The New England Patriots trusted Dr. Neal ElAttrache enough to have him perform reconstructive knee surgery last year on three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady. But according to the New York Times, ElAttrache is the Dodger team doctor that the Mets have accused of misdiagnosing Jose Reyes’ hamstring tendon tear in May. Now the Dodgers have responded by stating that the Mets have “official documentation” that ElAttrache correctly diagnosed Reyes.
As Metsblog notes, this story has truly alarming implications for the state of the Met organization. Why did the Mets continue to insist that Reyes had a calf strain if they knew it was actually a hamstring tendon tear? By refusing to acknowledge the true story, did the Mets allow Reyes to run and make the injury worse, instead of giving it time to heal or perhaps scheduling surgery so that Reyes could make it back more quickly?
Metsblog also quotes Adam Rubin, who told Kiner’s Korner:
“Almost uniformly [players] said that they were pushed to play though injuries that would have landed them on the DL had they been with other organizations.”
We can debate all we want over what free agents the Mets should pursue or who should be the manager or GM, but none of that will matter if the Mets cannot be trusted with the health of their players.
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Squawker Lisa has helpfully suggested that Carl Pavano should be a Met next year.
Let’s see – Pavano has a lot of trouble staying healthy, and did not seem to be able to handle New York when he was with the Yankees. Also, he will be 34 next year and will probably want more money and years than he is worth. Thanks, Lisa!
When I told my fellow Squawker what I thought of her idea, she replied that Pavano won 14 games in 2009, more than any Met pitcher. In fact, she added, no Met even had 14 homers.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it may not be such a bad idea. After all, Kenny Rogers was 34 when he came to the Mets during the 1999 season after failing with the Yankees. Rogers went 5-1 down the stretch to help the Mets reach the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.
Once Rogers was in the playoffs, well, that was pretty ugly. But at least he helped the Mets get there.
Pavano, by the way, has great postseason numbers: 1.71 ERA and 0.95 WHIP along with 24 strikeouts and only three walks in 26 1/3 innings. He is 2-1, with Sunday’s Yankee game the only loss.
Still, if the Mets’ big offseason acquisition turns out to be Pavano, it will be hard not to think of Charlie Brown returning from trick or treating and announcing, “I got a rock.”
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