Minors Stuff

New Met:


Martinez went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, but had an RBI fielder's choice and also reached base when he was hit by a pitch. Martinez fittingly for his new team had his right elbow wrapped after the game, since he strained his elbow in the Caribbean Series and was limited to DH duty early in the season with Buffalo. A Mets official suggested the plan going in is for Martinez’s exposure to the big leagues to be only for two weeks now, until Ryan Church returns. He’ll be back later this year, though. Martinez, 20, became the youngest player to debut in a Mets uniform since Jose Reyes at 19 years, 11 months, 30 days on June 10, 2003 at Texas.

Read more: "Surfing The Mets - NY Daily News" - http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/#ixzz0Gg6meJNU&A

Why acquire Wilson Valdez from the Indians organization when Omar Minaya had suggested he would just call up Ruben Tejada (pictured left) from Double-A Binghamton if he wanted a light-hitting defensive shortstop? Well, a team insider noted that it made sense because Tejada didn’t have to be protected for the Rule 5 draft until after the 2010 season, and the organization didn’t want to tie up a 40-man roster spot for an extra 18 months for just a short spurt of using the 19-year-old infielder at the major-league level.

Read more: "Surfing The Mets - NY Daily News" - http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/mets/#ixzz0Gg75GhUw&A


The Herd:

Oliver Perez knew Tuesday's outing was important on a variety of levels. First, of course, the $36 million pitcher needed to show his injured knee was strong enough to get through 90 pitches.

Perez also knew that pitching for the Buffalo Bisons was far more vital than throwing an extended spring training game in Florida. The left-hander needed to show he could outduel batters just one step from the major leagues, prove he could get out of jams against a team that wanted to win instead of guys just filling a batter's box in Port St. Lucie.

Perez is going to need more work in Buffalo before taking the next step back to the Big Apple.

Perez, in his first game action since May 2 because of a right patellar tendinitis, was his usual combination of erratic and impressive in the Bisons' 2-1 loss to Lehigh Valley. He threw 88 pitches in 4-1/3 innings in Coca-Cola Field, allowing one run while walking five and striking out five.

The 28-year-old is sure to get more work with the Herd before continuing the first season of his three-year, $36 million contract with the New York Mets.

"I want to get better," said Perez, who took the loss as the Bisons' winning streak was snapped at three games. "I don't want to go upstairs [to the majors] and don't feel better. I have to keep working here and be ready for when they call me up. I want to be ready to go there and show the pitcher that I can be."

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bisons/story/683689.html


Fernando Martinez will not get a chance to extend his seven-game hitting streak for the Buffalo Bisons tonight. He will, however, get a chance to start a one-game hitting streak for the New York Mets.

The Mets called up the red-hot Bisons prospect this afternoon after placing Ryan Church and Jose Reyes on the disabled list. Mets manager Jerry Manuel started Martinez in right field Tuesday against the Washington Nationals in Citi Field. He struck out in his first at-bat in the second inning.

"Fernando is going to get an opportunity to play," Manuel said in a news conference in New York. "I think it is important that he plays, that he gets an opportunity to get a feel for the major leagues. Once he gets that opportunity, he'll determine the rest of the playing time. The key to staying here is still you have to win games."

Martinez, the Mets' top prospect, ran his hitting streak to seven games Monday and is batting .366 with four home runs, eight RBIs and seven runs scored since May 18. The 20-year-old is leading the Bisons with a .291 average, eight homers and 28 RBIs.

http://www.buffalonews.com/116/index.html


After his first Major League game, Fernando Martinez walked to the podium of his first news conference, his right arm packed in ice.

Now he was officially a member of the Mets.

With regulars dropping quicker than any of Livan Hernandez's 127 pitches Tuesday night, Martinez found himself starting in right field and batting sixth on his first day in the Majors.
"I feel very good -- I dreamed every day and every night of playing in the Major Leagues," Martinez said after the game. "I worked all my life for that moment."

Martinez, called up earlier in the day to fill a roster spot when the Mets placed Ryan Church on the disabled list, went 0-for-3 with an RBI in the Mets' 6-1 victory over the Nationals.
The 20-year-old had an inauspicious open to his career, striking out in the second against Washington's Craig Stammen. With the bases loaded and one out in the fourth, Martinez beat out a potential inning-ending double play to plate a run. He was hit by a pitch in the fifth before striking out a second time in the seventh.

"To be here, to play in New York, to play for the Mets, to play for the people, that's great," Martinez said. "That's unbelievable for me."

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090526&content_id=4974736&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym


B-Mets:


The New York Mets retain keen interest in Washington Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson(notes), to the point where the Nationals have scouts watching the Mets’ Triple-A team in Buffalo, N.Y., and Double-A team in Binghamton, N.Y., evaluating pitchers Jon Niese, Mike Antonini and Eddie Kunz(notes) among others. The Mets need a first baseman because Carlos Delgado(notes) could be out for two months after hip surgery. The linchpin to the potential deal from Washington’s perspective may be Bobby Parnell(notes), a 6-4, 200-pound right-hander who came out of the Mets’ bullpen Friday night in Fenway Park and hit 100 mph on the radar gun.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/teams/was