Adam Rubin just finished a Q & A with fans and we able to get some questions in during the chat. Here are some of the highlights of the entire chat.
Once Daniel Murphy is cleared to play, will he stay at Buffalo, or will he possibly replace Gary Matthews Jr or Frank Catolonatto on the bench?
I'm told there are no imminent plans to release Matthews or Catalanotto, whether that's to make room for Murphy or even promote, say, Chris Carter. Murphy is still not running the bases when he plays in extended spring training games. When he's healthy, the current intent is to send him to Triple-A Buffalo so that he can play first base, second base, third base and the outfield.
Do you really think Beltran will be back this year, if at all?
This is speculative, but I'm not sure Carlos Beltran will ever be the same. He gave an interview yesterday in Port St. Lucie in which he indicated he was still feeling pain when he ran on a treadmill last month in Colorado at the doctor's office where the surgery was performed. He's going to try to run with a knee brace in the next week or so. And it'll be four to six weeks from that point -- at least -- before he's activated. At this point, he's really not even a topic in the Mets' clubhouse. Clearly, when healthy, he's a superior player to Angel Pagan.
Is there a Met Future for Fernando Martinez
The Mets would have entertained trading Fernando Martinez this past offseason, but I think there may eventually be a place for him. Angel Pagan has performed fine, but has been injury prone. And center field is wide open beyond Beltran's contract. I will say, though, that Kirk Nieuwenhuis is a good center field prospect at Double-A Binghamton and is catching up.
What exactly is the Mets' logic at this point for keeping Jennry Mejia in the majors? I recognize that his number seem good, but as a mostly garbage time reliever, I don't get how this helps him develop into the starter he could become.
Obviously the priority is winning at the major league level. And clearly is Mejia gives contributions like he did in yesterday's loss, when he tossed a scoreless inning in a tie game, there's value in having him with the big league club. The logic is that he can go to winter ball as a starting pitcher and work on his secondary pitches so he can compete for a rotation spot next spring. Is his progress being slowed right now? Perhaps, to a certain extent. But Jerry Manuel believes there's a value in getting major league experience in the bullpen, too. Manuel has mentioned numerous times how White Sox prospects would debut in the majors in relief before entering the rotation. The one clear-cut drawback is that Mejia cannot contribute in the rotation this year if there's an injury or Oliver Perez or John Maine underperform.
Is anyone at least curious why that Santana didnt use any of his breaking pitches in the Philly game?
Last year, when Santana didn't use his slider, it was because he had pain during the follow-through. So I suppose maybe you're trying to suggest something may be wrong physically. But Santana insists that's not the case -- that he's fine. Santana basically said in the last outing that he completely lost his command in the fourth inning. He couldn't even throw his fastball to Jamie Moyer where he wanted.
Even though Big Pelf had a clean MRI are the Mets concerned?
The Mets insist he never would have even went for the MRI had the team not been in Philadelphia and so close to New York. Pelfrey insisted even before going that it was nothing. Clearly he worked a lot in April, including that save, and stiffness and tightness isn't a good thing. With the Mets' track record, it merits watching. But Pelfrey will throw his normal between-starts bullpen today and is scheduled to face the Giants on Friday, so there doesn't seem to be any concern right now.
Reyes isnt running. Last nights broadcast Gary and Ron thought Jose Reyes had some perfect opporunities to swipe a bag when Bay was up. Is Jose worried about reinjuring it ? Or is there some other reason for Reyes not swiping bags ?
Reyes mentioned after last night's game that in one opportunity, he didn't get a good read on the pitcher, and didn't want to get thrown out with David Wright at the plate. More generally, Jerry Manuel has mentioned that Jose is not back to his normal self yet. The intention with putting him No. 3, though, was for him not to change how he approaches the game -- that he should steal just as if he were the leadoff hitter.
Who deserves more credit for the starters and relievers low ERA Dan Warthen or the 2 new catchers Barajas and Blanco?
That's difficult, since it's obviously both. Since Dan Warthen has been dumped on so much, I'd choose him. He had Pelfrey start throwing the split-finger fastball, and Jon Niese presumably throwing the cutter. Those are two weapons that have made those guys complete pitchers. That said, you can't diminish what the catchers have meant as opposed to having inexperienced signal callers like Josh Thole and Omir Santos. The Pelfrey-Blanco effect particularly.
Your best guess - Will the Mets rotation look different in August than it does today (and not just due to injury)?
I think the Mets have the means to go out and get a starting pitcher. I'm not sure that they will. Let's see how Maine and Perez do the next few starts. And, at the risk of sounding pessimistic, I really don't know how involved the Mets are actually going to be in the playoff race come the summer -- although clearly there are no dominant teams, particularly in the wild-card race.
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