Madden: No Santana, no problem, as Minnesota tops American League Central

Hey Bill...your crispy Oreste & His Queensland Orchestra 78 is skipping again.

This is probably not going to be much consolation for Hank Steinbrenner, but if he hasn’t noticed, the Minnesota Twins without Johan Santana presently have a better record than the Yankees without Johan Santana. So what exactly are we to make of this?

Well, for one thing, it is far too early - five years too early, if you ask the Twins - to start assessing the Santana trade to the Mets, although Son-of-Boss Hank has been more than willing to assess the non-trade of Santana to the Yankees. The immediate residue of that is Phil Hughes on the disabled list at least until July and Melky Cabrera gradually continuing to emerge as a better-than-average everyday center fielder.

Even if the latter development proves to be a stroke of fortune for the Yankees, should they fail to make the playoffs, one suspects we’ll be hearing how they could have gotten along just as well with Brett Gardner in center field while going all the way to the World Series with a rotation of Santana, Andy Pettitte, Mike Mussina and Joba Chamberlain.

Graziano: Mets have very little fire … and the manager is to blame

Or as a totally phenorbitalized Abbie Hoffman almost said..."Free speech means the right to shout ‘theatrical’ in a crowded fire.”

A person familiar with the Mets’ thinking, who requested anonymity because he was relaying details of private conversations, said Mets management is planning a reevaluation at the end of this month.

The offseason acquisitions of Johan Santana, Ryan Church and Brian Schneider improved the roster, and if the team hasn’t found a way to assert itself in the division by June, the Wilpons will look seriously at whether a change is necessary in the manager’s office.

Now, this same person said that, unless the Mets fall completely out of the race, Randolph is likely to last through this season. GM Omar Minaya likely will stick up for him, and there’s no clear-cut candidate, inside the organization or out, waiting to take Randolph’s place midseason.

...Where Randolph comes up short is in his failure to recognize what kind of team he has and manage accordingly. Randolph is a decent man who cares deeply about his team and his job and believes strongly in himself. But he’s also stubborn, and that’s what has him in trouble.

SNY: Salfino: The future of the Mets

Desperately trying to make people forget the Lance Loud Mouths (the horrific Mumps-flavored SNY houseband)...the latest from Salfino.

As for the much heralded Fernando Martinez, Eddy says, “the best news is that he hasn’t gotten hurt again—yet.” But that was hours before he smacked two homers last night, bringing his season total to three.

“Double-A lefties are chewing him up,” says Eddy. “There’s been something like 20 guys since 1992 who have played a full season in Double-A at age 19. The glass isn’t half full with him, it’s very full. He needs to put that batting practice power into play during games. We stand by our projection of him as a lefty Carlos Lee—a guy with plus power and batting average but not a lot of defensive value.”

The Mets best pitching prospect is Binghamton’s Jonathan Niese, a lefty who “touches 94 and has a nice curve,” says Eddy. Niese was leading the league in ERA before tailing off his last two starts.

“The Mets have him on the fast track.”

Mets’ (Ryan) Church has been a revelation

New York Mets fans never embraced Lastings Milledge, but many on the blogs and radio call-in shows made him out to be another Roberto Clemente after he was dealt for Church and catcher Brian Schneider over the winter.

They said that Milledge had five-tool potential and Church was just an above-average player.

Well, that above-average player has easily been the New York Mets’ most valuable player so far.

“He’s been great for us,’’ David Wright said. “I always thought he was a good player, but you don’t realize how good he really is until you see him play every day.’’

Could the Milledge deal be another one BTFers hated that Minaya actually got the better off?

Here are some relevant stats so far:

.328/.394/.541, .382 BABIP (30.9 LD%) .902 ZR as a RF for Church.

.256/.321/.352, .310 BABIP (24.2 LD%), .812 ZR as a CF for Lastings.

Too early to judge but this deal is hardly looking like Kazmir deal, part 2.

The Baseball Analysts: Lederer: To THE Stadium and Back

Travel along with Rich Lederer and his son on their whirlwind tour of NY ballparks...until they run into their very own “The Incident” moment!

In the meantime, Joe and I did some Cliff Hangin’ last night on our way to the game. We caught the 4 Train from Grand Central (or the Iron Horse as Alex Belth told me insiders call it) to Yankee Stadium. After getting a bite to eat in the food concourse, we hopped onto the subway at about 3:45 p.m. (Eastern Time). Our car was crowded so we found ourselves standing in the middle, holding onto the rails for safety. After we got situated, Joe whispers to me, “I’m 95% certain that’s Cliff Lee standing next to you” (notice the arm of my brown jacket in the foreground). I look up and, sure enough, it looks just like the Cleveland lefthander. I turned back to Joe and remarked, “I think you’re right.” He then says, “I’m 99.9% certain.” While I’m not into star gazing per se, you have to admit that it’s an incredible coincidence that a player from the opposing team – much less the starting pitcher THAT night – would be riding the subway to the park *and* at the same time as Joe and me *and* standing next to us for the entire trip.

In any event, while making eye contact with Lee, I make a pitching motion with my left hand as if I were throwing a breaking ball. He gives me a quizzical look so I mouth “Cliff?” He nods his head. Conscientious that I’m wearing a NY hat for the first time in my life, I point to it and tell him that I’m from Long Beach, California and not really a Yankees fan. Lee smiled and shook his head. I explained that Joe and I were on a father-son baseball trip and had already been to Fenway Park the previous weekend and were going to our first Yankees game that night, and to Shea Stadium on Friday night.

TRICKS OF THE TRADE (Steve Phillips on the Reds)

4. CALL HANK

Have owner Bob Castellini ring Hank Steinbrenner and tell him you’ve got a way to move Joba Chamberlain into the Yankees’ rotation. Offer Jared Burton, who’s whiffing hitters in bunches, and Jeremy Affeldt for Phil Hughes. Sell Burton as Chamberlain’s eighth-inning replacement and Affeldt as the situational lefty the Yanks lack. Throw in Arroyo if they want. Make it an owners deal. Castellini and Hank will love it; GM Brian Cashman will hate it. The bottom line is that Aaron Harang, Johnny Cueto, Edinson Vólquez and Hughes would give Cincy four very different looks.

I interviewed with Phillips during the last year of his Mets tenure. He’d never heard of Baseball Prospectus. I wonder if that’s still true.

Baseball Crank: McLaughlin: Making An Entrance

“Johan Santana’s Start in Perspective‏”...or holy crap Mickey Lolich got jobbed!

Yesterday’s start by Johan Santana reversed his usual pattern; whereas he has thus far, except for his beating at the hands of the Brewers, basically had stretches of dominance interrupted only by too-frequent home runs, yesterday he was laboring with a lot of men on base but muddled through to allow just a single run and leave with a lead the bullpen then gave away.

Now that we are 7 starts in to the Johan Santana Era, I thought it would be interesting to look back at the first 7 appearances by prior mid-career arrivals to the Mets rotation. I tried to limit this list to guys who were slotted comfortably into the rotation, and left off guys who were not yet established starters (other than Rick Reed), guys who were obvious reclamation projects (Pete Harnisch, Randy Jones, Don Cardwell, Ray Burris), guys who started off in the pen (George Stone posted an 0.60 ERA in 7 relief appearances in 1973 to force his way into the rotation), guys who went down for the year with injuries before making it through 7 starts (Vic Zambrano), guys who came straight from Japan (Masato Yoshii) and guys who started with the team in its expansion years. Here, in ascending order of ERA, you can see the great, the hideous, and everything in between (Seaver is listed here for his 1983 encore). One or two of these guys made a few relief appearances in here, but they all started at least 5 of the 7 games.

N.Y. Observer: Megdal: The Mets Will Miss Oliver Perez When He’s Gone

...Which Is Usually Around The Fifth Inning.

The most inexplicable part of the public flaying of Perez by Randolph and Wagner is the Mets need Perez, both this season and beyond. This year, a Perez who merely repeats his 2007 would give New York a third starter far better than those possessed by division rivals Atlanta or Philadelphia, along with nearly every team in the National League.

And with Perez set to hit the free agent market, plenty of pitching-starved teams will recognize that not only does he have the potential to be far better than his career so far—don’t forget, he is only in Year Two of a completely reconstructed pitching motion—but that 2007, which might well be his floor, already placed him among the league’s better pitchers.

For an organization bereft of major-league-ready alternatives, the loss would be staggering.

N.Y. Sun: Marchman: Randolph’s Style Doesn’t Fit the Mets

Boots Randolph...A whole new ballgame.

Randolph is one of nine men to manage three full seasons in the National League between 2005 and 2007. The other eight — Bruce Bochy, Bobby Cox, Clint Hurdle, Tony La Russa, Charlie Manuel, Bob Melvin, Jim Tracy, and Ned Yost — are his direct peers, established managers who have been running teams in the same league at the same time. A review of what he’s done during that time, and a comparison to what they’ve done, shows the holes in his approach.

...Over the three years under review, Randolph ranked dead last in the use of pinch hitters and pinch runners. The other managers averaged 273 pinch hitters and 28 pinch runners per year, Randolph 246 and 13. He was also third from last in defensive substitutions, though not far off the average, with 34 per year. This, combined with his preference for a set lineup, paints a picture of a manager whose style is just badly suited to run this roster.

Think about the lineups Randolph has had since 2005. They’ve been built around great young players who take the field more or less every day, such as Jose Reyes, David Wright, and Carlos Beltran, and older, injury-prone players who can’t field and often have platoon issues, such as Carlos Delgado, Moises Alou, Mike Piazza, and Luis Castillo. These teams have also featured useful, often athletic reserves such as Lastings Milledge, Endy Chavez, Ramon Castro, and Ruben Gotay. Given this, the Mets should logically rank near the top of the league in pinch hitting, pinch running, and defensive substitutions, as the manager shuffles caddies onto the field and into the lineup to take advantage of his speed and depth, especially in critical game situations, and keep the more brittle regulars fresh. Instead, they’re right at the bottom in these areas.

You can’t script baseball: In defense of Willie Randolph

This ain’t March, man...but it’s still only April!

The murmurs from fans and sportswriters alike have become more and more pervasive with every passing game and one thing has become clear: there is at the very least a loud minority that will never accept Willie regardless of what the team does.

3) Willie is improving. You may not want to acknowledge it, but Willie is managing very differently than he did in 2007. He is constantly shuffling the lineup to see what works, double switching, has tried two (albeit unsuccessful) suicide squeezes. He has even started to manage the bullpen better, despite the fact that no manager can successfully manage a bullpen that has to pitch 4+ innings every single day. Willie’s biggest flaw, in my opinion, is his stubbornness, and I think he has been working on that so far this season.

4) Not everything is Willie’s fault. I know that one is hard to believe, but it’s true. A manager is a terrific scapegoat, because it’s hard to pin a loss on one player. But think about how crazy it is - would Bobby Cox have motivated the Mets to come back on Wednesday? Would Joe Girardi have willed Heilman not to give up grand slams? Would Jim Leyland get Delgado out of his slump? Please. The reality is that fans are frustrated, which is understandable, and just want to see some accountability. I think most fans who want him fired think firing Willie would show that the organization cares about winning. Well, that’s not really true...firing Willie after an over .500 April would be a knee-jerk reaction that would likely throw the entire team off course in the short term and wouldn’t necessarily improve the team in the long term.

Newsday: Mets feel right at home with 7-2 win over D’backs

[Billy] Wagner’s teammates earned a reprieve from their critical closer Friday by doing what they do best, which is pound the Diamondbacks in their own retractable-roof backyard.

Ryan Church homered, doubled and drove in three runs in his return to the No. 2 spot, David Wright also went deep and Jose Reyes finished a home run short of the cycle as the Mets beat Arizona, 7-2, for their 14th win in 15 games at Chase Field.
...
When approached Friday, Wagner grinned at the group of reporters. Asked if he regretted the comments [about Oliver Perez], Wagner flatly responded “No” and then seemed eager to move beyond them.

“I’ve done all the talking about that because, well, everything’s been said,” Wagner added. “It’s been taken care of.”

Mets Geek: Interview: Howard Megdal

Ahh, Megdal...his name always reminds of the time I drinkingly told Meg Griffin she was a doll (which, needless to say...did not go over too well).

Your thoughts on Mets fans’ rude treatment of Phillies fans visting Shea?

When I was nine years old, I attended one of many Phillies-Mets games at Veterans Stadium. I was decked out accordingly—Mets shirt, Mets shorts, Mets socks—pretty sure that was the year of Mets shoelaces, too. And as I went to get a hot dog, a Phillies fan in his 20s or 30s shoved me and yelled, “Mets suck!” I looked up at him and said, “I’m nine years old.” The guy didn’t apologize, just kind of shuffled away. How lovely to bring that energy into Shea Stadium.

I don’t think it is a coincidence that Shea is a more violent place when the Phillies come to town than it was during any Mets-Yankees battle. And it makes what, for me, was a rivalry I had long hoped to ripen into something that transforms Shea into an unpleasant place. I am hopeful that energy disappears—the Collapse has seemingly made it the standard MO, even when the Phils aren’t in town.

On Saturday, somebody heckled Cow-Bellman, the symbol of all that is right with Mets fans. He had this look like the Native American in the littering commercial. I’ve had the privilege of interviewing him, meeting his friends—I wanted to go give him a hug.

Mets Sign Ken Phelps All-Star Val Pascucci

Just how or when the Mets will choose to address the Carlos Delgado problem is uncertain at this point, but that hasn’t stopped the club from adding another first baseman/outfielder to the roster at Triple-A New Orleans. Valentino Pascucci, released from the Phillies this week, has joined the Zephyrs after batting .232 with one home run and seven RBIs in 25 games for Lehigh Valley.

The righthanded-hitting Pascucci, 29, showed some power last season, when he led the Pacific Coast League with 34 home runs. He also finished fifth in on-base percentage (.389), fifth in slugging (.577) and fifth in extra-base hits (62). The Zephyrs’ current first baseman, Michel Abreu, also 29, is batting .272 (28-for-103) with two homers and 10 RBIs in 26 games.

N.Y. Sun: Marchman: It’s Time To Fire Willie Randolph

And howe!

It’s time for the Mets to fire Willie Randolph. They should fire him if his team sweeps the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. They should fire him if his team wins all three games by a total score of 27-0. They should fire him if his team puts on such a display this weekend that the greater Phoenix area literally burns to the ground around them, lit by nothing but the intensity of their passion and brilliance. The man’s time is up, and nothing can change that.

...That they haven’t expressed that talent in its fullness is in the end the fault of the players, not the jeering Queens fans, drive time hosts, bloggers, or even the manager. The manager, though, is the one whose sole job is to ensure that the team that physically takes the field is as good as the team that’s on the lineup card. In this, Randolph has failed in concrete ways, and shows no prospect of or capacity for improvement. Every day the Wilpon family and Omar Minaya keep him in his job is a day they do a bit more to show themselves as unfit for their jobs as Randolph has proved for his.

Billy Wagner rips Perez for taxing bullpen

So, Oliver Perez, you’re coming with me.

Are you sure Mr. Wagner won’t mind?

Mind?!

Consider yourself at home.

Oliver Perez lasted only 1 2/3 innings and gave up seven runs (five of them unearned) on two hits and five walks in his worst start of the year. No surprise, of course, he was booed off the field by the fans, whose jeers on this day could not be interpreted as overly harsh.

Nor could the criticism of teammate Billy Wagner, who ripped Perez’s lack of determination in what would go on to become a 13-1 embarrassment at the hands of the lowly Pirates.

“Perez honestly has got to step up and know that we’ve just used every guy in the bullpen the night before,” Wagner said. “He can’t come in and come out there and decide that he doesn’t have it today, and so be it.”

Asked about Wagner’s critique, Perez said he had no problem with the analysis.

“No, no,” he said. “I have no problem with that. I’ve got to do my job.”

Flushing University: Flynn: Not Enough On The Farm

Judged, gave them no life this morning down on parched Met farm.

The farm system was bereft of young impact players that could spell injured or ineffective veterans, that much was true. But Omar Minaya presides over the richest club in the National League and had the resources to paper over those mistakes. His mission was clear – sign a bunch of veterans looking to hook on with the big club to minor-league deals, tempting them with the promise of extended playing time if and when the Mets were forced to make injury replacements.

Take one look at the roster of the AAA New Orleans Zephyrs, and it’s clear to see that Minaya failed to complete the task.

...There are other examples to choose from. Would Kenny Lofton be amenable to a minor-league deal? Jeff Cirillo? Rodrigo Lopez? None of these players would be blocking a prospect at New Orleans and each of them have a better chance of catching lightning in a bottle than the current cast of characters do. Pennants can be won and lost based on the fortunes of one player’s slump, one player’s injury – sometimes even just one game. Veteran teams like the Mets are even more susceptible to such misfortune.

So why isn’t Omar Minaya doing more to protect the Mets from falling victim to ill fates?

N.Y. Post: Kernan: METS: VICTORY HIDES BIGGER PROBLEMS (RR)

The Mets always seem ready to be beaten, not a team that is ready to win.

The moment of defeat may come swiftly as it did on Yadier Molina’s home run in the 2006 NLCS or it may take the agonizing path of last year’s Great Collapse, but somehow, the way the Mets approach the game leaves them vulnerable for that fatal blow.

Until they correct that flaw, they are doomed for ultimate failure.

“We had the opportunity to tack on earlier in the game and a lot of that is my fault,” said Wright, who is never afraid to take the heat. “We didn’t do that, but this is definitely one of those games that is good for later in the season because when the race starts tightening up, you can look back and say, ‘Hey we win these close games, we’re used to winning these close games.’ It gives you more confidence.”

That is a most valuable lesson because this is a team that has not learned to rise to the occasion. The Mets had their new ace on the mound, Johan Santana, but the Pirates battled him and he could not make it through the sixth inning. Santana is a winner, but he has a challenge ahead of him, teaching the Mets how to win.

Uh-oh...severe laughter-induced rectus abdominus muscelspasms coming on!

N.Y. Observer: Megdal: These Braves Look Like a Spent Force

Are the Braves heading back to bad times?...The Megdal Theissis looks into it.

The Plan Bs in the rotation: rookie Jair Juurjens, career minor leaguer Jeff Bennett, and the uninspiring Chuck James and Jo-Jo Reyes, don’t remind anyone of the younger Smoltz-Glavine-Maddux-Avery foursome that paced Atlanta during the team’s glory years.

The bullpen is in even worse shape. The closer, Rafael Soriano, who has a history of elbow troubles, is on the disabled list. The setup man, Peter Moylan, is expected to be out for the season due to a bone spur pressing against his elbow.

Left behind are pitchers like Manny Acosta, who has struggled to throw strikes at every level, converted minor league starter Jorge Campillo, lefty mediocrities Royce Ring and Will Ohman, and Chris Resop, who owns a career major league ERA of 6.18, due largely to control problems. Only Blaine Boyer shows much promise—and Boyer, coming off of an injury himself, isn’t nearly enough.

...Either way, though, the Atlanta teams that won 14 straight division titles did so on the strength of their arms. This year, the Mets’ old tormentors are a shadow of their former selves.

Bondy: All wrong bringing David Wright into Carlos Delgado’s mess of nonsense

Even after being shatzcanned...The McGurk Effect lingers on at WFAN.

But then Chris Russo decided on WFAN Monday that Wright had been telling Delgado to defy the fans’ appeals on Sunday for a curtain call, following a second solo homer. Russo said you can tell, if you watched Wright’s lips carefully, that the third baseman was urging Delgado to ignore the applause.

“I guess there are some great lip readers,” Wright said, after refusing to appear on “Mike and the Mad Dog” to explain his alleged stage directions. “It’s not my place to suggest to him whether or not to accept a curtain call. It’s upsetting to me. I’ve been kind of drawn into this.”

For the record - and it should be noted we are not talking about steroid dealers or affairs with underaged girls here - Wright says that he went over to Delgado on Sunday only to congratulate him about the homers and talk pitch selection. Wright says that he respects Delgado’s decision to ignore the fans, but that under the same circumstances he would probably take those four long steps up to the railing, doff the cap and give the buggers their due.

“Different players have different ideas,” Wright said. “More than likely, I’d give ‘em a curtain call.”

Baseball Crank: McLaughlin: Up There Hacking

“Johan Santana: Slugger - And The Poor Hitting of Lefty Power Pitchers‏”

One of the interesting revelations about watching Johan Santana this season has been watching him hit. Pitchers, even ones who can swing the bat, usually have swings that are not that pretty to watch - they try to meet the ball, or take a butcher-boy approach to whacking it into the ground - but Santana’s swing is relatively compact but with a sharp uppercut, a Mo Vaughn/David Oritz kind of swing, not at all what you expect from a pitcher who spent his whole career in the AL and isn’t built like a burly first baseman.

And Santana’s had decent results - he’s batting .231/.286/.462 with 3 doubles in 13 at bats entering tonight’s action, .250/.283/.386 in 46 career plate appearances, for a career OPS+ of 75, almost the level of a weak-hitting everyday catcher or shortstop.

The other reason this surprised me is that lefthanded power pitchers, in particular, have a fairly grisly track record at the plate. Some examples - bear in mind that you really need to work hard to get an OPS+ below zero; with 100 being the league average hitter, an OPS+ in the 20s is plenty bad (although by 2007, with pitchers falling further and further behind the average hitter, the NL OPS+ for pitchers was -3; in 1956 the Major League average for pitchers was 23) - I’m aware that not all these guys are known as power pitchers, but all of them were when they entered the league:

N.Y. Daily News: Curtain call Q&A with Carlos Delgado

Q. What did you think of the uproar about your decision to snub the curtain-call?

A: Number One, I don’t listen to the radio shows. Number Two, I don’t know why you call it a decision. It’s not a decision. Yesterday we talked about the situation and I thought that there are moments, and then there are moments. I don’t think that was the moment (for a curtain call). I also said (Sunday) that we appreciate the fans, and the support of the fans, but we’re here to play a game. And we’re usually playing a team on the other side of the dugout. And that’s what we are trying to pay attention to. At the end of the day, the big story is that we took two out of three to Atlanta and that’s about it.

Q: Were you sending a message to fans?

A: No, it had nothing to do with that. I hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh. We’re winning by two, all I did was just add another run. Like I said, there are moments, and there are moments. I didn’t think that was the right moment. It wasn’t like a walk-off home run, it wasn’t a tiebreaking home run. We’re in April, which is good. It’s good because we won, and it’s good because we took two out of three from their best two pitchers. And that’s the way it should be.

Q: Have you turned them down before?

A: When you have 434 home runs, there’s a couple of times they clap. I have a great deal of respect for the game and for the opposition. You don’t want to get into doing something you’re supposed to be doing, and waiting on the top step waiting for someone to give you a curtain call.

Are you listening Cap’t Intangibles?

Mets-fans relationship on the rocks despite win

There’s a lot of work to do here. The Mets and their fans are going to spend this season in couples counseling, and both sides are going to have to do their part. The team can help by grinding out workmanlike wins like the ones they got the past two days—against the Braves, with clutch hits, solid defense and good late-inning relief work. The fans could help by occasionally letting the team know, with the odd “Let’s Go Mets” chant or even an unrequited demand for a curtain call, that they still do want to see them do well.

In order for it to work, both sides have to want it to work. And days like yesterday can help.

“I appreciate that the fans offered, and that they understand that he’s going out there fighting,” David Wright said of the Delgado curtain-call situation. “But this is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately town. He hit a couple of home runs, and he’s back in their good graces.”

CStB: Raissman : Wilpon TV Is Leaning On MetsBlog

Jeesh, for a station that shows “Scream Benigno Scream” at least three times a day...you’d think they wouldn’t care about this stuff.

Prior to the start of the season, Matthew Cerrone joined forces with the Mets and SportsNet New York in a deal to have MetsBlog.com appear on SNY’s Web site. This was followed by a lot of yap-flapping out of Metsville (and MetsBlog) about MetsBlog being able to continue doing its thing.

On Thursday, MetsBlog posted a YouTube video of Joe Smith going mouth-to-mouth (”You ain’t s— … I’m in the big leagues you idiot”) with Cubs fans. Spies say when a Mets official was made aware of the video’s presence, he had it immediately pulled off MetsBlog.

For MetsBlog, and its fans, that’s called livin’ in a corporate world.

If SNY is hellbent ridding itself of any questionable associations, where’s the censors for Chris Cotter’s haircut?

Newsday: Minaya says Alou may have fractured ankle

Minaya, the Mets general manager, announced yesterday that Alou, the team’s oft-injured 41-year-old leftfielder, might have a fracture in his left ankle.

Alou, who is already recovering from hernia surgery, was scratched from the lineup for Single-A St. Lucie on Friday because of swelling and pain in the ankle. He didn’t play Saturday, either.

Minaya said a CAT scan taken Friday showed “there might be potentially a slight fracture in there.” Alou is scheduled to come to New York today for a possible MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

“The CAT scan shows something,” Minaya said. “What that something is, they want to be able see here in New York.”

Viewing hours will be at 3:30 and 7:30.

N.Y. Daily News: Davey Johnson tells of Mets days, steroids and Olympic dreams

Clearing up some issues with Davey Johnson…

DN: Doc Gooden was a good pitcher after that 1985 season, but never the same pitcher.

DJ: Never the same. I blame it on the drugs, and I also blame it on the delivery change they had him make. I don’t even know where the orders came from, but they didn’t come from me or Mel Stottlemyre. They wanted him to shorten his delivery, lower that big high leg kick and not turn as much. Sure, he could be run on, but they could run on (Greg) Maddux, too; did they change his delivery? To this day I regret even going along with it.

...DN: You had Brady Anderson in Baltimore the year he went from hitting 16 home runs to 50. You didn’t have suspicions?

DJ: I don’t know what Brady was before, because I wasn’t there. I do know that I saw him working out, before and after games, and this guy was nuts. Brady would ride a bike to the ballpark from 10 miles away. I had no idea. I still don’t know. I mean, obviously everybody thinks he’s taking steroids, but I don’t know. If you told me Raffy Palmeiro was even working out, I would’ve said you are crazy. He had that Brooks Robinson body, kind of soft, a sweet stroke and a good talent. But I never would’ve guessed he was juicing.

When I was managing the Dodgers, we picked up Jim Leyritz and he was making this concoction in the clubhouse kitchen. I said, “What are you doing?” He said, “I’m making a little something to pep the club up.” He had all these powders and cans and stuff. He gave me a shot of it. My heart started jumping out of my damn chest, and I didn’t have but a thimbleful. I was taking medicine for arrhythmia. I asked him what it was, he said mostly Red Bull with some other kickers in there.

AP: Schneider hospitalized in New York with infected thumb

Mets catcher Brian Schneider remained hospitalized Friday with an infected left thumb and is likely to miss the weekend series against the Atlanta Braves.

Manager Willie Randolph termed it a staph infection, although team spokesman Jay Horwitz said the team was calling it an infection without specifying. Schneider was hospitalized Thursday and was being given antibiotics intravenously, and Randolph said Friday that doctors were trying to reduce swelling.

“I don’t know what to anticipate on this,” Randolph said. “This is something very new.”

SNY: Should someone stick a fork in Delgado?

Oh, needa sharp one? Ted Berg and Michael Salfino supply the utensils.

Salfino...Dan Johnson isn’t any kind of solution. A righty would make more sense so you could hedge your bets a little with Delgado. Chris Shelton is in the Rangers system and hitting .330 in Oklahoma. The Rangers also have righty outfielder Nelson Cruz destroying Triple-A pitching again (17 walks, 10 K’s, six homers). Both of those guys could have been had for nothing this spring. Don’t even talk to me about Jeff Keppinger, whom the Mets just gave away. All he does is hit everywhere he plays. Picking up guys like this for nothing is what defines the modern successful general manager. Omar Minaya did this with John Maine and Oliver Perez, but those moves are getting old.

I don’t believe in Angel Pagan, but he’s doing a good Chavez impersonation. I tried to hit a homer with my “Anti-Conventional, Delgado Will Bounce Back” prediction this winter. Instead, it looks like I grounded weakly to the pitcher. But it is still too early?

Here are some other guys who have worse power currently than Delgado (as measured by percentage of fly balls that become homers): Brad Hawpe, Lastings Milledge (maybe we were wrong about that trade), Luke Scott, Robinson Cano, Jose Guillen, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Billy Butler, Hunter Pence, Ian Kinsler, Troy Glaus and Derek Jeter.

Flushing University: Flynn: The Case For Ollie

Should Ollie Perez pile up the pitch counts until his arm runs aground on Atoll K?.....Jack Flynn seems to think so.

Throw Oliver Perez out there as often as possible and see what he can do.

Pitch him every fifth day, regardless of whose turn it is in the rotation. Mike Pelfrey or Nelson Figueroa have to get skipped once in a while? No problem. A Perez start should take precedence over everyone else in the rotation except for Johan Santana, a true top-of-the-rotation ace who takes a back seat to no one.

Pitch him deep into games, even if his pitch count goes above 100 sometimes. Oh, I know, anytime a player starts racking up the Picher Abuse Points it’s a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, right? His labrum will tear, his rotator cuff will fray and his elbow ligaments will snap all at once, all because he was asked to throw an extra 15 pitches in game situations.

I’ll take my chances, thank you very much. The pitch-count ceilings used today are arbitrary at best and completely misguided at worst. I believe that every pitcher has his own limit, based on any number of factors, and it’s up to the Mets to find what Ollie’s true pitch-count limit is. Once they find it, only ineffectiveness on any given day should keep him from reaching that ceiling.

N.Y. Sun: Marchman: Despite Shortfalls, Delgado Is All Mets Have

Get your frei HOF’er toast, here!

So, have some sympathy for Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado. He once was a great player, and now he isn’t. Every year for a full decade, the man hit at least 30 home runs, often more, and sometimes quite a lot more; last year he hit 24, and this year he’s on pace for eight. When he came to the Mets three years ago, he looked to have a decent chance at the Hall of Fame. Now, he looks to have only sketchy chances of holding a job next year. He’s been dropped a spot in the order, and radio host Chris Russo, in a characteristically thoughtful riff, even suggested on the air that the Mets should consider killing him. ("They could kill him, they could bench him, they can do a million things.” ) It’s hard times in New York town.

...Much of the resentment and anger that fans and even writers tend to feel toward inept or washed-up ballplayers could be cured by a bit of empathy. No matter how much money they make, athletes are just like other people, and would prefer to do well rather than badly. Barring the rare case of plain jaking, uninspired play is the result of poor or diminished skill, not the opposite. Usually, if a hitter looks lethargic and as if he doesn’t care, it’s because he’s not any good. Not being any good, though, is hardly ever a function of not caring.

Harold Reynolds joins SNY as baseball analyst

Drinks all around!

SNY, the television home of the Mets, today announced that former MLB All-Star Harold Reynolds has joined the network as a baseball analyst. Reynolds will primarily work with Lee Mazzilli and Matt Yallof on SNY’s Mets pre- and post-game shows. Reynold’s first appearance on SNY will be in-studio on Friday, April 25 at 6:30 p.m. when the Mets take on the Atlanta Braves. In addition to his new role with SNY, Harold will continue his analyst role at MLB.com.

“Harold’s studio experience, keen insight and strong relationships with current and former players will enhance our baseball coverage and add a new dimension to our shows,” said Curt Gowdy, Jr., Senior Vice President of Production and Executive Producer of SNY. “We’re excited to have him join our team, and look forward to him sharing his in-depth knowledge of the game with our viewers.”

“This is a great opportunity, and I am excited to join SNY as I’ve admired their exceptional baseball coverage in New York,” said Harold Reynolds. “I have great relationships with the Mets, SNY and MLB.com, and I’m looking forward to working with the SNY team.”