Adding a little balance to yesterday’s tirades from a few Mets reporters, you have Sandy Alderson firing back at them and Zack Wheeler‘s agent B.B. Abbott saying he had no problem with the way the Mets handled his client.
“Anything that happened last year, or any other time Zack has been a Met, has been with complete and full knowledge of the circumstances, and occurred after consultation with qualified orthopedic surgeons,” Wheeler’s agent told ESPN New York.
Sandy Alderson took offense to the articles cited below and blasted away:
“Why would we treat somebody like Matt Harvey with the kind of caution that we did and then throw somebody else under the bus — somebody of essentially equal value to us as an organization?”
“That wouldn’t make any sense. I understand people can debate the number of pitches and the number of innings and this and that. We simply wouldn’t treat two guys that differently.”
Let me cut in and say that a few of the reporters say the Mets did handle them differently. In August of 2013 they immediately shut Harvey down at first hint of discomfort and diagnosed the tear afterward. With Wheeler, he was never shutdown, pitched through pain, didn’t get MRI until months later in September.
More from Sandy:
“The other thing is, when a guy is being managed, you understand what the sort of apocalyptic result could be — he blows something out. But the question is, what’s the alternative? If it blows out, it blows out. The alternative is that you manage somebody to the point where he’s not useful to you.”
“And so the question is: OK, was the tear inevitable? Or is this a function of how he was used? From my standpoint, it’s inevitable given the practicality of how somebody is used in the course of a major league season.”
After reaching out to the beat writers to determine whether Wheeler got a contrast or non-contrast MRI and failing to get a response, I took it upon myself to call the Hospital for Special Surgery and track down Dr. Altchek myself. After some back and forth, speaking to several people, and finally answering a bunch of questions to determine I wasn’t the Unabomber, I finally got through to his nurse who assured me I’d get a call back.
Sure enough, an hour later the phone rings, I glanced down at the Caller ID, and I was like “perfect it’s him!” It wasn’t. but it was his assistant who was very kind and informative.
There is a huge difference between the two types of MRIs I was told. The contrast could show damage that may show up as inconclusive or clean otherwise. It provides much greater detail due to the higher resolution provided by the the tracers in the contrast.
“However, unfortunately I am not able to tell you which MRI was ordered in September or November because we are not authorized to share any information regarding Mets players.”
“You can try contacting the Mets themselves, but I think you’ll be wasting your time. I’m certain they won’t tell you which MRI was ordered, but I guess you can try. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more assistance.”
When I shared why I was so curious to know and that I was simply doing some research for an article, it was funny, “Oh I know why you want to know. But sorry we’re not authorized to give you that information. Good luck.”
March 17 – Reporters Come Down Hard On Mets
It’s the day after. The day after fans and media alike learned the Mets were unsurprised and expecting the bad news on Zack Wheeler.
The day after learning about two unreported MRIs, a PRP injection, an offseason of serious elbow pain, and that Wheeler’s elbow was already a major concern last season.
Here is some of the aftermath from reporters who have some deep concerns.
According to major league sources, Wheeler was in so much pain late last summer, that he nearly missed an Aug. 20 start at Oakland, after skipping his between-starts bullpen session. His season appeared in jeopardy, but the Mets were able to keep that quiet until now.
We don’t have access to Wheeler’s medical records, of course, and Mets people said — on the record, off the record, and everywhere in between — that his ligament only became an issue over the weekend. As far as anyone could recall.
“Why would he have the PRP injection if it wasn’t to repair a tear?” asked one official with another club.
David Waldstein, New York Times
Dr. Craig Levitz, the chairman of orthopedic surgery at South Nassau Communities Hospital on Long Island has worked alongside Dr. James Andrews, the orthopedic surgeon widely regarded as the leading expert on Tommy John surgery.
Levitz said Wheeler’s injury — a full tear of the ligament, as detected by an M.R.I. over the weekend — almost certainly did not come out of nowhere in the last week. In all likelihood, Levitz said, the two previous M.R.I.s missed a small partial tear in Wheeler’s elbow that eventually became a full one.
Had the full tear occurred several months from now, in the middle of the season, it might have been independent of the elbow tendinitis that Wheeler was feeling last year, Levitz said. But the fact that he felt discomfort after only one spring training start indicated that it was related to his problems from last season.
MRIs sometimes give false negatives, especially when they are used without a dye that can help expose even the smallest tears.
Only now is it becoming clear how much the Mets knew about Wheeler’s injury in its initial stages and how passively they reacted.
Clearly Wheeler wasn’t 100 percent, yet the Mets allowed him to plow forward. He was smoked for six runs in less than two innings in his first Grapefruit League start, and by then it was too late.
Those who say the Mets have plenty of young pitching in reserve are missing the point. This isn’t about who’s next.
The Mets make it hard to trust them. No one said a word this winter about Wheeler’s chronic pain. Was it because it was time to hustle season tickets? Was it because a potential setback to one of their prized young arms would sabotage the sales pitch? Is that the reason Alderson never pulled the trigger on a trade for Dillon Gee, because he privately feared this day was coming?
Shame on Alderson and his bosses, the Wilpons, for their lack of transparency. If Wheeler’s arm was enough of a concern for a PRP shot in November and an unscheduled MRI in January, it should’ve never been kept a secret.
