Jenrry Mejia Wrecks Elbow
The Mets just can’t catch a break. Prized pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia has an elbow injury that could keep him out for a year. According to the Mets:
Righthanded pitcher Jenrry Mejia was examined today by Mets Medical Director Dr. David Altchek and was found to have a complete MCL tear of the right elbow. Mejia underwent an MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.
The Daily News reports that surgery has been recommended, but Mejia is expected to seek a second opinion.
What is it with all of these young pitchers (league-wide, not just the Mets) suffering serious injuries like this? Is something odd going on in the minor leagues? Or are they not being prepared in high school or college for the professional pitching grind?
Whatever the cause, this is a huge setback for the Mets. Mejia was expected to join the team sometime this season, and be in the rotation next year. Now he likely won’t be ready until next year at this time, and would probably have to go back to Triple A. I don’t see Mejia in the Mets rotation until 2013.
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A couple of odds and ends from the “Osama Bin Laden Game,” as it will forever be known:
It was a really nice win for the Mets. The bullpen managed to hold off the Phillies in extra innings to win the game in the 14th, 2-1. Pedro Beato went three scoreless innings, and Taylor Buchholz picked up his first Mets win with two scoreless frames.
Speaking of bullpens, this game showed how useless the “hold” statistic is. Jason Isringhausen came on in the eighth with the Mets leading 1-0. He lasted only 2/3 of an inning, walking two, leaving them both on base. Tim Byrdak relieved him, allowing a hit that scored the game-tying run. The run was charged to Isringhausen, but because he left the game with the Mets still ahead, he got credit for a hold. Just a dumb stat.
Chris Young had another strong start, throwing seven scoreless innings. And Ronny Paulino — it was starting to look like he was never going to play with the Mets at all — went five-for-seven in his first start, including the double that drove in the game-winning run.