Everybody Should Just Get Tommy John Surgery

So much happened regarding our team today that Ike Davis returning with the Pirates became an afterthought.

As us Mets fans were getting ready for the Mets/Pirates Memorial Day showdown, one that ended with the usual offensive ineptitude in situational hitting and bullpen mismanagement/meltdown, word came out that pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard was placed on the DL with flexor-pronator strain.

From Adam Rubin of ESPN New York:

The injury can be a precursor to Tommy John surgery, but the Mets portrayed the injury as "mild" and not overly concerning.

"At this point, we don't have a high level of concern," general manager Sandy Alderson said Monday afternoon. "But anytime the forearm is involved we like to have it looked at. So we're flying him back. He will be seen tomorrow and we'll have further information at that time."

There have been just under 36 Tommy John surgeries since the start of the 2014 season. It seems as if every young pitcher who is considered the real deal will eventually get it. Why? Who knows. Some point to heavier wear and tear on these arms starting in high school. Basically, as Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk mentions when citing what Dr. James Andrews had to say about it, "...the damage being done to pitchers' elbows is largely being done before they ever sign their first pro contract."

So, even though the Mets and Noah Syndergaard would rather avoid shutting him down for an entire year, it is becoming so normal that they might as well go ahead and cut right into that elbow.

I am obviously kidding when I say everybody should just get TJ surgery, but should that be part of prevention? Should we assume the damage has already been done and get ahead of it before it snaps? I don't necessarily think that's the answer, because who knows what that would do to their physical and psychological development, but clearly, the idea of pitching prospect and the excitement it brings is not what it used to be. It has been tempered, and we should generally expect that the development, rise and assimilation has a longer timeline than in the past.

Here's to Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom making it through the season...

EEESH!

Speaking of deGrom...can you play outfield? We might need someone who can actually hit out there...guy is 4 for 5 on his Major League career! When all Mets pitchers but him and Jon Niese with an RBI double are hitless on the year!

And regarding the post game news on the Dave Hudgens firing and Jose Valverde getting released...

The Hudgens firing came as a bit of a surprise considering he's Sandy's boy all the way back to his Oakland days, but the situational hitting has been so atrocious, it makes sense that the hitting coach would be on the firing block. Now, Lamar Johnson, a career .287 hitter, mostly for the White Sox, gets a chance after paying his dues in the Mets organization as a hitting instructor since 2005. I'm sure we'll get a bunch of profiles on the guy in the next few days.

With Valverde...My friend and I had actually taken to calling him "Valve" recently. Not exactly a flattering nickname for a reliever. And the release is a day too late. Vic Black was here for the doubleheader yesterday, but even though Papa Grande had easily been the one most in jeopardy of losing his job in the 'pen since Kyle Farnsworth's release, they let Black fly from Vegas to New York to El Paso, and now back to New York. Come on. Get it together.

Clearly, though, he has been doing better down below with his control and had been closing in Vegas recently. With Valverde's overall performance, which left him with a 5.66 ERA at the time of release, there was no reason to let things continue the way they were going.


I saw my first ever Banner Day AND my first ever doubleheader this weekend, which was a thrill despite losing one of the games. As the holiday weekend comes to a close, I am gathering the photos and videos together and will certainly post about the day this week.

Thank God we held on to win this 2nd game, but here is an awesome video I got from just to the right of home plate of Ruben Tejada being tagged out after a David Wright single in the 6th inning.

Happy Memorial Day, folks.

LET'S. GO. METS.

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