7
2012
Matz Says Elbow Not Feeling Right, Verrett To Throw Second Bullpen On Tuesday
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As part of today’s MMO Mailbag, we reached out to Steve Matz and Logan Verrett who are both rehabbing in St. Lucie to answer a couple of questions.
Ben M: On January 18, 2012, MMO did an interview with Steven Matz, who at the time was optimistic about his recovery and return to baseball. I did a search on the Mets official website and cannot find him. Do you have an update on Steve? Thank you.
Petey: Thanks for the question Ben. After I received your query, I decided that to get you a proper answer I would go right to the horse’s mouth. So I contacted Steve the other day and this is what he told me:
Steve: I threw a bunch of innings in Spring Training and my velocity was back to normal, anywhere from 90-95 mph. The elbow still wasn’t really feeling right, but I was trying to get through it. I went and saw Dr. Andrews again and he was concerned a little bit. But it’s very tough to read an MRI after you have a surgery. So I am going to give it one more try and see what happens.
This is not the kind of news you want to hear if you are a Mets fan, but we can still pull for Steve and hope he gets through this latest setback okay.
Hopefully the feeling he has is just from scar tissue, and will prove to not be a serious problem. I’ll follow up with Steve and keep you posted as far as his progress.
* * *
Psycho in Savannah: Thanks for taking my question. What’s the deal with Logan Verrett? He’s only made three starts this year? How come?
Petey: Sand Gnats starter Logan Verrett was put on the D.L. on April 19th, with a right shoulder strain.
I caught up to him just last week and asked him how he was feeling and if he had been throwing yet. This is what he said:
Logan: I’m not throwing right now. Hoping to start throwing though either today, or in the next couple of days. (By the end of last week). My arm is getting a lot better. We are just trying to play it safe right now and make sure I’m 100 percent before I get back into it.
Well there’s some good news anyway, it doesn’t appear to be a serious injury that has sidelined Verrett. With luck we should be seeing him back on the mound by the end of this month.
Update: 5/7 @4:10 pm - I just spoke with Logan again a few minutes ago and he said he will be throwing his second bullpen tomorrow (Tuesday), and he feels good. After that he says, three more bullpens and he will be set to return to action. According to my calculations that should be on or around May 20th.
You may enjoy an interview that I conducted with Logan for MMO this past winter as well.
Well that’s all that was in the mailbag this week. At least the only questions that were fit to print for our discerning audience here at MMO. If you have any Mets related questions including the minor leagues, send your questions to GetMetsmerized@aol.com.
About the Author: Peter Shapiro
The first time I went to Shea was not for a Mets game, it was for the Beatles concert there in August of '66. My first Met game was '67, a guy named Salty Parker was the interim-manager then. My first pennant race was 1969. As a 12 year-old that summer and fall, I managed to get to the park for 3 games. The first was the beginning of the Miracle which actually started on Tuesday July 8, 1969 with a day game against the Cubs. I was there a lot in '73. I saw games 3 & 5 of the 1973 NL Playoffs against the "Big Red Machine", from the upper deck behind home plate. It was from there that I witnessed the fight between Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose, and the mayhem that ensued. And that sweet victory in game 5! I saw a couple of WS games at Shea that year against that legendary Oakland A's club. I was there in 1985 for every single game Dr. K pitched including his two 16 strikeout performances, and the day he one-hit the Cubs on an infield single and the Mets won 1-0. I loved being a Met fan in those days. Hopefully we are once again preparing to emerge from the darkness.
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I think taking a slow approach to injury is always best. part of the reason players have problems coming back is they do tend to come back too quick. Maybe taking that extra time to heal makes the healing much better and more stable!
Taking Santana as an example I have to wonder if all that extra time he spent on the DL isn’t a big part of why he is pitching so well right now!
He was supposed to come back last June and instead sat out the entire season even shutting it down and taking the entire offseason off.
He has come back with a venbeance with not a sign of his injury affecting him.
This is probably the best thing to do especially for young Kids, yes they may heal a little quicker but throwing them right back into the wear and tear is probably not the best thing for thier long term future and health.
So I’m glad they are taking thier time with those two and hope they don’t push them too hard to get back. We have plenty of time and the best way to fail in your draft is to push a kid too fast and risk long term health issues because yo want them back too soon!
Me and my friend were just wondering about Verrett on Saturday. Take it slow dude.
Bottomline is if 6 weeks in enough for an injury to heal good enough to play baseball then 12 weeks is even better because the healing doesn’t get offset by wear and tear!
We should not be rushing in regards to injury what you gain in the rush you lose in the end by re-injuring and weakness of the injured parts!
Hey Peteie! Great job as always. Just wondering where they plan on playing Phil Evans this season, Kingsport or Brooklyn? Also same question for Nimmo and Marquez. Thanks!
Thanks Fonz! I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring your question. I used your question for the latest Ask Petey piece. It’s scheduled to post tomorrow morning @10. Check it out!
Thanks Petey! Sorry for butchering your name. Speed typing is just not my niche yet. lol
[...] Metsmerized online reported, Matz felt that his elbow “wasn’t feeling right,” this spring, [...]