Jose Reyes has been popping up more than the Mets would like recently, so before yesterday’s game he took extra batting practice with hitting coach Dave Hudgens.

The result was a solo home run in the third inning while batting right handed.This was his first home run batting right handed all year. Reyes was also content with his long fly out to center field that reached the warning track in the seventh inning.

Reyes told the post NY Post

“From the right side I’m fine. That’s why the ball I hit lefty to center field felt very good. I made some adjustments there and hope to carry that into [tonight].”

Despite having a slow second-half start, Reyes leads the National League in hits with 142 and in batting average with .339.

Last night’s pitching debut by Zack Wheeler as a minor leauge Met didn’t go as smoothly as the young pitcher might have wanted it to. Wheeler allowed four runs on seven hits in four innings, striking out four and walking none in a rain-shortened 9-1 loss to the Dunedin Blue Jays.

Coming off a highly anticipated trade from the San Francisco Giants to New York for outfielder Carlos Beltran, some wondered if Wheeler just was experiencing jitters.

He told the NY Post after the game,

“I felt good. There really wasn’t that much pressure going into it. It hasn’t really been stressful, but I came out a little tight.”

Wheeler hit 99 mph on the radar gun three times and threw 54 out of 82 pitches for strikes.

Prior to the trade, Wheeler made an adjustment to his mechanics.

“I’m back to what I was doing in high school — a high leg kick and high hands in my windup,” he said. “Before, the Giants tried to settle me down a little bit, and I guess settle down my motion.

“But I felt like I was counting . . . I was just thinking way too much. I had too much time, and it wasn’t really flowing. I just feel more comfortable now.”

Prior to being traded, Francisco Rodriguez made it known to Terry Collins that he wanted to eliminate the $17.5 vesting option in his contract. Rodriguez, according to the NY Times, felt it was interfering with how the Mets were using him as a closer. In a non save situation a few weeks prior to the trade, K-Rod began warming up, expecting to be brought into the game, and was upset with the implication that the Mets had not used him to avoid activation the vesting option.

A deal between the Mets and Rodriguez could not be worked out, but Alderson was able to convey to other teams that Rodriguez would be willing to forgo the option, making it much easier for the Mets to trade him.

The Mets completed a deal within 48 hours. In the next few days, Rodriguez agreed to restructure his contract, taking out the vesting clause and making the option a mutual one. Rodriguez was also paid an additional $500,000.

Part of Rodriguez’s motivation for getting rid of the option was that, at 29, he can probably get more total money with a longer contract after this season.

K-Rod also switched agents in the middle of trade talks to Scott Boras.

Since the trade, K-Rod has not finished any games for the Brewers but has been the eighth inning set up man for John Axford.

Would you ever have thought that Willie Harris and Mike Pelfrey would emerge as leaders in the Mets clubhouse?

Angel Pagan‘s blood work showed nothing alarming for the center fielder after leaving Sunday’s game because of dehydration. Doctors orders are to drink plenty of water and sports drinks.

Angel was ready for the outfield on Tuesday and told this to the NY Times,

“Right now I feel good,” Pagan said before the Mets faced the Reds at Great American Ball Park. “Thank God the tests are negative. They didn’t find anything wrong with me, so I’m ready to go.”

He was held out of Tuesdays lineup for precautionary reasons by the Mets training staff and manager Terry Collins.

“He wanted to play,” Collins said. “But we’re just going to have him workout, and see how he feels after the workout, and he’ll be in there tomorrow.”

Little relief will come for today’s game in Cincinnati where temperatures are expected to approach triple digits.

Mike Pelfrey gave his opinion on the front office decision to trade Carlos Beltran yesterday.

“I understand that if you want to get something back for him you have to trade him,” Pelfrey told The NY Post before the Mets beat the Reds 4-2 last night. “But in the same sense I would think if we ended up getting rid of him, the front office’s view is that we don’t have a chance, because he gives us our best chance to win. If he’s not here, then they felt we can’t rebound from where we’re at.”

Pelfrey has been with the Mets his entire career, now playing his 6th season with the club.

“In the past we’ve kind of been close, and moves are kind of made at the deadline where guys are kind of like ‘We could have used this, we could have used that and been right there,’ ” Pelfrey said. “It hasn’t happened a couple of times, and I know it’s kind of gotten to some guys.”

Pelfrey didn’t go as far as to name what guys in particular it has “gotten to,” but his longest tenured teammates are David Wright, Jose Reyes and Beltran.

Pelfrey wishes the best for Beltran. “For his sake, I hope he goes wherever he goes and wins it all,” Pelfrey said.

Terry Collins, like any good manager, is thinking a few innings ahead, a few days ahead and a few trades ahead. The Mets manager has begun contemplating what he will say after the big Carlos Beltran trade expected this week.

According to the NY Times Collins said:

“I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to say and how I’m going to say it when the time comes, because they better understand, it’s not a white flag. They better understand they still have something to prove. This is the major leagues, and if you give in at any time, the other team will kick your butt.

One of the young players Collins will address his message to is Bobby Parnell. The future closer’s job is at stake here for Parnell and Collins would like the team to stay competitive. “There’s some guys in there fighting for jobs now,” Collins said.There are also some guys who will be free agents at the end of the year and are looking to impress.

Mets fans can only hope all players on the roster, regardless of future role or team, play hard every game and finish with a winning record.

Johan Santana, who is rehabbing from last years left shoulder surgery, says he is on schedule for a September return to the big leagues.

He told the NY Post that any projections for pitching after the All Star break or in August were best-case scenarios.

I was told by Dr. [David] Altchek this was going to take up to a year, so it’s going to take me to Sept. 14,” said Santana, who underwent surgery on that date last year to repair a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder. “If I come back sooner, that would be great. If not, we’ll be fine. [Altchek] said there might be a possibility to come back within 10 months, but that was just a possibility. That was not a fact.”

The hopes are that August will bring a minor league rehab assignment. Rumors are already circulating that he will be pitching in Brooklyn for the Cyclones starting the 6th.

Santana says he still has faith in his Mets team and, spoken like a man who has $55 million left on his 2 year contract after this season, went on to say:

“Looking toward the future, we still have a pretty good chance to put a good team out there and compete.”

And if the Mets can’t get it done in 2 years, Santana will find anther team who can.