June 23, 2009, Carlos Beltran injury story with game elements for Metro (NY) Newspaper
Beltran latest Met to hit the DL
MLB. Another day, another Met goes down to injury.
Prior to last night’s 6-4 win over the Cardinals, the Mets placed Carlos Beltran on the 15-day disabled list with a bone bruise on his right knee. Beltran is the ninth Met player to go on the DL, joining the likes of Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado.
It's the same injury that caused Beltran to miss three games between May 31 and June 2. During that period, Beltran received a cortisone shot to alleviate the discomfort. It obviously didn't work. He said he was in so much pain Sunday that he asked the organization if he could get a MRI to see what was wrong. The MRI showed that the bruise had doubled in size.
“The shot, what it did was block the pain but the damage (was still there). What I have to do is be patient and treat this thing the right way,” said a visibly downcast Beltran, who noted that the injury will not force him to undergo surgery. Both the GM and centerfielder said that Beltran was told to abstain from baseball activities. Instead, he is supposed to rest the knee and aqua therapy.
Worst-case scenario, Beltran could miss 20 games against the Cardinals, Yankees, Brewers, Pirates, Phillies, Dodgers and Reds. All of those teams are at or over .500, save for the Pirates. That gauntlet of a schedule could make or break the Mets this season.
“I think we have to be optimistic that we stay competitive. I think if you reflect back on some games that we had, for the most part we’ve been competitive, but haven’t been able to get over the hump,” said manager Jerry Manuel. “You have to believe that somebody’s going to catch fire and pick up some slack.”
To that end, the Mets expect increased production from OF Ryan Church, first baseman/outfielder Daniel Murphy an recent call-ups Nick Evans and Fernando Tatis. Manuel also said Tatis may play shortstop in the games that Alex Cora plays at second base.
Manuel admitted that he has to caution against the players resigning themselves to a lost season with all the injuries. The manager believes that David Wright and Cora will echo the message that the season is not over to the players.
“As a staff, that’s what we have to guard against. We have to guard against that particular mindset that ‘Man, there’s not much left,’” said Manuel. “I don’t know if they can handle this, or survive this or not. But the most optimistic point we can take is that our pitching is getting better from a health stand point. I believe if you have good pitching you have a shot.”
Game at a glance:
Tim Redding (1-2) gave up four runs on five hits in seven innings to earn his first win of the season. Murphy went 2-for-5 with a bases-empty homer, the fifth of the season. Catcher Omir Santos set a career high in hits with four. Francisco Rodriguez pitched a perfect ninth for his 19th save. Tim Wellemeyer (6-7) was shelled for five runs on 10 hits in 5 2/3 IP. Ryan Ludwick (11) and Brendan Ryan (1) homered for the Cardinals.
METS NOTES:
Jose Reyes and Ray Ramirez were involved in an auto accident on the Triboro Bridge Monday morning. The shortstop and head trainer were rear-ended by a fire truck while heading into Manhattan, ostensibly to have the shortstop’s hamstring re-evaluated at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
It was not known if a police report had been filed.
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Mets player representative J.J. Putz met with reporters before batting practice to share his thoughts on MLBPA head Donald Fehr stepping down. Fehr, who had been the head of the PA since 1983, is backing MLBPA organizational counsel Michael Weiner for the position.
Putz said that Fehr had contacted the player reps on Monday to explain why he was stepping down. According to Putz, Fehr “had enough. He doesn’t know what he wants to do, but maybe something else.”
The set up man had strong words regarding the release of player names who tested for positive for steroids.
“It was supposed to be anonymous; no names or anything like that,” said Putz. “It’s almost a crime that two names have leaked out of it. Basically, the players who are dumb enough to get caught, that’s on (them). "
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John Maine and Oliver Perez made rehab starts for the Port St. Lucie Mets in a doubleheader yesterday. In the first game, Maine allowed two runs—one earned—on two hits and walked four. Perez started the second game and gave up six runs on seven hits in three innings.
posted by Denis P. Gorman at 10:03 AM
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