Monday Morning — June 16th, 2003
The Mets conclude their road trip this week and begin a four game set today against the Marlins in Florida. Then they return home this weekend for Interleague action against their crosstown rivals, the New York Yankees.
Changes At The Top - Last Thursday, after almost six years on the job, Steve Phillips was fired as the Mets general manager. Assistant general manager Jim Duquette takes over as the interim general manager, thus becoming the 10th general manager in the team's history.
Roster News - On Tuesday, the Mets placed Rey Sanchez on the disabled list with a strained left thumb -- this is the second time this season that he has been put on the DL with that injury. To take his place on the roster, the Mets called up Jose Reyes from Norfolk, one day prior to the highly touted shortstop's 20th birthday. That night, Reyes got a single in his first at-bat, and scored from first on a Roger Cedeño double.
That same day, Timo Perez was activated from the disabled list, and Raul Gonzalez was sent to Norfolk.
On Friday, Mike Stanton was placed on the disabled list (see below) and Jason Roach was called up from Norfolk. Pedro Astacio was transferred to the 60-day disabled list to make room for Roach on the 40-man roster. Roach, who made his major league debut in Anaheim on Saturday, had a rough time making it to California - it took the 27-year-old right-hander and his wife fifteen hours to make the trip, which included a canceled flight and being rerouted twice. The couple was given some free plane tickets to make up for their trouble. "It was the best worst day of travel ever," said the excited rookie.
Easy Come, Easy Go - Interim general manager Jim Duquette's first transaction was the sale of right-hander Jerrod Riggan to the Hanshin Tigers for $150,000. Riggan, who was in his second tour of duty with the Mets organization, signed a minor league contract with the team on May 25.
Health Update - Pedro Astacio underwent season ending surgery last Tuesday. Noted surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum successfully reattached the labrum in Astacio's right shoulder. Because Astacio is a free agent at the end of the season, it's possible that he has pitched his last game as a Met.
Tom Glavine, who missed his scheduled start last week because of inflammation in his left elbow due to a bone spur, will start tonight's game in Florida.
Mike Stanton returned to New York on Thursday to have his ailing left knee examined. The examination revealed a torn meniscus, which was surgically repaired the next day. The reliever will be out three to six weeks.
Scott Strickland stayed in Anaheim, and will see noted physician Dr. Lewis Yocum today. It is anticipated that Dr. Yocum will perform Tommy John surgery on the right hander on Tuesday. Dr. Yocum performed the same procedure on John Franco last year, and also recently operated on Pedro Astacio's shoulder.
tugmcgraw.com reports that Mets Hall of Fame pitcher Tug McGraw underwent an MRI and EEG last week, and that the tests show that he is making good progress in his recovery from brain surgery.
Met Milestone - Last Tuesday was the 2002th appearance in a game for John Franco, tying him with Goose Gossage for 7th on the all-time list.
Ouch! - First base coach Gary Pettis was hit in the head by a Ty Wigginton warmup throw in the middle of the first inning on Saturday night. Pettis is fine, although he did spend the remainder of that game in the coach's room. Hitting coach Denny Walling assumed first base coaching duties for the remainder of the game.
Seo What? - Jae Weong Seo once again tried to wear the Buddhist bracelet that his grandmother gave him when he pitched last Wednesday night in Texas, but he removed it and placed the talisman in his pocket. The Korean born Seo also amused sportswriters after his victory that night -- in trying to describe an impressive defensive play he had made, the pitcher pantomimed throwing to first and then hummed "Dah dah dah...Dah dah dah" to the ESPN Sportscenter music.
Special Feature: Baseball as America
Special Feature: Talkin' Baseball with Terry Cashman
Unless otherwise stated, these stories have been extracted from reports on www.nydailynews.com, www.nypost.com, www.nytimes.com, www.njo.com, www.newsday.com, www.bergenrecord.com, AP , and www.mets.com reports.
