Another day, another injury for the New York Mets, and not surprisingly, one involving a pitcher. Jenrry Mejia didn’t make it out of the fourth Saturday night in San Diego because of pain caused by a bone spur in is right elbow. His season is in jeopardy as he likely will be placed on the disabled list today.
This is not new for Mejia – he left a game in Miami, July 31 – and he is supposed to have off-season surgery.
What has been reported is pitching coach Dan Warthen said, “Mejia did not warm up well,’’ which should make anybody wonder why he started in the first place.
If somebody is known to be hurt, is scheduled for surgery, and has difficulty warming up, one would think caution would be exercised. One would think.
Yes, I am more cautious when it comes to injuries than the Mets. I also know that after covering baseball for two-and-a-half decades, one should bet the over. It rarely breaks the other way.
A roster move will be made today, so figure Mejia going on the disabled list. Of course, that doesn’t take away what further injury might have been sustained Saturday.
General manager Sandy Alderson spoke like the lawyer in defending starting Mejia.
“We all know that he’s had some issues with his elbow,” Alderson said. “He was pitching to [pain] tolerance. That tolerance was exceeded tonight apparently and he had to come out. The doctor here took a look at him, but at this point it’s about his symptoms. They were obviously severe tonight, and we’ll see where this takes us.’’
Sometimes, you just want to scream listening to Alderson.
If the Mets knew he had issues, he shouldn’t have started following a bad warm-up. He should have been given an MRI. And, what in the hell is pitching to pain tolerance? Is it pitching just before serious damage is done?
The Mets, predictably, said there was no chance of further injury. Care to guarantee that assessment?
If surgery is to happen, it is to remove a pain-producing problem. Yes, bone spurs can cause damage, and yes, it can cause a pitcher to overcompensate in his delivery and produce a residual injury.
Alderson has been around long enough to know both possibilities.
Mejia was pitching well since returning to the Mets, but after the Miami incident, considering the team already determined he’d have surgery, it should have been done immediately.
The Mets are going out of their way to protect Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler with innings limits, but they saw no reason to protect Mejia, who already had one Tommy John surgery.
The Mets mishandled Mejia in juggling his roles several times under Jerry Manuel, and it appears they are doing it again.
Why are they playing fast and loose with Mejia?
