A year ago Davis was coming off the valley fever scare and ankle injury. His .156/.212/.290 slash line could be intellectualized. Similar numbers (.149/.229/.248) this year are reason for concern. There are many players that are slow starters, but are the Mets’ doomed to Davis not showing up the first ten weeks of the season? Has reality set in that he might be a 4-A hitter with flawed mechanics at the plate?

Davis and Jacobs are not exactly apples to apples comparison. Ike was a highly touted first round pick in 2008. His struggles in Brooklyn during his rookie year in pro ball were well documented. Jacobs was a 38th round pick that nobody talked about when he had a breakout 2005 season in Binghamton. He was supposed to be an injury replacement at the big league level, but If not for Pedro Martinez‘s lobbying after a Sunday afternoon home run, we never would have been treated to Jacobs’ September to remember. It’s also possible that Carlos Delgado would never have been acquired that offseason.

As a full-time first baseman from 2006-2008, Mike Jacobs averaged 23 homers, 75 RBI and a .258 batting average. In his two full seasons of work (2010, 2012) Davis has produced 25 homers and 75 RBI with a similar average. Both produce about the same level of strikeouts, although Davis has the penchant to walk a bit more- although probably not enough for the organization’s liking. Both struggle against left handers. Defensively, there is no comparison. Even when he’s struggled Davis has gold glove potential. Jacobs was only plugged-in at first after failing behind the plate. Still, a first baseman needs to hit at an elite level to be considered valuable. If Jacobs is the best that Davis has to offer, then it’s probably time to question if the Mets have a cornerstone at first base for years to come. Should they package Davis if and when he heats up again? Will a trip to the minors help? Is Lucas Duda the answer? Can they afford to pay for a first baseman on the free agent market?

Many scouts have expressed concern over Davis’ mechanics at the plate. It’s complicated, awkward looking and appears difficult to replicate. The more “noise” a player has in the box the harder it will be to hit a baseball, an already difficult task. Can this be fixed? That is hard to predict, but Davis wouldn’t be the first hot-shot hitting prospect to fizzle at the big league level. At the very least a trip to Triple-A Las Vegas should be on the table.

The Mets got lucky when both Jose Reyes and David Wright developed best case scenarios upon their call-up a decade ago. Prospects are an inexact science and, to date, none of the current group of homegrown players has shown to be consistent everyday big leaguers, much less stars.

WFAN callers rarely provide for intelligent or even interesting commentary. Comedy is more how I would describe my experience. Ironically, a caller to the midday show just might have uncovered a hard reality: Ike Davis is no better than a former flash in the pan prospect. I doubt even a productive final four months of 2013 will net a player any close to Delgado’s capabilities. Remember, lightening doesn’t strike twice.

Photo by Michael G. Baron of SNY.

Updated by Mitch Petanick on May 17, 2013

Adam Rubin has reported that Zack Wheeler is scheduled to start throwing again today, and is back with the team in Las Vegas. He was placed on the seven day DL, retroactive to his last start. He will rejoin the rotation next Wednesday when the team is in Iowa.

Wheeler received a cortisone shot last Wednesday after being diagnosed with inflammation of the AC joint in his throwing shoulder. He is still expected to only miss one start, which would have been on Saturday of this week.

Updated by Joe D. on May 15, 2013

Zack Wheeler has been diagnosed with slight inflammation in the AC joint in his shoulder, and will miss one start, according to Assistant GM John Ricco.

Wheeler received a cortisone shot at the Hospital for Special Surgery in his right shoulder and is flying to rejoin his team at Triple-A Las Vegas.

We spoke to his agent a few minutes ago who said there is no structural damage and that he is in good spirits.

That said, until I see Wheeler back on the mound pitching again, I will remain concerned.

It’s just the Mets fan in me.  :-)

Get back on that mound soon, Zack…

Original Post May 14, 2013

Zack Wheeler has a sore right clavicle, and will fly to New York to be examined by team doctors tomorrow at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

“I think we’re being a little conservative,” assistant GM John Ricco told reporters about the Mets top prospect. Wheeler had already met with the team doctor in Las Vegas.

That said, Ricco added that Wheeler will not make his scheduled start on Saturday in Omaha.

Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that Wheeler will undergo an MRI exam on his collarbone while in New York.

Terry Collins commented on this and said:

“From what I’ve heard today, it doesn’t sound serious. But any time you miss a start, it’s for the best interest of the player. We’ll wait to hear the doctor’s report and go from there. If it’s only one start, that’s certainly something we can handle easily.”

After a rough start to the season. Wheeler made a mechanical adjustment and has had incredible success over his last three starts for Triple-A Las Vegas and walked only three while posting a 1.35 ERA.

Overall, the right-hander is 2-1 with a 3.74 ERA for the season with 18 walks and 47 strikeouts in 43.1 innings pitched.

While the team calls this precautionary and conservative, any kind of soreness in the surrounding shoulder area should be a cause for some concern.

Thoughts From Mitch Petanick:

I’m hoping for the best here, but preparing for the worst. What I am worried most about is the fact that Zack Wheeler pitches using a delivery called the “Inverted W,” which could put added stress on the anterior labrum ligament in the shoulder — it slowly loosens the ligament and can actually lead to tears. Some pitchers use this delivery and go through their careers injury free, but many of them suffer injuries that require surgery…like John Smoltz and Stephen Strasburg.

Wheeler also recently tweaked his mechanics, which is what his improved control is accredited to, but could that mechanical fix in addition with the Inverted W delivery been enough to cause this shoulder discomfort? I guess we will find out after his MRI, but even precautionary MRIs are a cause for concern.

The Inverted W is like playing with fire…you can get burned.

Thoughts from Matt Musico:

The concept of fault lines in the media is something we all witness on a daily basis, but rarely recognize. Fault lines are a tool that help shape the perception of ourselves, others and events around us. The ones most are familiar with are culture and gender, but they can also contain factors of age, socioeconomic status and geographical location of the subject.

Some of these categories can help us in understanding the enigma that is Jordany Valdespin.

As I surf around the web at the plethora of voices representing the Mets, I can’t help but notice one underlying theme: Valdespin bothers people. That’s fine. This is nothing new. We’re all entitled to our own opinions, myself included.

Valdespin was the subject of another Mets controversy when he didn’t attend a batting practice session before Friday night’s game in Atlanta. Here’s what we know from recent reports:

• Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork reports Valdespin was asked to attend batting practice before Friday night’s game and did not show up.
• Rubin also reports that Valdespin said to ESPNDeportes’ Marly Rivera that he had been told not to attend by a coach.

The rest is speculation. It’s safe to say general consensus is that Mets fans and media are upset. Rubin went on to say that “team insiders” said the Mets were “irked” by the incident.

“Anyway, it is all part of the Valdespin package,” Rubin writes.

Let me come full circle in regards to fault lines. I’m 24 years old. Valdespin is 25. I’m not here to speak on behalf of Valdespin because we’re a year apart in age, but let me present this analogy:

If one of my professors told me that coming to a class was voluntary, I might not go. That shouldn’t besmirch my academic track record or define who I am as a student. That doesn’t represent the Nelson “package.” I currently hold a 3.7 GPA and consider myself a good student. That doesn’t mean I’m going to show up to every extracurricular activity that’s asked of me. I have a life outside of school.

I’m willing to acknowledge that there’s a difference between going to college and playing baseball. I pay for school and Valdespin gets paid to play baseball, but the principle is the same. We both possess lives outside of what we spend a majority of our time doing. We shouldn’t immediately make a decision about Valdespin because of media priming. If you ask me to attend something voluntary, there’s a chance I might not go.

Maybe Valdespin felt the need to rest a nagging injury. Maybe he wanted to hang out with his friends. Maybe his dog died. Who knows? My point is that this seems more like a matter of opportunity cost than being mature. I’ll do my best to attend most extracurricular activities, which we have no reason to believe Valdespin doesn’t as Michael Baron of MetsBlog writes:

“Now, Valdespin has participated in early batting practice many times since joining the Mets last year, and he has done so on the road as well.”

But sometimes I need a break from the grind. Baron also writes:

“Perhaps if he conformed to the culture and practices of the team consistently, he would reap the rewards of his performances and talents and be respected a little more as well…”

This is where the cultural fault line comes into play. If I own a store and want someone to show up to work then I tell them to show up. I don’t turn it into a test and then get upset when the person doesn’t pass. That’s not an acceptable culture by any rational standards.

I’ve spent a lot of time tutoring international students around my own age and most take instruction quite literally. A coach told Valdespin not to come to practice so he didn’t go. That’s all we have to go on. Apparently that makes him immature. That seems a bit unfair. I would even venture to say that it’s immature of the Mets to be upset that Valdespin didn’t pick up on a hint that they think he should have taken.

At the end of the day, many who think unfavorably of Valdespin won’t read this. If they do, they’ll quickly click away. It’s called the cognitive dissonance theory and it basically means that people will go out of their way to imbibe information that conforms to their already established belief systems to prevent conflict of thought. It just seems like El Dramático gets thrown under the bus quite often and if I or other MMO contributors don’t step out and say something, he’ll fall victim to the throws of negative media. Such is the world we live in, I suppose.

What are your thoughts on the portrayal of El Dramático?

@nymets945 Pill will likely not make next start because of discomfort. Need to find out more about that. He is not on the DL.

— Lynn Worthy (@PSBLynn) April 29, 2013

Vaughn said he felt a sensation in his arm after throwing out runner at plate. Called coming out “precautionary.” #BMets #Mets

— Lynn Worthy (@PSBLynn) April 30, 2013

Hat tip for Lynn Worthy here for updating us on two minor league players, Cory Vaughn and Tyler Pill.

Cory Vaughn left tonight’s game with an undisclosed injury, and Worthy later found out and reported that he may have hurt himself while throwing out a runner from left field. Considering that it is reported as precautionary, we should have nothing to worry about. Vaughn was in the midst of a hot streak, batting .306 over his last three games with three home runs and eight RBIs.

Tyler Pill, on the other hand, was scheduled to pitch tomorrow evening. Worthy went on to note that Pill missing his start did not sound like a big issue up in Binghamton – but rather that they wanted to give him some time off. Pill has been struggling this season, with opposing hitters batting .349 against him and he currently holds an ERA of 7.58 (16 earned runs) in 19.0 innings pitched.

For those of you that missed it, there was a strange play that took place during the Detroit Tigers’ 7-5 win over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night. Quite frankly, I’ve never seen anything like it before. Here’s what happened along with the accompanying video from MLB.com.

During the third inning with the Tigers trailing 4-2 and base runners Prince Fielder on third and Victor Martinez at second, Jhonny Peralta lined a single to right field to score Prince Fielder. It should have ended there, but Martinez rounded third and started chugging to third, opting to test the powerful arm of Jeff Francoeur.

The former Met fired a bullet to home that essentially made Martinez a dead duck. But instead of trying to barrel over Royals catcher Salvador Perez who had the plate blocked and was waiting for the slow-footed Tigers DH to make contact. Only a few feet from home plate, Martinez suddenly decides to make a hard right turn and proceeds to head to the dugout. The home plate umpire ruled Martinez out for running outside the baseline and there was never a play at the plate.

There’s something seriously wrong here. I get that the oft-injured Victor Martinez was probably thinking of trying to avoid another stint on the DL, but still… There’s something wrong here. Seems like fans were denied a good old-fashioned baseball staple – the play at the plate.

He was later diagnosed with a contusion, which for the Mets sake is good news. At the moment of impact on his right leg, I thought to myself that something needs to be done to protect the pitchers.

The mound to home plate is 60 feet 6 inches away and without any protection the pitchers are sitting ducks. There isn’t anything that can truly protect them other than their glove and their ability to react when a ball is headed right towards them. They are even lucky if they can see the ball as it is coming towards them probably faster than it was thrown to the batter.

Last night on Twitter I tweeted:

I think pitchers need some sort of padding like the catchers have, balls come back faster than they are thrown. #Mets @mlbinjurynews

— David Conde (@MetsFanatic24) April 24, 2013

Now it can be argued that there is no way a pitcher will be able to pitch with gear on, that it will be uncomfortable, but what else can be done. If they had a hat that was more like a helmet, it may protect them from getting hit in the head, but their face is still exposed, so what about a face mask. Football players who are running all over the field and moving more so than a baseball pitcher wear face masks, now they are not dodging a baseball, but they are still protected from most head injuries. Now obviously a pitcher wouldn’t have a hug helmet on but a small hat(helmet) with a face mask could be constructed to help protect the pitchers. It would be awkward at first and probably even be uncomfortable, but it would protect the pitchers and give them peace of mind while on the mound.

John Olerud used to wear a helmet when he played the field to protect his head because of a brain aneurysm he had in college. Now Olerud’s reasoning may be a bit more severe then just protecting pitchers, but it makes sense that a team would want to make sure that their pitching staff has a chance to protect themselves. Which organization would be the first to implement the idea, and do whatever is necessary to protect their players? It isn’t something that happens every game, but when it does, it can mean the difference between life threatening or career ending injury.

Now helmets may not be the only protection that can be created for a pitcher, they can also wear padding that maybe is fitted inside their uniform pants, or even padding on their arms. Once again, we are messing with something that may hurt the pitchers mechanics, but it can be something they can implement into their routine where it becomes a part of it. I thought this all sounded foolish to think about until I looked it up and found a quote by Tim McCarver during the 2012 World Series game between the San Francisco Giants and the Detroit Tigers when Tigers Pitcher Doug Fister was struck in the top of the head by a ball off the bat of Giants batter Gregor Blanco. As reported on an ESPN article back on Feb 17, 2013, Tim McCarver stated:

“I never thought this before this year, but I think baseball is going to have to resort to helmets for pitchers like catchers wear.”

This kind of thinking may be to the extreme, but how else can the pitchers be protected. The incident during the 2012 World Series was not the first time a pitcher has been struck by a line drive to the head. There was a game in 1957, as also noted by the same ESPN article on Feb 17, 2013:

Pitching prodigy Herb Score of the Cleveland Indians took a shot off the bat of the New York Yankees’ Gil McDougald to his right eye. His blurred vision would eventually improve, but Score’s budding career was effectively derailed.

The accidents don’t just affect the pitchers that are hit; it can also affect the batter and stay in their minds for a long time. There isn’t anything different that a batter can do to prevent it from happening, but the end results of the injuries can affect the way a player approaches the game in the future.

One of the most horrific accidents to happen on the baseball diamond was when Oakland’s Brandon McCarthy suffered life-threatening injuries when a line drive hit by the Los Angeles Angels’ Erick Aybar struck him in the head. McCarthy had to undergo emergency brain surgery because he suffered a brain contusion, epidural hemorrhage and skull fracture. McCarthy was very lucky to even be able to come back to pitch, which is totally a miracle.

I read online that some have thought that putting padding in the caps would be the fix, but once again, that would only protect the head, what about the face. On May 21, 2008, Albert Pujols hit a line drive that struck Padre Pitcher Chris Young right between the eyes. It was noted that Young suffered a skull fracture and broken nose, so just adding padding to the hat would not have helped Young at that time. But doesn’t mean it isn’t an idea worth looking at.

When a pitcher is on the mound, not only is he the center of attention during the game, but he is also at the wrong place when a ball is headed right up the middle of the diamond. Based on the way a pitcher finishes his delivery which depends on which hand he pitches with, he may fall to the left or right side of the mound, but at that moment that he is falling, and unaware of it, a ball may be quickly cruising right towards him and the only reaction he may have is to put his glove or bare hands in front of his head and face. There is no guarantee that he will be quick enough to prevent the impact, but if he had something on for protection, he may have a better chance of avoiding major injury, which would be a great boost for his confidence to help get him back on the mound. It only takes one major hit on the head to end a career, so the proper protection may be worth looking into.

In the top of the third inning, a comebacker struck Niese on his leg sending him to the ground writhing in pain. Niese sat down in the dirt along the first base line and grimaced as the Mets trainer helped him to his feet after a minute or so and exited the field. X-rays were negative and Niese left with a bruise. The Mets said he was day to day.

“We’ll see how it feels tomorrow. But I should be able to throw a bullpen and make my next start,” Niese said.

“I’m glad it’s not as bad as what it could have been,” he added. “Everything kind of locked up down there. I couldn’t move my toes. It was kind of scary at first.”

The Mets scored twice in the third after Clayton Kershaw retired the first two batters. Robert Carson, who took over for Niese, walked in his first big league plate appearance and set up RBI singles by Daniel Murphy and David Wright. But that would be all the scoring for the Mets who had just had four hits, all singles, on the night.

The Dodgers put the game away in the eighth inning after reliever Josh Edgin was tagged for two runs on two singles and two doubles.

One Mets bright spot was when Juan Lagares made his big league debut during a double switch in the fifth inning. The center fielder was promoted from Triple-A Las Vegas earlier in the day and flied out to the warning track against Kershaw in his first at-bat.

Then Lagares singled his next time up for his first big league hit. ”When I got to the dugout all of my teammates said congratulations. That, for me, feels good,” he said.

Right-hander Matt Harvey will try to snap the Dodgers’ five game winning streak at Citi Field tonight at 7:10 PM. We’ll be live blogging the game from the press box at Citi and hope you’ll join us.

Adam Rubin of ESPN New York (who else), posted the full details of the deal the Mets signed with Shaun Marcum. The one-year deal guarantees him $4 million as well knew, but here’s the breakdown of the other $4 million he can earn with incentives:

– $250,000 apiece for reaching 120, 140, 160 and 170 innings.

– $375,000 apiece for reaching 180 and 190 innings.

– $500,0000 for reaching 200 innings.

– $375,000 apiece for 90 and 120 days on active roster, or on disabled list for injury unrelated to his right arm.

– $500,000 apiece for being on active roster or DL for injury unrelated to right arm for 150 and 170 days. (The major league season is 183 days.)

Marcun tossed 52 pitches over five scoreless innings in an extended spring training game yesterday in St. Lucie. He’s on target to make his Mets debut on Saturday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Rubin says that Marcum will most likely will be capped at 90 pitches.

Remember, Marcum was supposed to replace the 200 innings we lost in R.A. Dickey. Nobody expected him to replace what the reigning Cy Young did last season, but Marcum was being relied upon to be an innings eater for the team despite missing a good chunk of the season with arm troubles last season.

Since arriving to camp in February, he has dealt with one ailment or another ranging from weak shoulder, neck pain and biceps tendinitis.

So far, he is already out of the running for the $500K bonus for being on the active roster for 170 days. That ship has already sailed.

I think it’s a safe bet to say he won’t pitch more than 160 innings this season which wipes out another half dozen of those incentives.

My question is this…

If Marcum was supposed to replace Dickey’s innings as stated by Sandy Alderson after he signed him, why then did he need all those incentives to simply achieve that end?

It appears to me that Alderson had some deep and abiding concerns about whether marcum could even pitch 100 innings, hence all these incentives. So why give him $4 million guaranteed in the first place?

Why didn’t we invest the $8 million he apparently was willing to commit on a less riskier starting pitcher who was a proven innings eater that didn’t have the injury concerns that Marcum had?

Throw in the fact that Johan Santana was still incommunicado on January when Marcum was signed and nobody knew if Johan would be ready to pitch in Spring Training. And I do mean nobody.

All I’m saying is that we could have put our money (what little of it we had) on a safer bet.

Thank God for Matt Harvey and Jon Niese or the Mets placing in the NL East standings would be much more different right now. Those two alone have accounted for seven of the Mets nine wins.

His overall line left a lot to be desired, as he allowed four earned runs off three hits and the aforementioned six walks, while striking out four in 4.1 innings.

Wheeler is under a lot of pressure as the Mets’ top prospect right now and he seems to be running into the same issues he’s always had – walking too many batters. If you break down his start a little further, you can see that he threw 108 pitches. His strike to ball ratio was 61:47, which was rough, and nowhere near the level of efficiency we need to see from him.

He blew a 4-1 lead in the fifth inning, where he was eventually lifted in favor of Greg Peavey. To be fair, Wheeler left with the bases loaded and Peavey allowed all three inherited runners to score, but he was still wild overall and they were his runners.

This was Zack’s second start since the blister problem that was causing him discomfort in his first two starts. This was also one of Wheeler’s worst starts since joining the New York Mets organization after being acquired for Carlos Beltran.

As Mr. North Jersey mentioned in the comments, we can only hope there is no injury issue at play here, and that this is all a part of his growing pains. The potential still remains for Wheeler to become a dominant ace-like pitcher in the near future, so remember that this is all part of the process.

Thoughts from Joe D.

As I said after Wheeler’s last start, was his no-walk performance a sign of things to come, or just a fluke and a blip on the radar given the control problems that have plagued him throughout his pro career?

This is now fourth straight start in which he failed to deliver six innings. It was another start where his pitch count was remarkably bad. 108 pitches and only 61 strikes in 4.1 innings is not going to get anyone promoted to the majors no matter how high you rank on Baseball America’s Top Prospect. You still have to execute.

So far this season, Wheeler has pitched a total of 18.1 innings, averaging only 4.5 innings per start. That’s not going to cut it. He’s walked 12 and allowed 17 hits and his ERA now stands at an unsightly 4.91 his WHIP is now north of 2.00. The thing of it is that you can’t blame all those walks on the PCL or park factors. This has been a chronic problem for Wheeler throughout his career.

Collin McHugh, who I bring up all the time and am very high on, has walked just four batters in 18 innings and has 0.49 ERA to lead the team if you’re looking for a comparison.

And yet despite all of this data, day in and day out Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins are constantly bombarded with questions asking when Wheeler will be promoted.

Wheeler simply has not shown any signs that he is ready to take on the likes of Joey Votto, Bryce Harper and a host of other National League sluggers. He is not ready to mow down a major league lineup.

As one scout told Kevin Kernan yesterday, there’s dozens of pitchers who can throw 98 mph. Until Wheeler can consistently string together at least a half dozen quality starts (6.0 IP, 3 ER) calling him up shouldn’t be an option. How does promoting him now help him from a development standpoint, or more importantly how does he help the backend of our rotation?

When your pitch count is consistently around 90 pitches after four innings, how can you possibly provide any relief to an already very taxed Mets bullpen?

You can disagree with me all you want, but this is not a slight mechanical kink he needs to work out. The problem is much deeper than that. Zack Wheeler is simply not ready for major league duty and needs to show he can handle a full season in Triple-A. Currently, there are 30 qualified starting pitchers in the PCL who have a better ERA and WHIP than Zack Wheeler.

Terry Collins said back in March that if Wheeler wanted to make it to the Mets he needed to go to Las Vegas and lead the league in pitching. Wheeler isn’t even close.

Updated on 4/18 by Joe D.

And right on cue, in his column for the New York Post, Joel Sherman says that injuries to D’Arnaud’s back, knee and now foot could suggest that he is “injury-prone.”

Let us also remember the ticking clock does not stop. D’Arnaud is no baby,” Sherman writes. “He is 24 — six months older than Jason Heyward. The Mets’ best-laid plans had D’Arnaud and Zack Wheeler breaking in this year and being part of a serial contending cornerstone for next season.

The thing of it is that the knee and now this foot injury were both freakish in nature and just something that all catchers are subject to.

How many times a week do we see a collision at the plate or a foul ball off the bat hitting the catcher? This is what happened both times with D’Arnaud and it could have been any other catcher as well, just fill in the blank.

Original Post by Joe D. on 4/17

Sandy Alderson just announced that Travis d’Arnaud has a non-displaced fracture in the first metatarsal in his left foot.

Alderson said d’Arnaud is in a walking boot and will fly to New York to visit team doctors at the Hospital for Special Surgery for further evaluation and to evaluate the severity of the injury. Currently, there is no timetable for his return.

As we first reported late last night, Sacramento’s Tyler Ladendorf was at the plate as 51s pitcher Adam Kolarek broke off a 1-2 curveball that Ladendorf fouled off d’Arnaud’s foot. After being attended to by the club’s athletic trainer, Joe Golia, d’Arnaud stayed in the game.

However, manager Wally Backman opted to replace him a half inning later as Landon Powell pinch hit for d’Arnaud, striking out in the bottom of the sixth inning.

D’Arnaud was hitting .250 with five doubles, one home run and eight RBI in 36 at-bats this season.

I’m so depressed over this. We were actually planning to attend Zack Wheeler‘s next start this weekend and were hoping to secure some time with the top Mets prospect. This is so disappointing.

I know that by now the haters are coming out in full force and will look to throw Sandy Alderson under the bus.

I got two words for them…

One of the most exciting things I was looking forward to this season was the day we’d first get to see Travis d’Arnaud catch Matt Harvey and then eventually Zack Wheeler. It was going to be the highlight of my season. I remain optimistic however, and it still could happen.

I spoke to an injury expert who practices sports medicine and he told me these types of injuries can take as little as four weeks and as long as eight weeks to heal properly. But he then added that because Travis is a catcher it would probably be closer to eight weeks as the Mets will make sure his foot is sturdy and strong enough to support his weight when he crouches behind the plate. It sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

We at MMO all hope for a speedy recovery and wish Travis d’Arnaud the best. He’s a great talent and still has a great future ahead of him.

Veteran catcher John Buck gives Travis d’Arnaud some sage advice for the future.

When the Mets made the trade with the Blue Jays over the winter, Travis d’Arnaud was a key component in the trade with high hopes that he would be the Mets catcher of the future. Thrown in the deal was catcher John Buck, who most people probably felt that if Buck played well enough during the first half of the season, the Mets could use him as trade bait for possibly a pitcher. The plan was to have everything set up to have d’Arnaud take over in the second half of the season or maybe even sooner depending on his progression in the minors.

Then the unexpected happens. D’Arnaud’s recent injury has put a wrench in those plans for the Mets at this point. One thing that is going well for the team is the strong start that veteran John Buck has had so far, batting .326, with six home runs, and 19 RBI’s. Buck’s performance softens the blow of the injury to d’Arnaud. For now we can only hope that Buck continues to produce until the Mets top catching prospect makes his way back.

“I feel terrible for Travis,” manager Terry Collins said. “I feel terrible for us.”

The timetable that a prospect is given all depends on his progression in the minors, with the hopes that an injury doesn’t delay the day in which he will be called up to the big league club. But predicting what will happen is just as hard as predicting if he will actually be the player of the future. We’ve been down this road so many times before as Mets fans.

The Mets had every right to think that d’Arnaud was ready to take over their pitching staff based on the accolades he has been given and deservedly so when you look at the offensive numbers he’s posted in his minor league career. Being tabbed the best catching prospect in baseball doesn’t happen by accident in this age of information. If you’re looking for a silver lining, it’s this. Being just 24 years old, D’Arnaud’s upside is that he still has youth on his side and time enough to grow into the star many believe he will become.

This baseball and Injuries happen to anyone when you least expect it. This foot injury will certainly delay D’Arnaud’s development, but many believe that even in a worst-case scenario his recovery will not take too long providing it does not require surgery. The plan is to have him examined in New York today to determine if surgery is needed.

If so, then the idea that Buck can bring in a solid pitcher or outfielder via a trade may need to be put on the backburner. The upside of this unfortunate news on d’Arnaud is that Buck is playing well and there is no cause for concern behind the plate for the Mets at this time.

We all hope for some good news today when the results come in from the Hospital for Special Surgery. We all hope that surgery won’t be needed and this amounts to a 4-8 week delay in what is bound to be a solid career for Travis d’Arnaud. In the meantime we’ll get a look at Juan Centeno against tougher competition in Triple-A Las Vegas, and John Buck will continue to hold the fort down for us at Citi Field.

To date, the Mets front office has not even discussed the subject internally, according to one team executive. They probably will not do so before next winter. The team wants a bigger sample size on which to base projections on Harvey’s future performance and health. For as dominant as Harvey has been—posting a 2.33 ERA and striking out 10.9 batters per nine innings in 12 career starts—it is still only 12 starts.

Costa conducted his own study and polled a group of students from Pepperdine University who were recently honored by the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and this was what they concluded after examining all the comps, history, injury risk and evidence.

To mitigate any injury risk, the Pepperdine team suggested the Mets wait until after the 2014 season before offering Harvey an extension. They then looked at the contracts of not only the five pitchers listed above but also other starting pitchers who signed extensions after their first or second professional seasons.

Weighing all this, they recommended that the Mets offer Harvey a four- or five-year extension worth $30 to $35 million after 2014, assuming he remains on roughly the same performance trajectory.

Makes logical sense to me, and while it’s too premature to be discussing a longterm deal after only 12 starts, this does show how high;y regarded Matt Harvey has become in so short a time.

The Mets right-hander owns a 2.33 ERA in those 12 starts, allowing just 46 hits and 30 walks in 73.1 innings while striking out 89 batters.

In the sixth inning of tonight’s game against the Kansas City Royals, Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes slid into second base awkwardly on a stolen base attempt.

Reyes immediately grabbed for his ankle, then spent most of the time writhing in pain and in tears until trainers came out and carted him off the field.

The stolen base was Reyes’ fifth of the year and he was enjoying a solid start to the season batting .395 on the season despite the Blue Jays 3-6 start.

Maicer Izturis came in to replace Reyes at shortstop.

We hope it’s not a serious injury for the former Met who gave us so many great thrills and memories when he patrolled shortstop at Shea and Citi Field.

Thanks to our great photo services partner US Presswire and Luis Rivera  for the photo…

Noah Syndergaard, the Mets No. 3 prospect, made his season debut Sunday, tossing four scoreless innings against the Jupiter Hammerheads. St. Lucie won the game 1-0 and are now 4-0 on the season.

Syndergaard surrendered just three hits while walking one and striking out five. He departed after four innings as he continues to get stretched out from a lat injury during the spring.

Syndergaard was part of the Travis d’Arnaud package in the trade with the Blue Jays for R.A. Dickey.

Friday, 3:00 PM Update

Looks as if Hansel Robles and the Mets dodged a bullet, and it was not an arm injury that forced Robles out of yesterday’s game. Adam Rubin reported that Robles was favoring his side, so it could be that he simply strained an oblique muscle on his pick-off attempt.

While no injury is good news, this is much better than hearing that it is an arm injury.

Update to follow…

Update:

St. Lucie radio broadcast says Robles threw a couple of warm-up pitches afterward with trainer watching, but then departed.

— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinESPN) April 5, 2013

Well, this is surely unfortunate… Hansel Robles had to leave the opener in St. Lucie for the Mets tonight in the fourth inning with an undisclosed injury. The injury occurred on an errant pick-off throw. It was originally believed to be an arm injury, while Adam Rubin speculates it might be a side muscle injury. Up to the point he was hurt, Robles had a stat line of 3.1 IP with two earned runs allowed off five hits with six strikeouts. We recently ranked Robles as our #20 prospect here at MMO where I had this to say about him…

Signed as an international free agent in August of 2008, Robles did everything in his power with the Brooklyn Cyclones last season to dispel the idea that he projects to be a reliever. Arguably, Robles had the best season of any arm in the Mets system with an ERA of 1.11 over 72.2 innings, which led the New York Penn League. If you include his final start in the post season, he finished the year with 45 straight shutout innings, a WHIP of .784 (47 H/10 BB) and 0 home runs allowed. His 66 strikeouts were nothing to sneeze at, resulting in an 8.2 K/9 compared to an exceptional 1.2 BB/9 ratio. He can throw a fastball, slider, change-up, and an occasional curve ball.

More to come as we get updates out of St. Lucie…

Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, does a fine job of explaining why the Mets chose not to insure Johan Santana’s contract.

The Mets will be on the hook for the remaining $31 million owed to Johan Santana because they did not insure the contract.  Why?

As premiums have skyrocketed because of escalating salaries and past payouts — such as the bailout when Mo Vaughn was owed $17 million and could not play for the Mets in 2004 — the organization began more often “self-insuring” its larger contracts than seeking outside coverage. In essence, the Mets chose to create a rainy-day fund available so that the organization would not be crippled financially by the loss of a key player due to injury.

It saves potentially a $2 million insurance premium per year to protect a contract, although the amount annually paid to an insurance company naturally decreases as the years on the contract elapse — like you’d pay less to an insurance company on a car as the years go by and the vehicle is worth less.

Across baseball, outside insurance has “declined tremendously,” according to one baseball official.

Santana was self-insured by the Mets, whereas the Mets contracts for Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Tom Glavine and Mike Piazza’s were insured externally during their Mets days as well. David Wright’s last contract also was insured externally.

You can read the rest of the article including all the details here.

Santana’s left shoulder is not getting better and it isn’t unfair to wonder if the prideful or stubborn lefthander – take your pick – may have committed career suicide on March 3, a quiet Sunday that turned into one of the Mets’ loudest days of spring training.

Yep, that was one of the loudest days of the spring alright…

Original Post 3/26

HOW MUCH IS SANTANA CAUSE OF HIS OWN PROBLEMS?

When Johan Santana said he doesn’t know when he will pitch again, it isn’t inconceivable it could be never.

Santana’s left shoulder is not getting better and it isn’t unfair to wonder if the prideful or stubborn lefthander – take your pick – may have committed career suicide on March 3, a quiet Sunday that turned into one of the Mets’ loudest days of spring training.

The day after GM Sandy Alderson said he thought the Mets’ $31-million commitment was at least ten days from getting on the mound and not in good shape, Santana took it upon himself to prove him and the questioning media wrong.

Now, there’s no longer doubt of him staying in Florida or being on the Opening Day roster.

“I’ve just got to stay here and work out and get ready,’’ Santana told reporters over the weekend. “… I’m making progress. It’s just I don’t know when I’m going to be pitching again. That’s the thing: We cannot think ahead. The way we’re approaching everything is every day make sure we have a good day.’’

Too bad he wasn’t thinking that way when he expressed displeasure in not playing in the World Baseball Classic, and later anger at Alderson. Who knows what went through Santana’s mind when he took the mound with an “I’ll show you’’ chip on his shoulder.

How can there be progress when he can’t think ahead? How can there be progress when his shoulder isn’t close?

Since that day, Santana threw a light session, but was scratched from a start and has been reduced to 90-foot long tossing. Do you realize how far away that distance is from a regular season game?

He must gradually build up to 180 feet, and after cleared at that distance will he be allowed on the mound. Then, it’s throwing batting practice and building his pitch count up to 100. Manager Terry Collins said Santana needs to go through a spring training, which is six weeks. But, that clock doesn’t start until he gets on the mound, and nobody can say when that will be.

That’s progress?

And, that’s assuming there are no setbacks, of which there have been several during this struggle since shoulder surgery in September of 2010 to repair a torn anterior capsule.

Of course, it is hard to pinpoint an exact time when a pitcher’s million-dollar arm turns to ten cents. There was the injury in 2010, but Santana had issues with his shoulder in Minnesota before the trade to the Mets.

The wear and tear on a major league pitcher’s arm begins with the first pitch. Santana made 34 starts in 2008, his first year with the Mets, but had surgery in the off-season and hasn’t come close to pitching a full season since.

After two winters of rehab, Santana made it back last year with initial success, including a controversial no-hitter, the only one in franchise history.

Did Collins make a mistake leaving Santana in for 134 pitches, thinking he was giving the pitcher a shot at a career moment and Mets’ fans their lone bright spot in what would be a dark summer?

Of course, Santana didn’t want to come out, and no pitcher admits to being tired, but this was different. Had the no-hitter not been on the table Santana never would have continued pitching. His summer quickly unraveled and included a career-worst six-game losing streak.

After two winters of rehab, Santana, with the Mets’ knowledge, did not have a normal offseason. Then again, nothing has been routine about his winters since 2007 as there has been an injury issue each year.

“I’ve been in this game for a while,’’ Santana said. “I went through that [surgery] a couple of years ago and I’m still here. So I’m going to battle and try to come back and help as much as I can. When that is going to happen, I don’t really know.’’

Several questions are raised through Santana’s uncertainty. How much did the no-hitter hurt him? How carefully was Santana monitored in the offseason? Did going slower backfire? It is easy to suggest the no-hitter hurt, but how much did Santana contribute to his own demise this spring?

“I’m just building up my strength and throwing more volume,’’ Santana said. “… With injuries you never know. I got to spring training feeling good. And then, once I started getting to pitch and stuff and I got on the mound, I didn’t feel I was making progress.’’

If he didn’t believe he was making progress, then why consider the WBC?  More to the point, if he wasn’t making progress why did he get on the mound March 3, when his manager wasn’t expecting him to throw for nearly two weeks?

What forced him, pride or anger? Perhaps, he simply ran out of patience waiting to find out if he’ll ever make it back.

Santana might finally have his answer.

Bobby Parnell struck out the side in the ninth inning of the Mets 6-2 win over the Astros last night. He lowered his ERA to 2.31 for the spring in 12 appearances. Parnell looks to be in mid-season form as he prepares to take on the closer role for the Mets. I believe this was the plan all along even if Frank Francisco hadn’t gotten hurt.

Pitching coach Dan Warthen is confident that Parnell will rise to the occasion this time and that he is ready to shine as the team’s closer saying he’s “just short of excellent.”

“I think he’s thrown the baseball as well as he wants to, his breaking ball has gotten better, he’s starting to use his changeup a little bit now — which most people don’t recognize — and also he’s locating.”

Parnell, who has struggled in the role before, says his confidence is high and that he was able to relax and focus on his pitching knowing that the job was his from the start of camp. .

“I felt like I could focus on pitching instead of having to work to earn a spot. To have their confidence and be able to relax during spring training is big.”

Part of his success this spring stems from the curveball he worked on last season. The hard-throwing righthander is using the curve more often rather than relying predominantly on his plus fastball, and it has made a big difference and made him more effective.

If his success in camp carries over into the regular season, Parnell could have a breakthrough season in 2013.

When Wright was pulled from the World Baseball Classic last week, manager Terry Collins was thinking a month. Not any longer.

“I would not be surprised if David Wright is there Opening Day,’’ Collins told reporters today. “There will be a lot of things considered here on Thursday or Friday.’’

The Mets are doing the right thing in that both Wright and Murphy are playing in minor league games, so if there was a setback and they had to start the season on the disabled list it could be backdated into spring training.

Among the variables Collins will consider is the weather, as the intercostal muscles both are fighting could be vulnerable to further injury in the cold.

Both players were 1-for-5 in minor league games yesterday.

THE GAME: The Mets were ripped on Tuesday, 11-4, by St. Louis, but the most important thing to take from the game was Jeremy Hefner – who’ll replace Johan Santana in the rotation and on the roster. He left early with a bone bruise on his right elbow, but is okay and will be back in action in a couple of days with a minor bruise. Also on a bright note, Lucas Duda had three more hits, including his fifth homer, to raise his average to .302.

Latest Update by Joe D:

Great news on starting pitcher Jeremy Hefner, who left today’s game after getting hit on the elbow by a come-backer. The team announced that he only sustained a contusion and that X-Rays showed no broken bones.

Hefner has won a job in the rotation and according to Terry Collins he will probably start the fourth game of the season. The right-hander finished off a solid spring with a 3.47 ERA over eight appearances.

Follow Jeremy on Twitter at @jeremy_hefner53

Original Post:

Jeremy Hefner left today’s game after getting hit with a comebacker in his fourth inning of work. He is headed to the hospital for X-rays.

Carlos Beltran was the hitter when Hefner was struck, and Hefner was unable to get out of the way of the ball headed right back at him off of Beltran’s bat. The ball hit him in his pitching arm around his elbow, which is always scary.

It’s a frightening sight any time a pitcher gets hit by a batted ball, but according to a tweet by ESPN’s Adam Rubin, Dan Warthen stated it didn’t seem serious. Hopefully the X-rays will confirm what Warthen has stated.

Before leaving the game, Hefner pitched three innings, giving up five hits and two earned runs.

We will update this post with any further information…