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Extended Camp:


New York MetsAdded to 40-man roster: RHP Fernando Nieve, OF Emil Brown

Optioned to Triple-A: LHP Pat Misch

Placed on 7-day DL: RHP Jose Sanchez, C Kai Gronauer, 2B Argenis Reyes, SS Reese Havens

Reinstated from DL: 2B Hector Pellot

Reinstated from inactive list: RHP Junior Guerra

Havens, 22, sustained a quadriceps injury. After a fast start, he had cooled in May, batting .184/.336/.310 in 24 games for high Class A St. Lucie.

Misch joined the organization on a waiver claim from the Giants, who took him in the seventh round of the 2003 draft. The 27-year-old has appeared in the big leagues for San Francisco in every season since ’06.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=4711


New Met:


New York: With their first pick (second round), the Mets stayed local and picked New York high school lefty Steve Matz, who has a live arm and some projectability but needs polish with his mechanics and command. Florida Southern shortstop Robbie Shields was the third round pick; he had a disappointing spring but is athletic and has performed very well in the past. Fourth round Columbia CC outfielder Darrell Ceciliani runs well and is athletic, but scouts have doubts about his power and he might be an overdraft here. Fifth round Texas prep RHP Damien Magnifico can hit 95 MPH but is raw. Sixth round David Buchanan, RHP from Chipola JC, is similar: arm strength, but needs more pitchability. Seventh round Kutztown lefty Darin Gorski is a soft-tosser but has excellent college stats. I can't say that this class really impresses me. Matz and Shields are interesting, but both come with questions. I do like the raw arms in the fifth and sixth rounds.

http://www.minorleagueball.com


Gnats:


THURSDAY'S SCORE: Savannah Sand Gnats 3, Rome Braves 2

ON THE RECORD: Braves 32-28, Sand Gnats 28-32.

SEEING STARS: After a five-game losing streak, the Sand Gnats won the final two games of a series against Rome. Second baseman Josh Satin was involved in two of the Sand Gnats' three runs but didn't record a hit. He drove in Stefan Welch with a third inning sacrifice fly then scored the winning run in the eight inning after getting on base with a walk.

DECISION MAKING: Mike Powers (1-0) got the win for Savannah. He pitched two innings in relief and gave up one earned run. Jeurys Familia started for Savannah and pitched six innings plus, giving up one unearned run. He left after a 1 hour, 3 minute weather delay. "He had it going on today," Satin said. "If that game doesn't start raining, then you might see a nine-inning shutout right there." Closer Rhiner Cruz (seventh save) gave up one hit but got out of the jam in the scoreless ninth inning. David Francis (3-2) got the loss for Rome, giving up one earned run in two innings of relief.

QUOTABLE: "We weren't playing poorly; we just weren't winning. It was one of those things where we just couldn't win ballgames. And, it was kind of like every time it was a close game, it was just something would go wrong. We had one blow-up inning or whatnot. So, to stop that and get a few wins is definitely good and it makes playing more enjoyable when you're winning."
- Savannah second baseman Josh Satin, on the team rebounding from its skid, when it lost 15 of 18.

GNATS GNOTES: Thursday's crowd of 2,028 was more than double Wednesday's attendance. Many of the fans left during the weather delay in the seventh inning. The ninth inning was played in steadily increasing rain, with flashes of lightning visible but not close enough to delay the game again ... Cruz's save was his second in two nights ... Familia's start was significantly better than his previous one, when he gave up five earned runs in 5.1 innings of work June 6 at Augusta.

http://www.savannahnow.com/node/737392


Mets Alumni:


Nobody is quite sure how old Orlando Hernandez is and nobody is quite sure how many procedures or operations he's had on his right foot in the past two years.

Nobody is quite sure if he has anything left in his right arm and nobody is quite sure what role he would fill on a team.

What is known right now is Hernandez has been added to the Rangers' pitching depth.

Hernandez, who is trying to recover from a foot injury that required surgery at the end of the 2007 season, agreed to a Minor League contract with the Rangers on Thursday. He will report to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Sunday.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090611&content_id=5273472&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex


Draft:

The Mets grabbed LaSalle junior left-hander Thomas Chism in the 32nd round. Chism has had an up-and-down career as a pitcher for the Explorers. Following a tremendous freshman season as a reliever, he pitched only eight innings as a sophomore, serving primarily as LaSalle's first baseman and cleanup hitter. He appeared in 10 games as a junior this past season, putting together a 1-3 record with a 7.80 ERA, striking out 34 in 30 innings.

Chism is joined by fellow lefties Lance Hoge from Kansas State, Brandon Sage from South Alabama, James Wooster from Alvin Community College in Texas and Joseph Mantiply from Tunstall High School in Virginia.

The Mets also selected right-handed pitchers in Wesley Wrenn of The Citadel, Anthony Whitenton of Darton College, Jacob Johansen from Allen High School in Texas, John Pilkington out of Oxford High School in Alabama, Joshua Easley from Weatherford High School in Texas and Zachary Godley out of Bamberg Ehrhardt High School in South Carolina.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090611&content_id=5269820&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym


General:

Brad Lidge (20 DXL)Speaking of the specifics of injuries, the original reports that went out when Lidge went to the DL all said "sprained knee." As medheads here know, "sprain" is by definition a tearing of a ligament. This surprised me, given the symptoms and the lack of trauma. If forced to guess, I would have thought that Lidge was having some inflammation from a torn meniscus, or from the grinding due to his lack of a large piece of meniscus after last year's surgery. Just a few hours later, Mike Ferrin from XM got the scoop: Lidge has synovitis, an inflammation of the synovial capsule that surrounds the knee. Again, this is more symptom than diagnosis, but it's significant enough to necessitate some time off. Once the Phillies got J.C. Romero back, they'd been talking about giving Lidge a few weeks off to see if that would correct things, and that's exactly what has happened. If the problem truly is limited to synovitis, it should help, but it will come back unless things change structurally. The Phillies' medical staff will have to manage this one closely and hope that a couple weeks of rest gets them far enough ahead of it to make it to October. Don't be surprised if he goes past the minimum if Ryan Madson is solid in the closer's role in the meantime.

http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9041