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Mets teammates glad to see Wright get angry

May 16, 2012 , ι By MIKE PUMA

David Wright’s gesture was appreciated, even if the practicality of the situation begged for restraint.A day after the Mets third baseman argued vehemently with manager Terry Collins to remain in the... Read on

David Wright’s gesture was appreciated, even if the practicality of the situation begged for restraint.
	 
A day after the Mets third baseman argued vehemently with manager Terry Collins to remain in the game and suffer the consequences after Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun was plunked, Wright’s intentions were applauded in the clubhouse.
	 
“The message I thought was neat in that was, ‘Look, nobody is more important than the next guy,’ ” pitcher R.A. Dickey said Wednesday. “That’s a neat thing. ‘Don’t protect me because I’m the superstar. I’m just like these other guys that are fighting just as hard.’ To see that in action was refreshing.”
	 
Wright lost his battle with the manager and wasn’t allowed to bat in the seventh inning with the Mets trailing 8-0. Braun was drilled in the back by D.J. Carrasco earlier in the inning, following a Rickie Weeks home run.
	 
Collins cited the fact he didn’t want Wright injured in that spot. Daniel Murphy also was removed from the game for the same reason.
	 
“If the game was 3-3 [Wright] is hitting,” Collins said before the Mets faced the Reds on Wednesday. “That’s just the nature of the beast and he probably would have had to wear one for the club. But what I didn’t need was for him to get one in the middle of the back where today he can’t bend over and we lose him for 2-3 days.”
	 
Though the argument between manager and player grew heated, Wright said he respected Collins’ perspective on the matter. Just to ensure there were no lingering wounds, Wright sent the manager a text message after the game apologizing.
	 
“I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times that Terry and I have a great relationship and I love playing for him,” Wright said. “That’s not just talk, I really enjoy it, and there is absolutely no issue.”
	 
Carrasco said his pitch that drilled Braun was unintentional, and Collins said he believes the right-hander.
	 
Would the manager be angry if Carrasco’s pitch was intentional?
	 
“If he did it on purpose, he put us in a bad situation, and I told him so,” said Collins,
	 who also addressed the issues earlier on WFAN. “But I trust what he says and the way he told it and we’re putting it behind us.”
	 
Wright, who initially said he wasn’t pleased Carrasco, said he spoke with the veteran reliever Wednesday.
	 
“Everything is done,” Wright said. “We talked [Tuesday] night and we talked today. It’s all done.”
	 
mpuma@nypost.com

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Mets will stick with Francisco as closer

May 14, 2012 , ι By BRIAN LEWIS

Frank Francisco will keep his job as Mets closer, manager Terry Collins said before Monday’s game with the Brewers. "Yes, for the moment,” said Collins, who added there wasn't anything physically... Read on

Frank Francisco will keep his job as Mets closer, manager Terry Collins said before Monday’s game with the Brewers.
	 
"Yes, for the moment,” said Collins, who added there wasn't anything physically wrong with Francisco. Collins said the closer would work on his mechanics with pitching coach Dan Warthen and that the team had video proof that he was tipping his pitches.
	 
"I’m not sure, I might be. I’ve got a couple of (things) that I want to change, but I’m not sure. But I’m going to change it just in case. I saw a couple of things (on video). I’m not 100-percent sure, but we’ve got to do something about it,'' said Francisco, who added that the faith Collins has shown in him just helps his own psyche.
	 
"I think he does. It helps a lot, he gives me a lot of confidence. We never know what’s going to happen, but I think he’s doing the right thing, because I believe. First I believe in God, and then I believe in me. I can do the job; just things aren’t going my way right now. But whatever happens, happens; I’m here to help the team to win.''
	 
Collins would not commit to Francisco on Sunday night after he gave up three runs to the Marlins without recording an out in the ninth inning of the 8-4 loss. It was the second game in which Francisco had coughed up ninth-inning leads over the weekend in Miami. But Collins said he believes flip-flopping the relievers after every bad outing will do more harm than good. Jon Rauch has been solid as Francisco’s setup man with a 2.98 ERA and three holds so far this season.
	 
Francisco’s rough weekend raised his ERA to 8.56 in his first year with the Mets after signing a two-year, $12 million deal in the offseason. Collins said the Mets are planning two changes for Francisco: After watching video, the Mets found evidence that the closer was tipping his pitches. The second change Collins did not want to elaborate on.
	 
“I am not in the business of giving out scouting reports,” Collins said.
	 
Francisco, who screamed at home plate umpire Todd Tichenor after being removed on Sunday, said that he talked with Collins and the fact that his manager had confidence in him helped. Francisco said he saw the video of him tipping pitches and was going to make changes.
	 
Francisco had a problem tipping his pitches early last season with the Blue Jays, which he corrected.

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Mets activate Cedeno from DL, send down Rottino

May 11, 2012 , ι ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mets infielder Ronny Cedeno has been reinstated from the 15-day disabled list following a rehabilitation assignment. The Mets optioned infielder-outfielder Vinny Rottino to Triple-A Buffalo, and... Read on

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Torres batting seventh in return to Mets lineup

April 30, 2012 , ι POST STAFF REPORT

With the top of the lineup sparking the Mets’ recent success, manager Terry Collins opted to keep Kirk Nieuwenheis at leadoff and put Andres Torres seventh. Torres was expected to reclaim the top... Read on

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Surgery '99 percent' for Mets pitcher Pelfrey

April 26, 2012 , ι By BRIAN LEWIS

Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey said he is “99 percent” certain he will undergo season-ending elbow surgery.The right-handed pitcher had an MRI exam that revealed a partial tear of the ulnar collateral... Read on

Mets pitcher Mike Pelfrey said he is “99 percent” certain he will undergo season-ending elbow surgery.
	 
The right-handed pitcher had an MRI exam that revealed a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his (pitching) elbow. He will fly to Birmingham to consult with Dr. James Andrews and is expected to undergo surgery.
	 
“I’ll go down and see Dr. Andrews personally and we’ll go from there. But there’s a 99 percent chance it’s going to happen,’’ Pelfrey said. “Obviously it’s frustrating. I’ve never been hurt. It’s only been three days and I don’t know what I’m doing with myself.’’
	 
Pelfrey’s greatest qualities have been his durable nature and stature as a workhorse. But now, in the midst of a great start to the season, he faces the likelihood he will be shelved for the rest of the campaign.
	 
“The prognosis was not very good,’’ Terry Collins said. “Right now (he’s) pitching as good as I’ve seen him pitch in person. To have his sinker back, to have command of his curveball again, everything was working and to have this happen is a true shame not only for him but for us.’’
	 
Pelfrey’s 2.29 ERA is the best in the Mets rotation, and his bounce-back performance from a disappointing 2011 is a huge reason the team is 11-8.
	 
“It was explained … I could alter my mechanics and end up hurting my shoulder. My shoulder feels great, and that’s the last thing I want,’’ Pelfrey said. “All the statistics, 94 percent you can fix the elbow but when you get to the shoulder it’s a gray area. I think that would be the last thing that I want.’’
	 
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Mets put Pelfrey on DL with swollen elbow

April 24, 2012 , ι POST STAFF REPORT

The Mets on Tuesday announced the team has placed pitcher Mike Pelfrey on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 22, with swelling in his right, pitching elbow.The Mets recalled left-handed... Read on

The Mets on Tuesday announced the team has placed pitcher Mike Pelfrey on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 22, with swelling in his right, pitching elbow.
	 
The Mets recalled left-handed pitcher Robert Carson from Double-A Binghamton of the Eastern League.
	 
An MRI exam conducted Tuesday morning on Pelfrey revealed the swelling. A course of treatment is pending a final diagnosis and possible second opinion.
	 
Pelfrey, 28, was 0-0 with a 2.29 ERA in 19 2/3 innings in three starts this year.
	 
Carson, 23, was 0-0 with a 3.18 ERA in five games with Binghamton this season. He has allowed eight hits and two runs, with one walk and six strikeouts.
	 
The left-hander made 24 starts and one relief appearance for Binghamton in 2011.
	 
Earlier Tuesday,
	 the Mets put left fielder Jason Bay on the disabled listwith a rib injury.

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Mets put Bay, Pelfrey on DL

April 24, 2012 , ι By MIKE PUMA

Mike Pelfrey and Jason Bay are two prominent targets among Citi Field boo birds, so it might be fitting they are headed to the disabled list together.The Mets placed both players on the DL on Tuesday... Read on

Mike Pelfrey and Jason Bay are two prominent targets among Citi Field boo birds, so it might be fitting they are headed to the disabled list together.
	 
The Mets placed both players on the DL on Tuesday, after Pelfrey was diagnosed with swelling in his right elbow and an MRI exam revealed Bay has a non-displaced rib fracture.
	 
Zack Lutz was called up from Triple-A Buffalo to take Bay’s roster spot and reliever Robert Carson arrived from Buffalo to replace Pelfrey. The Mets will make another roster move by Friday, when Pelfrey was scheduled to pitch at Colorado.
	 
According to a club source, the Mets are leaning toward promoting Chris Schwinden from Buffalo to take Pelfrey’s spot in the rotation.
	 
Pelfrey, who has a 2.29 ERA in three starts, said he incurred soreness during his Saturday start against the Giants, but figured it was tendinitis, a condition he has battled in the past. He was examined Tuesday and expects to receive a second opinion.
	 
“I told them I feel good,” Pelfrey said. “I feel great and I felt good the other day. I would throw one pitch and it would go away. It was just a little bit of tightness that I thought was a little bit of tendinitis.”
	 
Bay, who is batting .240 with three homers and five RBIs, hurt his ribs diving for a ball in the outfield Monday. Bay originally thought he had bruised ribs.
	 
“The silver lining is it’s non-displaced and the doctor said another good thing is it’s a fairly small crack,” Bay said. “So hopefully it won’t take that long.”
	 
mpuma@nypost.com

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Mets put Cedeno on DL, call up pitcher Hefner

April 23, 2012 , ι ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Mets have put infielder Ronny Cedeno on the 15-day disabled list because of a strain on the left side of his chest and promoted right-hander Jeremy Hefner from Triple-A Buffalo. The moves were... Read on

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Mets GM 'cannot foresee' Wright playing elsewhere

April 23, 2012 , ι By BRIAN LEWIS

Though David Wright said a few days ago there has been no contract discussions with the Mets to this point, general manager Sandy Alderson said in a television interview Sunday night he can’t picture Wright leaving the team.
	 
“We've said, 'Look, let's play out at least part of this season and see where we are.' But I, honestly, at this point cannot foresee David playing elsewhere,’’
	 Alderson said on WNBC, according to ESPN.com. 
	 
Wright comes into Monday leading the major leagues with a .510 on-base percentage, and second behind Dodgers star Matt Kemp in batting average at .439. Since returning to the lineup on April 14 from a fractured right pinky, Wright is hitting .379. And his value is underscored by the Mets' 7-4 record with him this year and their 1-2 mark without him.
	 
	 
Alderson made similar comments
	 last week to The Post.
	 
"David is a big part of the team and the larger organization, we all recognize that and hope that he is here for a long time,’’ Alderson said.
	 
The Mets have a $16 million team option on Wright for 2013, with a $1 million buyout. The Mets locked up young homegrown starting pitcher Jon Niese to a five-year, $25.5 million deal already this season, and it remains to be seen if they extend Wright, who is clearly the face of the franchise with the departure of Jose Reyes, who comes to town Tuesday with his new Marlins club.

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Mets push back Santana to keep rotation in order

April 22, 2012 , ι By BRIAN LEWIS

With Sunday’s rainout, the Mets and Giants will play a single-admission doubleheader Monday at 4:10 p.m. Long man Miguel Batista will spot-start against Giants ace Tim Lincecum and Dillon Gee faces Madison Bumgarner in the nightcap, while Johan Santana gets pushed back to Tuesday.
	 
The juggling prevented them from having to scramble for a spot starter for Friday’s game in Denver, enabled them to keep their rotation in order, and also gave their ace an extra day to fine-tune after getting shelled in his last start.
	 
“I think the weather’s going to be fine (tomorrow) but we decided not to double up the two guys and then scramble around in four days to see who’ll pitch,’’ said Terry Collins.
	 
“It’s about the entire staff. We talked all spring long about making sure that we keep our five starters in sync, and if we don’t we end up getting them out of sync if we don’t match somebody up. So we talked to Johan and he was on board with it. As a matter of fact, he said the worst thing we can do is screw up everybody else, so we decided to go that way.
	 
“(Santana) has thrown two bullpens this week, and due to the short outing the other day. There’s nothing wrong with giving him another day. We certainly think it’ll only help him work on some other things.’’
	 
Santana is coming off the shortest start of his career, recording just four outs while getting raked for six runs - four earned – Tuesday in Atlanta. It was a game that left Santana feeling “angry,’’ in Collins’ words.
	 
“I wanted to pitch the next day after that start, put it that way,’’ Santana said . “But that's not the way it is. It was just a bad outing, that's all it is. You just put it (behind you) and hope the next one you can bounce back and do better.’’
	 
Both Collins and Santana insisted the ace’s shoulder is fine, and his velocity backs that up. They said it was just an isolated hiccup in his comeback road.
	 
“That's definitely not the way you wanted to do it,’’ said Santana. “I definitely want to help and go deeper in the game. I'm still working my way back to go deeper into the games.
	 
“But at the same time they want to make sure that everything’s fine and I don't put too much pressure on my shoulder, which is understandable…I want to compete. They're watching from the outside, so they're able to tell and know when to stop. There's nothing wrong; I'll just turn the page and go back and start a new one.’’

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About the Author

MIKE PUMA Mike Puma became Mets beat writer for The Post in February 2010 after three years as a general assignment baseball reporter. The Fordham alumnus began covering Major League Baseball, concentrating on the Yankees and Mets, in 1998 as a reporter and columnist for the Connecticut Post. He has covered nine World Series and holds a Hall of Fame vote.

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