Good Morning Mets Fans. David Wright returned to Port St. Lucie on Thursday after receiving a second opinion on his shoulder, which confirmed the original diagnosis of an impingement. The Captain is ready to endure yet another long journey back to the diamond.
“I still enjoy what I do,” Wright said. “It’s not like I dread coming to the ballpark. I have a lot of fun coming to the ballpark and, yeah, it stinks having to rehab and having a couple of major injuries the last few years, but at the end of the day I love taking the field. And if I can do this rehab and put in this time to get back on the field, and do what I love doing, then it’s well worth it in my mind.”
Manager, Terry Collins has no doubts when it comes to Wright’s ability to make it through yet another setback. “He is a grinder — he always has been and always will be and he will do what he has to do to get back,” Collins said. “If you told me I would have a healthy David Wright starting May 1 for five months, I will take it.”
LATEST METS NEWS
Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes on the blessing in a disguise Jay Bruce could end up being for the Metropolitans this year. Bruce has been the ultimate team player in spring so far and has a renewed focus to succeed in New York. “Nobody puts more pressure on myself than me,’’ Bruce said. “But now I have a fresh start. This is a great opportunity. I’ve been to the playoffs, but I’ve never been to a World Series. I’ve never even gotten out of the Division Series. To win a World Series now, and to do it in New York City, can you imagine how special that would be? I’ve got a feeling this is going to be an awesome year.’’
As the Mets’ top arms begin to make their spring training debuts, the team will get to see if their new throwing program worked in helping to preserve their pitcher’s arms. Steven Matz was quite fond of the new method, “I like it a lot,” Matz said. “I felt like you could work on stuff without going into that second gear, that game speed. No matter how much you try to back it down, you still have the adrenaline going when you have a crowd. It’s good to ease into it more.” Read more from columnist Marc Carig at Newsday
With David Wright most likely not being on the opening day roster, T.J. Rivera now finds himself with a path to breaking camp with the major league club. Manager, Terry Collins spoke on what Rivera must improve on. “Have to be patient, can’t go up there and enlarge the strike zone because they won’t throw you any strikes,” Collins said. “If they know you’re not going to have any discipline at the plate, they’re going to let you get yourself out. T.J. is working on it, I know every day he and hitting guys they talk about it and they do a little ball drills and to make sure he gets balls on the plate. He just knows how to get the barrel on the ball and I don’t want to change a lot because you start to change a little bit of the aggressiveness at times and all of a sudden he starts to struggle. That’s not what we want.” Read more from columnist Matt Ehalt on NorthJersey.com.
NL EAST RUMBLINGS
Washington Nationals ace, Max Scherzer is on the mend and is reported to be progressing. Manager, Dusty Baker spoke on Scherzer’s health issues. “Everything is on how Max feels and how that finger feels,” Baker said. “That’s something that you take for granted. I hurt my hands, how often do you think about your hands and feet, you just grab something, comb your hair, brush your teeth. They take a long time to heal because the worst circulation in your body is in your hands and feet. Our trainers are doing everything, just some things take time. His arm feels good. It’s just a nagging kind of thing.” Read more from columnist Jorge Castillo in the Washington Post.
Former center-fielder for the Atlanta Braves, Jordan Schafer, is attempting to make it back to the majors as a pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals. He struck out three of the four Braves he faced in Thursday’s spring training game, showing interesting promise of becoming a two-way player. Atlanta manger, Brian Snitker was quite impressed with what he saw. “I thought he threw the ball really well,” Snitker said. “ He’s in the strike zone probably more than I thought he would be. Feel and touch. The off-speed stuff was really good. I had forgotten that he pitched last year, too.” Read more from columnist David O’Brien on TheAJC.com.
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Michael Mayer reports of the sad news of Mets legend, Ed Kranepool being in need of a kidney transplant.
Mets Daddy helps break down the rule changes we will see for the 2017 season.
Over at MetsMinors.net, the continuation of the top 100 prospects goes on with #71-75.
TODAY IN METS HISTORY
Mets players born on this day include, Dilson Herrera (23), Jorge Julio (38) and Jack DiLauro (74).
