Its a long season.

The injuries to JJ Putz and Jose Reyes are concerning and they will take time to heal, but both will get better.

A bone spus is an irritant, and as long as nothing else is damaged, Putz will be fine. It does sound as if he should have had it cleaned out after last season though.

I find the MRI read on Reyes hamstring tendon dubious as its easy to over read hot spots in soft tissue. It’s likely that the hamstring became a problem after the calf. But the Mets must realize that Reyes cannot go everyday like Wright can despite the similarity in ages.

Wright appears to be particularly durable, not unlike Cal Ripken was. Few players are. Travel combined with an increased variety in game start times makes it much harder on today’s players than there was even a decade ago.

Consistency in the Mets’ rotation reamins their biggets concern, although I am encouraged that they are getting deeper into games.

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The Mets saw exactly what they wanted to in Oliver Perez yesterday and in the mean time learned alot about him.

Perez is a “hand’s on” pitcher in that likley thrives in a controlled, structured environment. After his last start was so universally and publically condemned, Perez responded with the sort of dominate performances the Mets and likely the Pirates always expected from him. Consistency is performance has been the key. The largess of the stage also is factor that affects Perez as demonstrated in his performances at Yankee Stadium.

So what to do now?

Hopefully after this week Johan Santana emerges as a role model for Perez whom will begin to model his work ethic and preperation. If Santana has this kind of influence, Perez won’t want to disappoint him.

Dan Warthen has shown he’s not afraid of being hard on his guys – and in the media, too. I hope this does not become a habit of Warthen as it will backfire in an extremely dangerous way at some point. Still, if Warthen motivates in a manner in balance with staying on his ass, this combination with Santana can be a productive one for Perez.

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