and then remind you what big spenders they are. When they announce 3 or 4 weeks without Reyes, they anticipate a drop, however small, in attendance. They would rather lie to all of us than endure that drop. So now you know where we stand in their estimation. Nice, eh?
This team is not worthy of its fanbase.
JDON, UNFORTUNATLY, I’D REVERSE THOSE NOUNS.
Jeff Wilpon just shows how over his head he is. He either lied or is misinformed by someone who lied to him. In any event, he should have known better than to make the accusation and risk ruining relations with the Dodgers rather than just fall on his sword and say we screwed up and will be more attentive in the future. Just the mark of an amateur in a job that requires a professional. And after this, somehow Omar is going to have meaningful negotiations with other GM’s towards the goal of improving the team. How is that going to happen?
WELCOME, MY FRIEND,
WELCOME TO THE DARKSIDE OF NYM REALITY WHERE THE COO IS INCOMPETANT, PROTECTED BY HIS DADDY’HIRED IMAGE PROTECTOR.(THINK WIZARD OF OZ AFTER CURTAIN IS OPENNED & TRUE WIZARD IS REVEALED) I’M GUESSING WE’LL SEE MORE OF THIS AS LIL’ JEFFIE TAKES TO THE MICROPHONE MORE THAN HIS ‘BANNED, SHAMED’ MOUTHPIECE, OMAR. THIS IS THE PRICE OF DADDY REBELLION, VERY TYPICAL OF FATHER-SON RELATIONSHIP BATTLES, WHEREBY SON REBELS AGAINST FATHE4R’S CONCERN, CAUTION. YOU ALL MOCKED ME WHEN I TRIED TO STATE THAT OMAR WAS JUST A “FRONTMAN” & JEFF WAS THE BUMBLING VILLAGE IDIOT BEHIND THE WORST FRONTOFFICE DECISIONS OF OUR FRABCGHISE. PLAYER ADVISORY COUNCIL, LIETER,FRANCO,GLAVINE SCOTT KAZMIR TRADE, PETERSON PITCHING GM, ETC. I ONCE USED A COMPARISON TO CHILDREN GETTING NANNY FIRED THROUGH DISGUISED MISCHIEF.
This Organization is a hopeless Joke,and the only way Ownership will ever listen to us is if We All stop Going to the games and supporting this Second rate Disgrace of a baseball Team!I stopped going to games after my last visit to Shea in September ‘08,and I don’t plan on Going to Citi Field until I see Sustained Success for 3-5 years minimum which will never happen with this Ownership!
MO, DOES YOUR FACE LOOK BETTER SANS NOSE? I BET YOUR FACE REGRETS YOUR DECISION LMAO!
JDON, YOUR POST RE. REYES & NIGHTLIFE HASN’T APPEARED YET; BUT OTHER THAN THAT OLD REPORT FROM OVER A YR AGO, WHAT DO U BASE YR BELIEF ON? I BELIEVE IN NYC THER’S NO HIDING FROM PRESS OR PRYING EYE NEGATIVE REPORTS AND IF THERE WAS ACTUAL FIRE UBDER THAT OLD SMOKE WE;D HAVE HAD NUMEROUS EXPOASE’ BY NOW.
Hey metfan62 what does that even mean?I don’t get what your trying to say at all!
SORRY, MO, MY FAULT, POSTER ‘JDON’ HAD RESPONDED WITH A POSTING THAT INTIMATED REYES’ ISSUES RELATED TO TOO MUCH PARTYING, I WAS RESPONDING. HIS POSTING HAD NOT YET APPEARED SO I ERRONEOUSLY CHOSE TO USE AN EARLIER UNRELATED ONE FROM HIM ON THE SAME THREAD.
APOLOGIZE FOR ONDFUSION CAUSED…’62