ICYMI: The Week In Review

It's almost Harvey-Time. With Dillon Gee undergoing what could be season ending surgery, all eyes will be on Matt Harvey Monday night as he auditions for a spot in the rotation. A number of Mets executives will be on hand for his start Monday, which can be seen on SNY.

According to Terry Collins, with Gee out for the foreseeable future, his choice of replacement has been narrowed down to Harvey and Miguel Batista. 

The Mets called up left-handed reliever Josh Edgin from Buffalo. Don't let his line fool you. Despite posting a 7.71 ERA in 2.1 innings of work, he has been impressive, striking out six batters, five of which were lefties.

R.A. Dickey may find himself working a little more as the season goes on. Terry Collins has suggested that after August 1, if the Mets are still in the race, Dickey could begin pitching on short rest.

Speaking of Dickey, the knuckleballer made his first-ever All-Star appearance this week. He allowed a leadoff single to the Angels' Mike Trout, but went on to pitch a scoreless sixth inning.

Of course, this year's All-Star Game was not without its controversy. National League manager Tony LaRussa chose to start San Francisco's Matt Cain over Dickey because starting catcher, Buster Posey, couldn't catch a knuckleball.

David Wright made his sixth All-Star Game appearance. He went 0-2.

Terry Collins, who was selected by Tony LasRussa to join the National League coaching staff for this year's game, coached first base and made a pitching change late in the game.

The Mets and Yankees will play fewer games against each other starting next season. Instead of the usual six games, the two will play just three or four games.

Chris Schwinden is back with the Mets. After the Mets dumped him earlier in the season, he has since played with the Blue Jays, Indians, and Yankees. He is now back with Buffalo as a non-40 man roster player.

On the injury front...

Dillon Gee underwent surgery on Friday to replace part of a damaged artery in his right shoulder. Gee was hospitalized earlier in the week with a blood clot. Doctors used a catheter to break up the clot. He could begin throwing in about eight weeks, but all signs indicate that Gee is done for the season.

Frank Francisco was shut down this week after he continued to feel discomfort in his oblique.

Jason Bay has moved his rehab assignment to Triple-A Buffalo. He went 1-4 with a walk and two strikeouts for Buffalo. He did not play in the outfield. He could return to the Mets on Tuesday.

Mike Baxter is scheduled to begin his rehab assignment in St. Lucie today.

Lucas Duda will sit out of today's game with a strained left hamstring. It had been bothering him for over a week, but the All-Star break did not help him any.

Gee To Have Surgery, May Be Done For The Season

According to ESPN New York, Dillon Gee will undergo surgery on Friday to repair an artery in his pitching shoulder.

The right-hander was hospitalized after it was discovered that he had a blood clot. Gee complained of numbness in his pitching hand following his start on Saturday.

The surgery should prevent the recurrence of blood clotting.

In 17 starts this season, Gee is 6-7 with a 4.10 ERA.

The Mets don't expect Gee to resume throwing for six to eight weeks.

I'll take Gee being out for the rest of the year if it means he is healthy in the long run. He's a person first and baseball player second. 

Here's to a speedy recovery.

Now the big question is...what to do about the rotation? 

Dickey's Signature Pitch Is Apparently Too Much To Handle

The San Francisco Giants fans stuffed the All-Star ballot. They have three starters in the National League lineup with Melky Cabrera in center field, Buster Posey behind the plate, and Pedro Sandoval at third base.

For good measure, National League manager Tony LaRussa decided to have Giants pitcher Matt Cain start the game.

Now I don't want to take anything away from Matt Cain. He has had an excellent year to date, going 9-3 with a 2.62 ERA and a perfect game to boot.

But come on. How do you now start R.A. Dickey? The guy has been the best pitcher in baseball in the first half with a 12-1 record and a 2.40 ERA. Not to mention he threw back-to-back one-hitters.

So you may be asking yourself, "Why isn't Dickey starting?" The answer: Buster Posey can't catch a knuckleball.

An "All-Star" catcher can't figure out, or be bothered to figure out, how to catch Dickey's signature pitch.

I don't know what's gone on behind the scenes. Maybe Posey wanted to catch Dickey. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he didn't have an issue with it. But in the end, LaRussa made the final decision.

(Side note: Don't pitchers in the ASG normally throw just 1-2 innings anyway?)

According to The New York Times, LaRussa stated that he also wanted to, "Honor Cain's 'career of excellence, and it's getting better and better.'" 

Forgive me, but I thought the 2012 All-Star Game was about honoring those who have shown excellence in, ya know, 2012. 

Dickey has taken the nation by storm. He has become a feel-good story. Always the underdog, he has fought to get where he is today and it's finally his time to shine.

None of that matters apparently.

Hope everyone enjoys watching the American League vs. The San Francisco Giants tomorrow night.

ICYMI: The Week In Review

When the Mets return to action following the All-Star break, Johan Santana, R.A. Dickey, and Jon Niese are the scheduled starters in Atlanta.

R.A. Dickey and David Wright were chosen to participate in the All-Star game, although neither will be starting (What a joke).

Dickey continues to garner national attention. He was named N.L. Player of the Month for June, he is set to appear on the Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday, and he was ABC World News' Person of the Week.

Prospects Wilmer Flores and Zack Wheeler will participate in the Futures Game today in Kansas City. Game time is 5p.m. on ESPN 2.

Justin Hampson was designated for assignment and Jordany Valdespin took his place on the roster. Valdespin hit home runs in back-to-back games against the Cubs.

Pedro Beato was called up after the team optioned Jeremy Hefner to Buffalo. Beato pitched a scoreless inning of relief on Thursday.


The Mets reclaimed Chris Schwinden. I don't know why. 


 If you're into Twitter, Matt Harvey has joined. Tweet him at @MattHarvey43.

On the injury front...

Frank Francisco is scheduled to pitch in a rehab game on Wednesday. Francisco strained his left oblique during the Subway Series.

Andres Torres has been day-to-day with back spasms.

The Mets are planning on Jason Bay making a rehab start in St. Lucie today. They expect him to play two or three games there before moving on to Triple-A Buffalo.

Mike Baxter told ESPN New York that he has full range of motion in his injured shoulder and has been hitting off a tee. He has been rehabbing in St. Lucie.

Annual MLB All-Star Game Is a Joke Post

Well, it's that time of year again. Major League Baseball announced the starters for the 2012 All-Star game, and what a surprise, a few deserving players were not selected.

Before I go into my rant, however, I would like to congratulate R.A. Dickey on being named to the All-Star team. Well deserved.

Now back to the rant...

Exhibit A: David Wright is not going to start the All-Star game.

Wright was beat out by San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval. Let's compare the two, shall we...

Here are Sandoval's stats:

And here are Wright's stats:

Now, am I OUTRAGED that Wright wasn't selected to be a starter? No. The All-Star Game has always been, and will continue to be, a joke. It's nothing more than a popularity contest where those less deserving are chosen before those who have earned it. 

These selections no longer surprise me. 

And, yes, in case you are wondering, I sent in my votes for Wright this year. 

Exhibit B: The voting in of injured players.

Take Los Angeles' Matt Kemp. Kemp was selected to start the NL outfield. Don't get me wrong. Kemp is a very valuable player, and if healthy, could very well have deserved to be selected.

Kemp, however, has not played a game since May 30, and has been on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. He hasn't even begun a rehab assignment. 

But he's an All-Star. 

Finally, exhibit C: Atlanta's Dan Uggla. I don't even know where to begin with this one.

The list can go on and on.

If MLB would like more people to take the All-Star game seriously, they need to do away with fan voting. It's a joke. Besides, who has time to vote 25 times a day (outside of San Francisco)?  

Call me crazy, but if stats are so important these days, how about the folks at MLB actually take a look at them and make the selections that way.

ICYMI: The Week In Review

Ronny Cedeno was activated from the disabled list. Elvin Ramirez was demoted.

Tim Byrdak is looking for a home...for his chicken. Byrdak bought a chicken before Friday's game against the Yankees after Frank Francisco called the team, "chickens."

Tony LaRussa told Fox Sports that he is definitely considering R.A. Dickey to start next months' All-Star game.

Johan Santana received a key to the city from Mayor Bloomberg on Friday for throwing the Mets first no-hitter.

The Mets announced the top Mets players in franchise history Thursday night, and it wasn't without drama. In response to Darryl Strawberry saying he would love to have a chance to hit off Tom Seaver, Seaver responded with, "You don't have any handcuffs on your hands, do you?" Whatever Seaver was trying to say there, it made for an awkward moment.

Here is the complete list of the top Mets:
Mike Piazza, C
Keith Hernandez, 1b
Edgardo Alfonzo, 2b
David Wright, 3b
Jose Reyes, SS
Cleon Jones, LF
Carlos Beltran, CF
Darryl Strawberry, RF
Tom Seaver, RHS
Jerry Koosman, LHS
Roger McDowell, RHR
Tug McGraw, LHR
Davey Johnson, Manager 

Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores were picked to participate in the Futures Game as part of the All-Star festivities in Kansas City.

After striking out a career-high 13 batters and beating the Orioles 5-0 on Monday, R.A. Dickey became the first major league player in 24 years to throw back-to-back no-hitters.   

On the injury front...

Frank Francisco had to sit out of Friday night's game against the Yankees with stiffness in his left oblique.

Sandy Alderson told reporters he expects Ruben Tejada to return from the disabled list next week.

Jason Bay claims to be symptom free a little over a week after suffering a concussion. He has yet to begin any physical activity.

Was Seaver's Remark Really Offensive?

I don't know, and neither do you.

Let's go to the video tape...



Host, Kevin Burkhardt, asked Darryl Strawberry who would win a game between the 1986 Mets or the 1969 Mets.

Stawberry states the '86 team would have won.

This eventually leads to Tom Terrific making the following comment:

"You don't have handcuffs on your wrists, do you?"

As you can imagine, that went over well.

For those unaware, Strawberry has had his run-ins with the law in the past.

I have to admit that I winced a little after the comment was made.

For those willing to give Seaver the benefit of the doubt, handcuffed is a baseball term as well, defined as:

A pitch thrown high and inside may handcuff a batter because he can't get his hands far enough away from his body to swing the bat.

Maybe Seaver used the word handcuffs in that context??? If he's smart, that's the excuse he'll use.

In all likelihood, we'll never know Tom Seaver's true intentions when he made his remark to Darryl Strawberry.

I highly doubt Seaver would ever come out and say, "Yeah, I was making reference to his law-breaking days."

I've never found Seaver to be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I don't see him being dumb enough to admit making such a remark.

Strawberry was on WFAN this morning and denied that he was offended by Seaver's comment and said that he didn't think Seaver meant anything by it.

"No, he was not. No," he told WFAN’s Boomer & Carton. “Tom is great, I’ve got a great relationship with him. He wasn’t making (a joke), he was talking about, ‘Nothing stopping us. You know, there’s an opportunity, let’s go.' 

"We don’t fight, what are we fighting about?" said Strawberry. "He’s talking about, 'What’s holding you back right now? What, you got handcuffs tying you down, you can’t pick up a bat?'"

At the end of the day, if Strawberry isn't even offended by the comments, then the fans and media need to let it go.