December 12, 2009 09-10 Offseason Joe Janish

Alex Cora Injures Back

Los Criollos, asimismo, vieron salir del terreno de juego con supuestas molestias en la espalda en el segundo episodio a su valioso ‘infielder’, Alex Cora, quien anoche comenzó en la defensa de la antesala. Fue reemplazado por Danny González.

I *think* that means Alex Cora left the ballgame in the second inning with back pain. This is not good news for the Mets’ top free agent signing of the winter. Generally, back problems don’t go away — they become more chronic and debilitating over time. Ask Joe Crede, Eric Chavez, or your old man. Though, it’s quite possible that this back issue is a minor one — or that my translation skills are inadequate.

Joe Janish

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.

isuzudude December 13, 2009 at 10:53 am

My question is, why is Alex Cora playing winter ball in the first place? With a $2M guarenteed contract to play for the Mets in 2010, why is he playing for peanuts and jeopardizing his health by playing meaningless winter ball games? Maybe he can use the rehab because of his thumb surgeries, but there’s got to be a less jeopardizing method of getting back into shape. It’s not like Cora is any major cog of the Met offense or anything, but the fact that he’s making $2M means that I at least want to make sure he’s healthy when 2010 rolls around. Otherwise, it’s another $2M down the drain.

For the 9,672nd time, why does it seem like the Mets can’t get anything right?