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.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. For more from myself and others on the Mets, head over to Rising Apple. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

When In Rome...

What's funny about when I wrote that headline was that I didn't even write it thinking about how the Yankees like to view themselves and their ballpark as, "Romanesque..."

But it's true. The Mets maximized return while still having some issues with their pitching. 10 walks last night and they gave up 7 runs in each game. Tanaka and Citi Field could spell doom for the suddenly potent Mets offense. Or they could keep getting solid rips at the ball, HR or not. Though it's not like the depleted-and-relatively-empty-to-begin-with Yankee pitching is anything like what Tanaka can do.

What's cool about last night was that the Rangers, about an inning or so after Daniel Murphy all but sealed the victory with a right field upper deck pole shot, wrapped up a miraculous comeback, after being down 3-1 in the series, and now get a chance to play for the conference championship. With less attention being focused on the game as people dispersed from Yankee Stadium early, Met fans and Yankee fans alike watched and rooted for the Rangers to put the finishing touches on the series, all chanting "Let's go Rangers" on their way out.

So now, the series shifts to the Bay of Flushing, with players now needing to overcome its Great Wall. Stay within yourself, don't try to do too much, take it to the gaps, and the good swings will come.

I can't begin to tell you how pumped I am for Rafael Montero's debut tonight. The kid has great composure and can hit his spots as well as any young pitcher I've ever seen. Madduxesque....if I may say. Yankees generally have a hard time against ANY pitcher making his debut, so we'll see if that trend continues. Tonight should be very exciting. One way or the other, after seeing these last two games (ESPECIALLY with Monday night's epic finish) I don't know how anyone could say this has gotten old. This is all about New York City, and I love walking and biking around, taking in the sights of this town, while two NY teams duke it out. It is epic, and sets the bar that much higher for when they once more meet in the World Series.

Whenever that may be...

Enjoy the next two games everyone.

LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for the latest on a Brooklyn Baseball TV Series I am developing, Like the Bedford & Sullivan Facebook page, follow on Twitter here, and listen to the research process here.

The Half-Televised Game with Rafael Montero

A lot of us were able to watch the Nats TV feed of last night's 4-4 10-inning tie, either on MLB Network or MLB.TV. If you missed any of the game, check in with Matt Musico over at Rising Apple for a recap and his thoughts on it all.

The most interesting item from the game, for me, was 22-year-old Rafael Montero. The Mets- coaches, front office and players alike- have been raving about this kid for a long time, and it was the first I ever got to see his stuff. Very impressive. He will begin the year in AA and will most likely be in the minors the whole time, but a September call-up is not out of the question (unless he breezes through everyone and forces the organization to speed his process up, but I'm looking towards the 6th month of the season for Montero's Citi Landfall.)

There were plenty of other things from the game that drew my attention (besides, generally, the Mets and baseball) but I can't really get into detail about it all right now. So, please (once again) head over to Rising Apple, for Matt Musico has got you all covered.


This song is randomly stuck in my head this morning. Probably 'cause Silver Linings Playbook is for some reason randomly stuck in my head (for those of you who saw the film, you understand the tune reference.) It's a really beautiful rendition (not to say the original folk version isn't fantastic as well, but this one gets me.)

It's just a really, really well-written song.

MARCH. ROLLS. IN. NOW.
LET'S. GO. METS.

Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter @convertedmetfan. And for Rising Apple twitter updates, click here.