A little closer to Familia form
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jeurys Familia was not used to seeing Terry Collins running out to the mound and asking for the ball like the manager did Friday night. After all, Familia saved 51 games for the Mets last season. But after serving a 15-game suspension under the MLB domestic violence policy, Familia has had trouble getting back in the groove. Friday night, he loaded the bases and Collins made a bold move to bring in lefty reliever Josh Edgin to face Bryce Harper, which worked out for the better. “I know the game and I know we have to try and get the first game,” Familia said Saturday after going out and pitching a perfect ninth for his first save of the 2017 season. “I understand.” But Collins was determined to get Familia back out there Saturday. “It was very important for a lot of reasons. We talked today and he went back out and pitched like we know he can,” Collins said. “We are very, very excited to get him on the right track and move forward.” that a player’s wish is not always the right or the final call.
“No that’s not standard practice,” Alderson said of Syndergaard just deciding against having an MRI. “But I can’t tie him down and throw him in the tube either.”
No, but the Mets and Alderson can figure out ways to better handle these issues. They have had to put eight players on the DL in the first 22 games of the season. So far, one has come back.
“It would be easy to dismiss this as that’s the way baseball goes. You do have to sort through the injuries and think about the kinds of things you are doing preventatively to make sure they are minimized,” Alderson said. The Mets need to really study that. In a case like Cespedes’, is it dehydration? Is it too much offseason training? Is it too much weight training? nd in the end, it may not be preventable.
“There is a number of different things that might have contributed,” Alderson said. “We have to figure out something. He may be susceptible to that kind of injury and we may have to be cognizant of that and make sure we are doing everything we can to minimize something he may be predisposed to anyway.”
Asaid. “It’s fine.”
With Noah Syndergaard pitching Sunday, d’Arnaud was scheduled to be off anyway. Sandy Alderson said. “At about 75%.”
They will move up to the top of the mound progressively as “tolerated.” Still, the earliest that the Mets could expect one of them would be the end of May, Alderson said.
Lugo is the biggest question mark. He is attempting to avoid Tommy John surgery through therapy and throwing. The Mets are a little more hopeful that he can, but still realistic that he has a long way to go.
“The further along he gets the more optimistic we become,” Alderson said. “Again, he hasn’t thrown off a mound yet, or even off a slope. We’re happy where he is now.”
Their progress and a lack of starting pitchers out there have cooled off the Mets search to bring in any outside help. Alderson also said they are not looking to bring in any support for the bullpen at this point. He is waiting for Familia to get back to his former self.
“We’re looking to get it settled,” Alderson said. “As of right now, do we have a closer? You tell me. So things have to settle in a little bit and hopefully that’s going to happen over the next couple of weeks.”