New York Sports Fan Blog

The Mets got exactly what they expected out of Johan Santana in their season-opening win over the Marlins on Monday.

Now comes the hard part: Seeing what the other four-fifths of the starting rotation will give them.
And that starts tonight, when John Maine takes the mound against Florida at Citi Field after yesterday’s off day.
“You always want to get the year started off strong,” Maine said. “It’s the same thing every season. Your first couple of starts, you’re anxious and you want to get off on the right foot. No matter what you’ve been through to get there, that doesn’t change.”

Click here to read the full article – By DAN MARTIN of New York Post

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All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes has been told to rest and refrain from athletic activity for two to eight weeks until his thyroid levels normalize, another blow to the New York Mets before Opening Day.

Center fielder Carlos Beltran already is expected to miss the first month of the season following right knee surgery Jan. 13. Reyes likely will be starting the season on the disabled list as well.

“It doesn’t look good right now.” Mets general manager Omar Minaya said Thursday. “We will have to prepare for that.”

Reyes has been diagnosed with an overactive thyroid, and his levels were elevated after he exercised Monday and Tuesday. Although he initially thought he might be able to return after a few days, he will have to stop working out and will remain at home.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

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All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez returned to New York Mets camp on Monday after being hampered by conjunctivitis for more than two weeks.

Rodriguez had been told to stay away from the team until the pink eye cleared, but the contagious infection took longer than expected to improve. He was sick when he reported to New York’s spring facility, but it went undiagnosed until just before full-squad workouts began Feb. 25.

The right-hander said he went to the doctor on Friday and was cleared to return Monday, although he still is infected. He continues to take eye drops and isn’t allowed to wear contacts yet.

“It feels much better,” Rodriguez said. “It’s still a little uncomfortable, but it’s good to be around. I was cleared to be around the guys, so it’s fine.”

While away from the team, Rodriguez was limited to playing catch with his brother, Edward, in the driveway of the closer’s home. But Rodriguez is not worried about his progress. He said he probably only needs one bullpen session before pitching in a game, and is looking forward to getting back into a regular routine.

Rodriguez last stepped on a mound about a week ago when he emerged from hiding for a light bullpen session.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

After missing most of the 2009 season with persistent leg injuries, New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes is ready and raring to go for 2010.

Reyes, who appeared in only 36 games last season, showed off the progress he’s made in regaining his health on Monday, running sprints at a Long Island athletic training facility and pronouncing himself ready for spring training. He said he’s been running at full speed without pain for several weeks and feels great.

“I’ll be ready in 2010. Be there, it’s going to be a show,” he said, according to the New York Post. “I can do everything I did before on the field … I can’t wait to hit a triple.”

Reyes was hampered last season by what was at first believed to be tendinitis in his right calf, which forced him out of a game against the Atlanta Braves in May. The injury was later diagnosed as a torn right hamstring tendon.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

The New York Mets have acquired outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. in a trade with the Los Angeles Angels, a baseball source confirmed to ESPN.com on Friday.

Matthews will combine with Angel Pagan to hold down center field while Carlos Beltran recovers from offseason knee surgery.

It’s believed the Angels will pay most of the two years and $23 million remaining on Matthews’ contract with the Angels.

SI.com was first to report the completion of the trade.

It’s not immediately known who the Angels will receive in return for Matthews, but a source told ESPN.com that it will be a low-salaried pitcher off the major league roster.

Matthews, 35, is a .258 hitter in 11 big league seasons. His best year came in 2006, when he hit .313 with 19 homers and 79 RBIs for the Texas Rangers.

Click here to read the full article – By Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com

Carlos Beltran had surgery on his troublesome right knee Wednesday and the All-Star center fielder will miss the start of the season. His decision to have the operation also sparked a dispute about whether he had received permission from the team, and perhaps whether the surgery was needed at all.

The New York Mets said Beltran is expected to resume baseball activities in 12 weeks, a timetable that likely would keep him out for most of April — and maybe longer.

New York’s first official workout for pitchers and catchers is a little more than five weeks away, on Feb. 20. The Mets open the season April 5 against Florida.

“The doctor said eight weeks, possibly, and a window to 12 weeks to resume baseball activities. With elite athletes, the timetable is sometimes shorter than the original prognosis,” Beltran’s agent, Scott Boras said.

Click here to read the full article – By of ESPN.com

The Mets may finally be getting the hang of this public relations thing. The team announced Thursday that the average season ticket for 2010 would cost 10 percent less than it did this season, with cuts of as much as 20 percent in some locations. According to the team, every season ticket holder will wind up with a lower invoice than they had this year, although per-game ticket prices will remain the same in some instances.

The Mets say that the decision was made in deference to the economy, which is a lot easier than saying that we’re charging you less because of how awful we were this season. The economic realities of 2009 were certainly a consideration, but someone in the Mets realized that they’ve got a pretty ticked off fanbase these days and keeping them in the building was going to take more than the promise that things would better next year when all the players were healthy.

That was true even before the news that Jose Reyes tore his hamstring became public knowledge, but was twice as true when the ticket pricing announcement was actually made. One of the linchpins that the Mets could use as a selling point for a brighter tomorrow is now a gigantic question mark as the offseason gets underway, raising the possibility that the Mets could be looking for help at shortstop in addition to all of the other holes that need filling around the league.


Click here to read the full article – By JOSH ALPER of nbcnewyork.com

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In a season where so much has gone consistently wrong for the Mets, reliever Pedro Feliciano is one of the few things that has gone consistently right.

Feliciano exited Tuesday’s game leading the Majors in appearances with 86 after striking out Adam Dunn — the only batter he faced — in the eighth. He had been tied with Peter Moylan of the Braves in that category and now is tied for the team record with four games to go.

In fact, Feliciano is very familiar with that record — because he set it last year. But Feliciano has been solid again this season. The left-hander has a 6-4 record with a 3.09 ERA heading into Tuesday’s game.

“My arm feels good,” Feliciano said. “The more I pitch, the looser my arm gets. I think the more I pitch, the better I feel.”

Click here to read the full article – By Jeff Seidel of MLB.com

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The Mets are roughly 240 miles south of the Yankees right now, but they might as well be on a different planet. In one clubhouse, they were cleaning champagne and beer off the carpet. In the other, some players looked like they could use a cup of coffee.

The subdued atmosphere was similar to the last time the Mets were here, in late July, which shows just how long it’s been since the Mets have played in meaningful games.

With the Yankees dominating the headlines in New York, the Mets began a three-game series against the last-place Nationals that was meaningless even by the Mets’ 2009 standard of irrelevance.

Manager Jerry Manuel noted the shrinking number of media members still covering the team when reporters walked into his office Monday afternoon. Somehow, the pitching matchup of Nelson Figueroa against Ross Detwiler didn’t draw a big crowd in the press box.


Click here to read the full article – By Brian Costa of NJ.com

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The Mets travel to sunny Florida this weekend looking to dish out some revenge served cold.

The Marlins are the team that knocked the Mets out of playoff contention in New York on the final day of each of the past two regular seasons. With some help from Colorado, the Mets can return the favor.

After Wednesday’s come-from-behind win over the Phillies, Florida stands 4 1/2 games behind the Wild Card-leading Rockies. Colorado closes a four-game series with the Padres on Thursday before hosting the Cardinals for three this weekend. If any combination of Rockies wins and Marlins losses reaches six, Florida will be mathematically eliminated from the postseason.

Click here to read the full article – By Tim Britton of MLB.com

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