Pelfrey’s pitching with tendinitis in forearm

Somewhere, Tom Verducci is checking Mike Pelfrey’s name off his list and patting himself on the back.

According to an on-air report by Peter Gammons, via MetsBlog, Pelfrey has been pitching with arm tendinitis and has it to blame for his season ERA hovering above 8.

Here’s a little background info on tendinitis from WebMD:

How Is Tendinitis Treated?

Initial treatment includes:

• Avoiding activities that aggravate the problem
• Resting the injured area
• Icing the area the day of the injury
• Taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medicines

If the condition does not improve in a week, see your doctor. You may need more advanced treatments, including:

• Corticosteroid injections. Corticosteroids (often called " steroids") are often used because they work quickly to decrease the inflammation and pain.
• Physical therapy. This can be very beneficial, especially for a "frozen shoulder." Physical therapy includes range of motion exercises and splinting (thumb, forearm, bands).
• Surgery. This is only rarely needed for severe problems not responding to other treatments.

Why Verducci, you ask?  Well if you’re a longtime reader, you probably know I love Verducci’s writing.  Also, he’s focused on the effect of increased innings on young pitchers.  Pelfrey fits into this category, and Verducci recently ranked him seventh for the greatest jump in innings for young pitchers.

From a post on April 8:

Verducci met with Pelfrey down at spring training, and much of his latest article focuses on Pelfrey and a handful of other young pitchers he has "red flagged" for injuries in 2009. Of the 10 pitchers Verducci picked, Pelfrey had the seventh largest jump in innings with 48.

How much should those guys be worried? Over the previous three years I red-flagged a total of 24 young pitchers at the start of those seasons. Of those 24 at-risk pitchers, 16 were hurt in that same season. Only one of the 24 pitchers managed to stay healthy and lower his ERA.Not the greatest news in the world for Mets fans or Pelfrey.

The Mets need to handle Pelfrey with kid gloves. He's a good pitcher, but it's too early in the season to have him injure himself or a long period of time.

Mr. Burgos goes to prison

Ex-Mets relief pitcher, Ambiorix Burgos, has been sentenced to nine months in jail.

Burgos was found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend in a hotel room last Sept. 8.

From the AP:

Prosecutors say Burgos punched, slapped and stepped on then-girlfriend Maria Lopez when she tried to leave the hotel where he was staying.

She testified that he told her, "The police won't do anything to me. I am a baseball player."

Burgos is still awaiting charges in a case where the prosecution claims he ran over and killed two women in the Dominican Republic.

Twitter Poll: Which Oliver Perez will show up tonight?

Today’s poll was a little different.  Usually, I ask a very general or broad question, but this time I asked my Twitter followers to pick a side: Good Oliver Perez or Bad Oliver Perez, who will show up for tonight’s game?

The optimists…

• theskyzthelimit said: GOOD OLLIE all the way man!!!
• maverick4880 said: I think Good Ollie...just as a tease!!!
• pattigibbons said: I so want the GOOD Ollie to be there! :fingers crossed:
• Section518 said: Good Ollie, all the way! (Fingers crossed)
• metgirl4ever said: GOOD OLLIE...God willin' and the creek don't rise
• metstweets said: I'm going with the nominally above average Ollie which we think, wrongly, is the lights out one. Mets 6, Brewers 4.
• ProctorsArm said: Great Ollie! #Mets
• Jbones72 said: ...Good Ollie, he's due!
• fullnelson said: Hopefully The GOOD OLLIE for the #Mets tomorrow. Just give 5 or 6 innings with less than 3 earn runs.
• Citi_Field said: The Padres have been playing good so far. Could be good Ollie. He does well against good teams. So far, that's the Padres.
• JTKrycek said: well, last year he tended to alternate, so since last time was BAD ollie, i'm saying this time we'll see GOOD ollie
• mhack said: I have a feeling about the Good Ollie. He'll build up hope early in the season so he can break hearts down the stretch.
• ByronBrewer said: Good Ollie. I'm feeling optimistic. :)
• MetsNY81 said: The Good Ollie! I predict he'll pitch 7 innings w/ 8+ K's and only 2 walks allowed. (I know, 2 walks.. wishful thinking!)

And the pessimists…

• thebrowncoat said: I've got to go with the BAD OLLIE. I think Mexico stole the GOOD OLLIE and they're holding him hostage.
• darknova306 said: It's gonna be the bad Ollie. He'll get distracted by Mr Met. I'm losing the little faith I had in him quick.
• NYMetsGrrl94 said: Poo Poo Perez!
• TCMChristmas said: BAD Ollie
• metsfan said: good ollie for 4 innings, then...

So it seems that Mets fans are anticipating a good game out of Perez tonight.  Is it just blind faith?  Maybe.  It’s up to Perez to prove either side right.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢ about Perez’s start tonight.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Thoughts on SNY’s new graphics package

SNY debuted a new graphics package when the season began, and though it looks nice it’s a big too big for my liking.  The thing that bothers me the most is the gap between the line score and the top of the screen, as seen above.

I’m viewing games in standard definition while I’m at school.  My friend, Jeremy Schilling recently went home for the weekend and took this photo of the Mets game on SNY HD.  The line score is even lower in higher definition! In my latest poll, I asked if the SNY graphics were too bloated.  Here are the results:

• Yes - 38%
• Who cares? - 35%
• No - 26%

It’s obviously not the biggest deal in the world, but I think SNY can do something about it to fix this issue.  It’s obviously bothering some people besides me.

Ex-Mets: Lastings Milledge optioned to Triple-A

Lastings Milledge, the embattled Washington Nationals outfielder, was just optioned to their Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, NY.

Via We’ve Got Heart:

MILLEDGE OPTIONED TO TRIPLE-A SYRACUSE

The Washington Nationals today optioned outfielder Lastings Milledge to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Even though a Ryan Church error may have led the Mets to a loss yesterday, does anyone still want to tell me this was a bad trade for the Mets?

Putz and the Pope

Via Eli from Brooklyn:

Mike Francesa: Enjoy your time here and we're looking forward to tonight.
J.J. Putz: Always a pleasure to get a chance to talk to a pope. I'll tell you that.

If you don’t get that joke, Bob Raissman of the Daily News has called Francesa “The Pope” for years because he thinks he is “all knowing.”  Someone must have tipped Putz off to the nickname.

It’s so true.

Citi Field seconds

With Joe Janish of Mets Today beating me to the exhaustive list of Citi Field firsts, I decided to focus on Citi Field’s seconds.

Here is a list of things that almost became trivia questions…

• Second hit: David Eckstein, single, second inning.
• Second home run: Adrian Gonzalez, solo home run, fifth inning.
• Second RBI: David Eckstein driving in Walter Silva, second inning.
• Second run: Walter Silva, on an Eckstein double, second inning.
• Second strikeout: Nick Hundley, by Mike Pelfrey, third inning.
• Second walk: Ryan Church, by Walter Silva, second inning.
• Second pinch hit: Edgar Gonzalez, for Edwar Mujica, sixth inning.
• Second Mets hit: Luis Castillo, RBI double, second inning.
• Second Mets home run: N/A.
• Second Mets RBI: Daniel Murphy, RBI single, fifth inning.
• Second Mets run: Gary Sheffield, on Murphy RBI single, fifth inning.

Anything I missed?

• Promoted from comments, from Paul Mannino: Second Win: …Mets?

Twitter Poll: What Mets position player would you want to see on the mound?

While the Mets were trying to scratch back from a one-run deficit in Citi Field last night, the Tampa Bay Rays were up 10 runs on the New York Yankees.  Joe Girardi, who didn’t want to waste another bullpen arm, opted to put first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher on the mound.  He got three outs, including a strike out of Gabe Kapler, and now has a career 0.00 ERA.

That prompted the question: What Mets player would you most want to see on the mound.  Here are the responses…

• metschick said: Jose Reyes. Just to see how fast he can blow one by the batter.
• Section518 said: Good one! I'm going with D. Wright. With the way he keeps Delgado off balance at 1B, imagine what he'd do with a batter!
• PaulsRandomStuf said: Gary Sheffield -- let's see if he picked up any tips from his uncle over the years.
• djeffreys said: my favorite met position player pitching performance was Desi Relaford...classic. I'd have to go Murph for this year's team.
• letsgoduke said: reyes or church. They have cannons.
• Retire31 said: Ramon Castro, plain and simple.
• MetsNY81 said: Jose Reyes. Would be interesting to see if he can throw a fastball in the 90-95 mph range.
• dtearl said: Gary Sheffield. Let him take his hot head anger out by plunking Phillies players.

And from the peanut gallery…

• ChuckKnoblog said: I would love to see Wright throw. I think if someone got a hit on him; he would break down crying on the mound.
• ProctorsArm said: Gary Sheffield. Why not?

My choice would be Ryan Church.  He used to be a pitcher, hence his amazing arm in the outfield.

Not on Twitter?  Hit the comments to toss in your 2¢.

Follow me on Twitter to participate
in the next Twitter Poll!

Game Recap: Padres 6 – Mets 5

Not exactly how the Mets drew up their first game in Citi Field ending.

The Mini Recap

Mike Pelfrey struggled early, allowing a home run to Jody Gerut to lead off the game.  Pelfrey took a tumble off the mound in the second inning, and allowed three runs to score with two outs.  The Mets scratched back, capped off by a three-run home run by David Wright.

The game came down to an error and a balk in the sixth inning.  Ryan Church couldn’t track down a fly ball and Luis Rodriguez ended up on third base.  Two outs later, Pedro Feliciano flinched, a balk was called, and the Padres scored the eventual game winner.  The Mets threatened only once, but couldn’t scratch out another run.

For the full recap, head over to Baseball Digest.

Live Blog: Citi Field Opening Night – SD @ NYM

A chat room for Mets fans who are not at Citi Field for tonight’s first regular season game.  Come join in!