MET NOTES
TORONTO – With the righty Bobby Jones and Glendon Rusch pitching well, the Mets’ back end of the rotation is at least keeping up with its front half of Mike Hampton and Al Leiter of late.
Tonight, the Mets will find out about the middle man as No. 3 starter Rick Reed will return from the DL to start at SkyDome. Reed (4-2, 4.76 ERA) has been on the disabled list since June 30 with a fractured left wrist and a strained left calf.
Bobby Valentine confirmed after yesterday’s 7-3 loss to the Blue Jays that third baseman Robin Ventura will be put on the DL. The Mets anticipate Ventura will be out two weeks with his sore right rotator cuff. Ventura will be put on the DL before tonight’s game to make room for Reed.
“I don’t think we’ll send [the lefty] Bobby Jones out until we know what we have with Reed,” Valentine said of Jones, who gave up a homer in one inning of work yesterday. “I have no plans to go with 12 pitchers, unless there is a necessity.”
Since injuring the wrist and the calf on June 29, the day John Rocker came to Shea, Reed has been able to throw. Pitching coach Dave Wallace doesn’t expect any problems tonight.
“As long as he doesn’t get hit by another 100-mph liner,” Wallace said.
On June 29, Andruw Jones hit a liner that fractured Reed’s wrist. Reed hurt the wrist earlier in the season and said it caused him to mess up his motion.
“We’ll be concerned about that,” Valentine said.
The Mets will likely make another move soon, which probably will turn Jersey Jones into Norfolk Jones.
Double-A utilityman Mike Kinkade was the initial thought, but since he is not on the 40-man roster, it very well could be catcher Vance Wilson or Jorge Toca, both of whom are at Triple-A Norfolk. They would replace Jones.
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Derek Bell is on another streak. Bell picked up his first hit, a seventh-inning single, of the second half of the season yesterday, but went 1-for-5. He is 1-for-17 since the All-Star break, dropping his average from .318 to .305 … Edgardo Alfonzo went 3-for-5 yesterday and appears to be totally out of the funk he was in as the first half ended. Alfonzo went hitless in six of his final eight games before he went to the All-Star Game.
There was a 12-minute delay after the first inning so SkyDome staff could properly open the roof … Media notes are usually tame, but yesterday’s Blue Jays’ version featured this little ditty about the last time Toronto played the Mets, “Lost last meeting 4-3 in 14 innings on June 9, [1999] which featured Bobby Valentine’s costumed return.”
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Valentine said Jimy Williams’ contention the Mets got to the umpires Saturday to tell them to look at Carl Everett’s feet was way off.
“There was nothing, absolutely nothing, initiated by the New York Mets dealing with that batter’s box and I’ll go to my grave knowing that is the truth,” Valentine said. “Unless there was a phone call from Fred Wilpon. Steve [Phillips] has assured me that he didn’t say anything. Jim [Duquette] has assured me he didn’t say anything.”
