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June 5, 2009 Mets Injuries Joe Janish

Elbows and Hamstrings

hamstring-musclesSorta sounds like a Dr. Seuss book, or a Rufus Wainwright song, no?

Elbows and hamstrings, finger strains and dislocations, groin pulls and labrum tears, and recently some stomach bugs …

I do not like them, Mets fan I am, I do not like them.

The latest news, if you haven’t heard, is that Jose Reyes will be out indefinitely with a right hamstring tear suffered during a rehab game in Florida. Strangely, this reportedly is not related to the right calf injury that originally put him in the disabled list. Not that it matters — point is, Reyes will be out a minimum of another month, probably longer.

Has it really been five years since Jose was struggling with hamstring injuries to the point that we questioned whether he’d ever be on the field long enough to make a difference? Wow, I just had a Kaz Matsui flashback.

In addition to Jose’s hamstring, J.J. Putz is experiencing pain in his right elbow when he throws his trademark split-finger fastball. You know, the pitch that makes him a dominating reliever, the kind you trade seven players for.

From the Daily News:

“It hurts like hell to yank it,” Putz said about finishing his splitter and two-seam fastball. “I’ve been trying to put it in another perspective. It would be like trying to tell Johan (Santana) to go out there and throw his changeup with two fingers, and not being able to roll his changeup. I just can’t physically do it.”

Who knows, this could be a blessing in disguise. Bobby Parnell now has the 8th inning all to himself, and may emerge as the next great setup man. Similarly, Wilson Valdez could take this opportunity to evolve into the next … hmm …. Rey Ordonez?

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. Andrew Vazzano June 5, 2009 at 10:31 am
    And Sean Green gets the seventh!

    No, seriously, he’s been good lately. His last seven outings, no runs.

  2. TheDZA June 5, 2009 at 12:57 pm
    And Pedro Feliciano can go anywhere he pleases! (cos he is nails)
  3. sincekindergarten June 5, 2009 at 3:33 pm
    I saw that about Green, Andrew. He seems to be throwing some good moving stuff. I still think that he needs to learn a four-seamer, though–if guys sit on the sinker, thinking that if it starts out below the knees, they can lay off, and it comes in straight as a rope for a medium-height strike–to really be a lock.