One of the most knowledgable baseball bloggers whom focuses on the Mets in Mets Today’s Joe Janish. His daily notes are probably read by some of the beat writers. Here’s his take on Oliver Perez’ start yesterday:

Perez took another step backward. Although he allowed “only” three runs and struck out 7 in five frames, he also walked 5 and allowed 6 hits (including one homerun). On several occasions Ollie “improvised” on the mound, playing cowboy and dropping down laredo style for reasons unknown. At least a dozen of his 112 pitches were a good six feet out of the strike zone, and had Brian Schneider scrambling. It was a minor miracle that he threw only one wild pitch and allowed only three runs (and I’m still trying to figure out how he didn’t hit at least two batters). There were several spots where a more disciplined team would have mounted a 3- or 4-run rally.

I long ago stopped wishing Ollie would find his inner Sid Fernandez, who was so much more cocnsistent than Perez could ever hope to be.

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I open myself up to calls of hypocrisy as I’ve chosen to make some observations about the progress of Jose Reyes. Any criticism of me is fair as just two days ago I ripped Will Carroll for doing the same when he made some well thought comments about Carlos Beltran’s injury. Looking back, I feel that I was wrong to do so. Carroll has made it his business the last several years in researching injury trends in baseball. I’ll call this my Omar Minaya moment.

Now on to Reyes, but first an admission. I have no inside knowledge and have spoken with no person in the know. I will be making my comments based on published feedback and a simple time table.

Reyes was disabled on May 21, so by a realistic estimate Reyes has been out 8 weeks. For a hamstring injury of significance – like Reyes’ – this is not out of the ordinary. Keith Hernandez missed the same in 1988 for the same injury. After the first game back, he said he was sore. We naturally gave him the next day off.

Rehabilitaion and reconditioning techniques today are more eloborate today while having a better pool of knowledge. I’m sure Reyes’ hamstring has been MRI’d which gives the medical staff a visual of the area we would not have had available years ago. Importantly after 20 years of looking at these, we are far better at reading them. Essentially, they’ve got very good “looks” at it.

But a “look” is far different than what the patient tells you. Reyes tells the staff that he experiences tightness and that the tightness usually occurs after a few days of rehab. As running the bases for Reyes is the most important thing – different than it was for Hernandez – naturally he’s hesitant. So is the staff, as an aggravation now might doom his season.

Still, I’m confident that staff has already put through some tests which involved extreme “eccentric loading”. This is a lengthening of the muscle after shortening. In Reyes’ case its likely to have been a variety of jumping and landing drills. If the staff is attempting to get him to run the bases, Reyes has probably passed these eccentric loading tests.

To sum it up, he’s close. The next step will be for Reyes to run the bases successfully. His starts – both out of the box and on tha bases are the benchmarks that Reyes himself is gauging.

If I were involved with Reyes’ rehab, I would tell him what I would expect to see. And that is, he will find that he is able to do what he wants on the bases, albeit not at the level he desires right now. It may feel a little tight at times, but that’s to be expected as your muscles aren’t at the 110 % you want them to be. The tightness means you are working the area that needs to be worked. You will be sore tomorrow. And it will be something we expected.

I’m certain that the Mets’ staff is operating similarly.

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He probably could have, but being the pure baseball man that he is, Minaya served the club well by not forcing something to get a useful big league player in. Like it or not, the Mets realize that they will not be in the playoffs this season and kept thier chips.

My whole problem with Omar and the Wilpons is that they did not know just how cancerous Tony Bernazard was. Sadly the only way that the Wilpons can demonstrate it is to let Minaya go at the end of the year. As both Omar and Jeff Wilpon served as Bernazard’s enabler, the club’s future direction is in doubt as long as Minaya remains and Jeff Wilpon doesn’t further answer for Bernazard.

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This nonsense about Rodriguez tipping pitches while with the Rangers is more than folks in baseball are going to be able to handle. Where does she get this crap? Robert’s book is filled with “might haves” and “maybes”. No wonder Rodriguez filed a complaint against her. Roberts has a serious credibility problem as she continued to go after Duke lacrosse players after the story came out.

I hope that ESPN pulls the plug on Roberts’ appearances as her continued over-the-top “reporting”, well, “might be” slanderous.

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I’m afraid so. Recent roster moves with pitchers are fanatasy baseball like- Darren O’Day, Nelson Figueroa and now Casey Fossum. The Mets are treating pitchers like disposable free moves in your Yahoo league. After today’s performance by Oliver Perez, they should have demoted him to the bullpen and named Fossum to start in his place. Intead they put Fossum on the scrap heap for the waiver vultures to feed upon.

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I did not see Sean Geen get the final out in the sixth, but I saw the 7th. Very, very impressive. Green throws whats known as “half a baseball,” meaning hitters only see the top half of the ball. He’ll be really special and the scouts whom recommended him for the NL did a great job. Players from the 80′s called him nasty…today, well, filthy.

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Finally, Omar Minaya got a bat. Criticized in many circles for not improving the line-up in the off-season, Minaya found the right fit. And the fit could work out to be a pefect one. Certainly here to hit against lefthanders and provide insurance for Ryan Church and Daniel Murphy, Sheffield indeed fell into the Mets lap. Nonetheless, the Mets made the smart play and acted quickly by letting Sheffield know early they were interested in finally making him a Met. Look for Sheffield to be rejuvinated by being back in the NL and playing again in New York.

Somewhere Doc Gooden’s smiling.

UPDATE: More from Baseball Crank , Matt Cerrone , Greg Prince

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Bart Hubbuch has a thoughtful piece to day on concerns about the manner in which the unusually high number of Mets have been utilized in the WBC. The stats that Hubburt supplies are telling:

Hubbuch is on to something and I can feel the “I really don’t like the way my guys are being used.”

Will the club be less willing next time? Yes. Especially with Mexico and Venezuela I think. But the Mets have alot of Latin players on their roster now and the nationalistic identity of baseball is stronger there than it is in the US. It will be hard to tell Johan Santana no in three years and the political considerations are potentialy messy with the strained relationship between the US and Venezuela.

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No he doesn’t Bob Raissman. And where is it written that he does.

By your own words alone you point out that Hernandez’ testimony in the trial of Curtis Strong in 1985 was telling in their own merit. They are then and still remain that way today 24 years later. Why would you feel the need to bring it up now?

Your point that Hernandez is outspoken in his broadcasts and is often pointed in criticism. True. But these things are about baseball and it’s issues. These things are part of a public forum of ideas of which Hernandez is held accountable for – but in the public forum of which they originate.

Hernandez shared the facts of his drug use with those whom he felt needed to know. He never sought to benefit in some way from revealing details. He chose to keep the matter private as is his right.

Like people everywhere, there’s life’s stories that have long since past. Keith Hernandez’ playing days are now almost two decades in the rear view mirror. His tesitimony at the trial of a drug dealer in 1985 was long since answered for and discussed in the media. He is well into a new part of his life with a new wife – a 9/11 widow – and a daughter that he has adopted.

I hope you put this grotesque imfatuation with another man’s past behind you as well.

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Apparently this is underway. There’s indications that it will revolve around Ramirez’ refusals to play. This is not new tactic by an unhappy ypawberrlayer. Think Gary Sheffield and Darryl Strawberry.

So what does Selig propose to do about it? Are MLB to start punishing players who conduct themselves this way when they are under garunteed contracts. We’ll see.

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