Saturday, March 06, 2010

Guilt Trip

Remember when Larry Andersen wanted to "put one in Jose Reyes' neck"?

Well now Reyes is returning to New York for tests because of a hyperactive thyroid, which is in his neck. So may Larry Andersen and the 74 mph fastball he rode in on be ridden with guilt for the rest of his days.

And may Reyes come out of the woods on this soon. While hamstrings may be fair excuses to make silly jokes about the medical staff, hyperactive thyroids are not. (But feel free to make Larry Andersen feel bad anyway.) And they are also unfair to put on the list when talking about somebody who's "injury prone". So while Prevention may not have had a chance on this one, let's encourage Recovery to save its best work for whatever Reyes has. Thankfully, an expert on the situation thinks that what Reyes has isn't going to keep him from playing ball for any length of time.

So there's nobody to hammer on this one until Reyes gets well ... or until the medication he takes to control it is found to be on Bud Selig's banned substance list after it's too late.

***

All right, so here's the question I was faced with today and I put to you ... the smart ones: Would it be wise to consider keeping Jenrry Mejia with the big club as a reliever if he continues to dominate like he did against the Marlins on Friday? Or would you rather keep him in Buffalo as a starter so that he can one day help out your rotation which needs more help down the road than the 'pen? Goose bumped debut aside, I vote for caution.

Of course, I'm the one who tried to rationalize that Doug Mientkiewicz was a better fit for Shea Stadium than Carlos Delgado in 2005, so what the hell do I know?

***

And where's the unwritten rule that says somebody named Mike Stanton must torture me at all times?

13 comments:

mistermet said...

I'm psyched for Mejia to get up to the show and from what it sounds like, he was filthy today.

However, the Mets would be stupid to start him at Buffalo, let alone the majors. I'd much rather him start at Binghamton and actually conquer that level. I understand he had the finger injury during his stint in Bingy, but he's still young and while he showed great stuff there (great K numbers), he lacked control. give him 5+ starts at Binghamton and see what happens from there.

we don't want this kid to be the next Joba. commit to him in one place or the other. i'd rather he be committed to the rotation. an ace is much tougher to find (imagine Santana and Mejia at the top of the rotation in 2 years...filthy).

Metstradamus said...

He was indeed filthy today. And you're right. If there's one example of mismanagement that's a model of what not to do, it's what the Yankees did with/to Joba. Of course we know that the Mets don't even learn from their own mistakes much less those of somebody else.

Mack Ade said...

Jenrry is a closer

He has 1 1/2 pitches.

The half sometimes hits the barn

Mack

Anonymous said...

I don't want to see Mejia in the majors this year. He has too much potential as a starter to condemn him to a middle relief role at age 20.

The Yankees may have enough starting pitching to shuffle Joba Chamberlain off that way without giving him a fair shot as a starter, but the Mets don't.

Ari Berkowitz said...

Mack,
Are you an idiot??? You could take any 20 year old pitching prospect and say "he's a reliever, he only has 1 1/2 pitches". But I have news for you buddy, that's why he's a &%$# pitching prospect and not a MLB starting pitcher. If he had three plus pitches he'd be Stephen Strasburg, he's MLB ready and one of a kind, plus older than Mejia! Mejia needs more seasoning in the minors, around a year and a half. He needs to work on his control and develop a nice breaking ball, slider, to go along with his three fastballs

MetFanMac said...

The Mets' medical problems are fast becoming ridiculous once more and it's only MARCH.

Anonymous said...

it could be worse on the Reyes front. Remember a couple years ago Doug Davis had Thyroid cancer and had a Thyroidectomy and radiation and only missed a couple months.

So at least it isn't on that level of seriousness...but of course, it had to happen to someone on the Mets didn't it?

Anonymous said...

Forget Jennry (although you have to love that performance). What about FMart? You see what he's doing against the Nats today? Isn't it time to give this kid his big shot?

Metstradamus said...

Where are you putting Martinez?

He's not going to LF (Bay).

He's not going to RF (Frenchy).

You want to put him in CF instead of Matthews/Pagan, only to send him down to Buffalo when Beltran comes back?

He gets a shot when he proves he can play a full season in professional baseball. He'll only play a full season in pro ball in Buffalo. Let him settle into some sort of routine and get some value back before you think of either bringing him up or wheeling him for a decent return if you've got no room for him.

Don't forget, when Beltran's contract is up after 2011 (after which he might leave if there are any more hard feelings), Martinez will only be 23 years old to start 2012. So there's no reason to rush him, which to me has been part of the problem.

TheFritoPundito said...

If it's an unwritten rule, then by definition, it is nowhere. So there's your answer.

mistermet said...

for all the bitching and moaning (pissery) about the poor drafting and awful front officemanship, this team has quietly put together a nice little crop of prospects. i'm getting excited and i think 2011 is when you will really start to see these guys. obviously, this year is huge for their development, so it'd be best if they all stayed in the minors for as long as possible. but guys like Davis, Mejia, F-Mart, Tejada, Niesen, Thole, Roy Merritt could at least get a cup of coffee this season and be in position for starting jobs next year.

it'll be interesting to see what happens this year. i wonder what the Wilpons are looking for out of Omar and Co this season. Is it playoffs or bust or would they settle for .500? there's a lot on the line this season, as Manuel and Omar have had their heads on the block for a while. this season could determine the direction of this team for the rest of the decade.

yikes. good luck with that one, guys.

Anonymous said...

You're a met fan and u don't know what the wilpons are looking for??I believe it's called ticket sales revenue.If u don't believe me, check out the cost for met tickets,than check out the price for phillie tickets.As for the prospects, they are all "suspects" until they produce at the mlb level.Davis and mejia might be productive in a year or 2.the rest are all fodder for talk blogs and trades .

Frank Gray said...

Oh wise Metstradamus. I must say this. Only 603 days left until Oliver Perez is gone! Thank God!! Mejia must not be rushed. This fan base has a tendency to make management panic and rush players or trade them. I am kicking around an idea for a book on that very topic. I'd love your thoughts? I'm that NY fan in Jersey. Look me up and get back to me if you'd like. Thanks. Another great entry. I stand in awe of you, Yoda.