Pelfrey pleased with performance

Mike Pelfrey was sidelined with a strained muscle in his leg a few days ago. Today, as one of the only players in camp, he threw a bullpen session and declared himself ready to pitch.

From Adam Rubin:

Pelfrey said the discomfort, an "8" or "9" on the pain scale when he stepped back during his delivery and then landed immediately after suffering the injury, had reduced to a "1" or "2." After chatting with pitching coach Dan Warthen and trainer Ray Ramirez, Pelfrey declared himself ready to re-enter the Grapefruit League rotation on Saturday after missing one turn. He's on track to start Game 2 of the season, April 8 in Cincinnati.

Sounds good to me.

Pagan will go under the knife

Angel Pagan will opt for surgery on the bone spur in his right elbow, likely knocking him out for 6-8 weeks.

Not good news for Pagan, who had a definite shot at making the roster out of spring training.

It looks like the rest of the backup outfield candidates have one less person to contend with. For a quick review of who could be competing for the spot, check out my post over at Baseball Digest.

Upgrading the spectacles

Maybe there is a "One Bespectacled Relief Pitcher Limit." Someone check the rule book.

Mets release Duaner Sanchez

The New York Mets have released struggling reliever Duaner Sanchez.

A major hat tip has to go to Joel Sherman, who rumored this back on Feb. 26. He wrote:

Sanchez has something at stake, as well, namely a job with the Mets. He has to make a positive impression or else the Mets will seriously consider releasing him by 2 p.m. on April 1 and owing the righty just one-quarter of his $1,687,500 contract ($421,875).

And that is exactly what the Mets did.

Omar Minaya had this to say:

We looked at it, really his overall performance based upon last year to where he is now, we really didn't see the improvement that we felt was needed to be effective in the major leagues.

Pretty telling, if you ask me.

Sanchez was struggling through spring, and seemed to never recover from his taxi accident back in 2006. Sanchez came to the Mets from the Los Angeles Dodgers organization on Jan. 4, 2006 in a trade that sent Jae Weong Seo and Tim Hamulack out west and brought Sanchez and Steve Schmoll to the Mets.

Appearing in only 49 games in 2006, due to the accident, he posted a 2.60 ERA. You may remember his 18 scoreless innings to begin the season that year.

On July 30, Sanchez was in a taxi heading to a restaurant in Miami, when he was involved in a motor vehicle accident. Sanchez suffered a separated shoulder, and would miss the rest of the season. This forced Omar Minaya's hand, as he then dealt Xavier Nady to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez. (My father still claims this cost the Mets the championship.)

In 2007, attempting to come back from the shoulder injury and surgery, he injured himself again. At the end of spring training, he suffered a hairline fracture in his shoulder, which forced him out for all of the '07 season.

In 2008, Sanchez was healthy enough to pitch, but not very effectively. He had lost a lot of power off his fastball, and he just couldn't control at bats the way he used to. He ended up throwing just over 58 innings in 66 games, putting up a 4.32 ERA.

Though I think the Mets should have given him a little more time, it's obvious this was bound to happen eventually and they might as well cut him now and save some money. The Mets must now rely on some younger pitchers and possibly the Rule V draft picks to fill the vacated role.

Santana slated for Thursday; Pagan has bone spur

Johan Santana will make his much anticipated Grapefruit League start under the lights on Thursday. It is not known if he will start the game, but it is fairly likely.

Everybody, please keep your fingers crossed.

** *** **

Angel Pagan has been diagnosed with a bone spur on the back of his right elbow. He will return to spring training and figure out his next step from there.

From WebMD:

A bone spur (osteophyte) is a bony growth formed on normal bone. Most people think of something sharp when they think of a "spur," but a bone spur is just extra bone. It’s usually smooth, but it can cause wear and tear or pain if it presses or rubs on other bones or soft tissues such as ligaments, tendons, or nerves in the body. Common places for bone spurs include the spine, shoulders, hands, hips, knees, and feet.

Apparently, the elbow is not a common place for a bone spur.

As you might remember, John Maine had a bone spur in his shoulder, which required surgery last season. Obviously, Pagan isn't a pitcher and doesn't need to solely rely on his shoulder, but it could be something that he needs to go under the knife for.

Pedro open to Mets, relief role

Jim Baumbach is in Puerto Rico covering the World Baseball Classic and got a chance to chat with Pedro Martinez.

Via The Final Score:

"If they want a fifth starter, I've been there. I don't know how much they want me but I'm available," Martinez said. "That's all I can say. But at the same time, I'm available for every team out there."

Martinez, who threw three scoreless innings against the Netherlands on Saturday, also said he's open to being a reliever, though it's not his preference.

What really needs to be known is if he's open to the minor league, just to be waiting in the wings for an injury.

The Mets really have nothing holding them back. It's a no-lose situation.

Santana throws more BP; May pitch Thursday

Johan Santana again took the mound in the bullpen, in preperation for a Grapefruit League game, hopefully soon.

Here's a report from Steve Popper:

Throwing a bullpen session on the six-pack of mounds just outside Tradition Field, the sort of side session that normally is completely lifeless, he prodded bullpen catcher Dave Racaniello to stand in as a hitter (in his catchers equipment and without a bat). And after almost every pitch, he would quiz Racaniello for his reaction to the pitch - until the final one when he threw a slider that Racaniello - and probably David Ortiz - couldn't hit. Santana didn't need to hear from anyone, shouting loudly in celebration that this pitch, the final piece, was in place.

Good to hear.

Santana was asked about the possibility of a Thursday game, but was non-committal. He told Adam Rubin, "I felt pretty good and felt like I could get in a game."

3-D baseball cards

I was never much of a baseball card collector. I still have boxes of unopened cards from 1988 in my basement that I rarely think about or even remember. Even with that, these new Topps cards are absolutely awesome.

From the New York Times:

Beginning Monday, collectors who hold a special Topps 3D Live baseball card in front of a webcam will see a three-dimensional avatar of the player on the computer screen. Rotate the card, and the figure rotates in full perspective. It’s called “augmented reality,” a combination of a real image with a virtual one.

“This is the ‘Beam me up, Scotty’ version of a baseball card that will get kids to buy more. We see this baseball season as a redefining moment for us,” said Steve Grimes, chief digital officer at Topps.

Check out the photo. (Too bad it's Ryan Howard!)

Too cool.

I'm officially in the 'Bring Back Pedro' camp

For months, I've been thinking that the Mets were done with Pedro Martinez. They had signed guys like Tim Redding and Freddy Garcia who could easily outperform the aging, injured Pedro. No more.

With Redding, Garcia, Livan Hernandez and a bunch of others in the running, and none of them pitching effectively, there is no reason the Mets shouldn't bring back Pedro.

I'm not going to argue the statistics route, because it's only spring training and numbers really don't matter. So far though, we've seen Redding struggle in his first appearance. Garcia just doesn't seem to have any power left in his arm. Hernandez is bound to have an ERA over five, even if he does throw 200 innings.

Pedro would do a few things for the Mets. He would push the other pitchers in competing for that last spot. He would provide insurance, if he was willing to go to AAA if he did not win the roster spot. He would also mentor some young pitchers.

Sign him to a one-year deal, with a bunch of incentives, and I'll be happy. He did help change this franchise, if you like to believe it or not.

Bring back Pedro Martinez.

Redding gets rocked

Tim Redding made his first appearance in a game against the University of Michigan and let's just say it didn't go very well.

Redding's line: 0.1 IP, 5 hits, 5 earned runs, 2 home runs, 1 K. And that was against the University of Michigan.

Freddy Garcia, who made the start today against U of M, allowed three hits in two full innings, but no runs.

Also in action in split-squad style, some Mets are taking on the Washington Nationals with Livan Hernandez making the start. Four innings for Hernandez, who allowed three runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out one.

The fifth starter position is wide open.