The New York Mets today announced that left-handed pitchers Johan Santana and Oliver Perez will each undergo surgery tomorrow at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

Santana will have bone chips removed from his left elbow; Perez will have scar tissue removed from the patella tendon of his left knee. Both procedures will be performed by Mets Medical Director Dr. David Altchek and Mets Team Physician Dr. Struan Coleman.

Here’s hoping everything goes as planned so they can begin their rehab right away.

Bobby Parnell allowed a grand slam to take the loss in Saturday’s game against the Cubs.

The Journal News columnist Phil Reisman writes about how the Mets’ season is a metaphor for corporate greed and sloppy management.

The Journal News Yankees beat writer Peter Abraham writes about how the Mets are one big mess right now.

The good news is the Mets avoided a sweep Sunday at Wrigley Field against the Cubs when Nelson Figueroa took the mound and pitched seven-plus strong innings, allowing one run and striking out 10. Read the roundup.

Mets.com reports the Mets might wait to add players to their 40-man roster until Sept. 7 after the Minor League season is over. Otherwise, there might not be enough players to keep a full Triple-A team since a lot of them are on the Mets’ big league roster.

David Wright should rejoin the Mets’ active roster on Tuesday night against Colorado, perhaps with the new batting helmet.

New Mets starting rotation member Pat Misch acquitted himself nicely today as he pitched seven strong innings and allowed only one run, striking out two and walking two. He was actually leading in the game until the Cubs tied it up in the eighth inning. The Chicago native has never won a game in the majors.

The usually reliable Brian Stokes ruined it for Misch as he allowed four hits in the eighth inning to give the Cubs the lead for good. Stokes allowed a lead-off double and a single to tie the game up 2-2. He then walked the next batter before giving up a home run to Alfonso Soriano. Elmer Dessens then came into the game to get the Mets out of the inning.

The Mets scored their first run in the second inning when Jeff Francoeur led off with a double, followed by back-to-back singles from Fernando Tatis and Omir Santos. But the Mets couldn’t tack on, ending the inning as quickly as it had started, with three straight outs.

Their second run came in the eighth inning after Angel Pagan and Tatis both doubled. They could’ve gotten more, but Daniel Murphy was thrown out at home while trying to score from first.

Bobby Parnell takes on Ryan Dempster on Saturday afternoon at 4:10 p.m. The game will be televised on Fox, if it’s not rained out.

Angel Pagan CF
Wilson Valdez SS
Daniel Murphy 1B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Cory Sullivan LF
Fernando Tatis 3B
Omir Santos C
Anderson Hernandez 2B
Tim Redding (1-4, 6.10 ERA) P

Top 1: Pagan singles. Valdez walks. The Mets are getting something going early. Murphy strikes out. Francoeur flies out. Typical Mets, not taking advantage of a lead-off hit. Sullivan grounds out, of course.

Bottom 1: Chris Coghlan hits a leadoff home run. Way to go, Redding. Ross Gload and Hanley Ramirez fly out. Jorge Cantu also flies out. Good job by Redding to limit the damage but every ball was hit into the air and fairly deep.

On a team that is sorely depleted of starting pitchers, Mike Pelfrey needs to step up and become the leader of the starting rotation. He did not live up to that role tonight as he allowed all five runs the Marlins scored in 6 2/3 innings.

Pelfrey gave up 11 hits and five walks while only striking out two. He took his ninth loss of the season, evening up his win-loss record.

The Mets actually scored first in the second inning against Marlins starter Josh Johnson. Cory Sullivan scored on a Fernando Tatis double. Anderson Hernandez then singled in Tatis after Brian Schneider, who is an automatic out these days, grounded to the first baseman. Pelfrey then tried to sacrifice bunt but ended up hitting into an inning-ending double play.

The Marlins answered in the third when Cody Ross tripled, scoring two on two outs. Schneider also committed an error when he couldn’t catch a pop foul. The Marlins scored two more runs, again on two outs, when Ronny Paulino hit a home run.

The Mets scored their third and final run in the sixth inning after Daniel Murphy hit a double. He then moved to third on a throwing error and was brought home on a sacrifice fly by Sullivan.

For the second straight game, the Mets could not score against the Florida bullpen. The Marlins bullpen only allowed one hit and one walk in three innings tonight. Josh Johnson beat the Mets again and is still undefeated against them.

Tim Redding will face Anabel Sanchez Thursday afternoon.

Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
Daniel Murphy 1B
Jeff Francoeur RF
Cory Sullivan LF
Fernando Tatis 3B
Brian Schneider C
Anderson Hernandez SS
Mike Pelfrey (9-8, 4.67 ERA) P

The Mets try to avoid losing five in a row as they throw Pelfrey, the last man standing in the starting rotation, at the Marlins’ Josh Johnson. They throw out a lineup with just three Opening Day roster players: Castillo, Schneider and Murphy, who started in left field.

Are you laughing yet?

Here’s the official release:

FLUSHING, N.Y., August 26, 2009 – Mets pitcher Oliver Perez today was examined by Mets Medical Director Dr. David Altchek at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan.

Upon the exam, Perez was diagnosed with patella tendon tendinosis in his right knee, which will require season-ending surgery.

He is expected to fully recover and be ready for Spring Training.

Here’s the Mets starting rotation as it is currently constituted:
Mike Pelfrey
Tim Redding
Nelson Figueroa
Pat Misch
Bobby Parnell

If you weren’t a Mets fan, would you recognize any of the names?

One team’s trash is another team’s treasure. At least, that’s what the Washington Nationals are hoping after they signed former Mets starter Livan Hernandez on Tuesday. The Mets dropped him last Thursday.

Hernandez will pitch tonight against the Cubs. He is no stranger to the Nats. He pitched with them for two years in 2005 and 2006. He was 15-10 in 2005.

Hernandez gave the Mets some good outings in the first half of the season but fell apart in the second half. No hard feelings here toward the guy. He could’ve given the Mets more chances to win, but it’s just par for the course for this horrendous season. He is what he is. It’s not his fault there were no other pitchers to step up during Spring Training to provide a solid fifth starter. He went out there and out-pitched others and deserved the spot.

Right now, he’s where he should be … with the last-place team in the division.

Nelson Figueroa actually pitched a really good game, allowing two runs, one earned, in five innings. It was a gutsy performance considering Figueroa was on a pitch count after having thrown 39 pitches in 2 1/3 innings two days before against the Phillies.

Figueroa took the loss in the first game of three against the Marlins, but it was the defense behind him and the lack off offense that contributed to it. In the second game in a row in which the Mets have played, a player committed two errors by himself on the same play in the same inning. Yesterday, it was Chase Utley. Tonight it was Daniel Murphy, who didn’t come up with a ground-out and then threw the ball wide of first to allow Hanley Ramirez to go to third. He would eventually score to tie the game at one.

The Mets scored their only run in the fourth inning after Jeff Francoeur hit his second double of the night. Fernando Tatis drove him on on an RBI single. The Mets then squandered their next best chance to score runs. In the fifth inning, the bases were loaded with one out, but they just couldn’t get it done. Francoeur popped up and Tatis struck out to end the threat.

The Marlins scored their second run in the fifth inning. It was all they would need to win the game. Sean Green got into a couple of jams, including a bases-loaded situation, but managed to get out of them. He pitched two innings. Francisco Rodriguez went into the game in the eighth inning to keep it close and get in some work. He walked the first batter but ended up striking out two.

On the day it was announced that JJ Putz and Johan Santana were being shut down for the rest of the year and Oliver Perez would miss his next start, Gary Sheffield left the game early in the seventh inning after a walk. A walk! He said he felt something when he darted for second. Even though he took himself out of the game, he did say after the game it wasn’t anything serious and it was just back spasms.

Mike Pelfrey, who will probably be the last starter who began the season in the starting rotation depending on the length of Perez’s injury, will face the excellent Josh Johnson who has lost only three games all year.

Former setup man JJ Putz will join Johan Santana on the disabled list for the rest of the season as new test results on his arm revealed further damage to his arm. He will not require surgery, but the Mets decided to shut him down as a preventative measure. He might as well sit the rest of the season out as there’s nothing to play for anyway.

This is on top of news that Oliver Perez will probably miss his next start due to more discomfort in his knee. Of course, no one would be surprised if he also is shut down for the rest of the season as well. All of these injuries are just laughable now. It’s unconcievable that so many injuries could befall one team, but of course, it has to be the Mets.

Maybe the Mets should change one of their slogans from “You gotta believe” to “Unbelievable!”

Angel Pagan CF
Luis Castillo 2B
Gary Sheffield LF
Jeff Francoeur RF
Fernando Tatis 3B
Daniel Murphy 1B
Omir Santos C
Anderson Hernandez SS
Nelson Figueroa (1-2, 6.30 ERA) P

With Johan Santana out for the rest of the season, the Mets are down to just two starting pitchers out of the five they started with at the beginning of the season. Nelson Figueroa is not one of them. He’ll try to keep the game close, but he was rocked in his last start against the Diamondbacks, who tagged him for six runs in 1 2/3 innings. He was a little better in relief, allowing five runs in his last 12 1/3 innings.

The news wasn’t good, but it could’ve been a whole lot worse. Johan Santana’s season is over after test results showed he has bone chips in his throwing elbow. He will undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove the bone chips and should be ready for Spring Training in 2010.

It’s disappointing, but at least Santana doesn’t have to undergo Tommy John surgery, which is the same one that took Billy Wagner more than a year to recover from.

Pat Misch and Nick Evans have been called up from Triple-A Buffalo to fill the roster spots left vacant by Wagner’s trade and Santana’s injury.

In other injury news, JJ Putz will not pitch in his next scheduled rehab performance in Brooklyn, but no reason was given. Oliver Perez, who had complained of some discomfort in his right knee, will have it examined in New York.

Is there any reason to watch the Mets any more? David Wright is due to come back off his rehab assignment around Sept. 1, but beyond him, an injured Jeff Francoeur and ailing Gary Sheffield, there isn’t much power left in the lineup. Now, the ace is out and besides the uneven Pelfrey, the rest of the starting rotation is mixed with spot starters and a rookie.

Are you going to keep watching the games or are you ready for some football?

After days of speculation and rumors, former Mets closer Billy Wagner was traded to the Boston Red Sox for two players to be named later. Boston will eat the rest of his contract for this season.

The deal was finalized today after the Red Sox agreed to Wagner’s stipulation that they not pick up his option for 2010 so he could join the free agent market and be picked up as a closer. The other stipulation was that the Sox don’t overuse his arm since he just came off of a year of rehab for Tommy John surgery.

Wagner pitched in only two games since being activated, but he was brilliant. He finished his second stint yesterday and struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning against the Phillies. In his two innings, he allowed no hits or earned runs and struck out four.

Are you sad to see Wagner go? His return was one of the few highlights of this season. Just like that, he’s gone to another team.

Last week’s question was: Should Major League Baseball require players to wear a new, better-padded helmet, even if it means making it more uncomfortable for the batter?

The results:
Yes, everything should be done to protect the batter.—57%
No, MLB should make the helmets comfortable and protective at the same time. —35 %
No, the helmets are fine the way they are.—3 %
No, getting hit is all part of the game and players know that.—5%

The majority of you were thinking about the safety of the batter. Since David Wright’s beaning, there hasn’t been as many incidents of hit batters, allowing the controversy to die down.

There’s nothing like an unassisted triple play to get the Mets right back in the baseball spotlight, even though they are out of contention for the post season. In addition to that, Mets injuries keep piling up, making the team the equivalent of the walking dead. Both Jeff Francoeur and Johan Santana have revealed injuries, though neither is yet on the disabled list. It’s just a matter of time, though.

This week’s poll question is: Which Met, who hasn’t yet been on the disabled list this season, will make a trip there next?

In a game that saw five errors total, with three in the first inning and two of those committed by the same player, you can’t call today’s tilt a classic. For the second game in a row, Angel Pagan had a leadoff run. This one came thanks to not one, but two, errors by Chase Utley.

Let’s back up a bit. The Phillies took an early three-run lead off of a Ryan Howard home run off of Mets starter Bobby Parnell, who couldn’t get the big guy out. One of those runs was unearned as Shane Victorino went to third on a throwing error by Omir Santos while stealing second base.

The Mets answered with Pagan’s run and another off of Fernando Tatis’ sacrifice fly after Gary Sheffield had tripled. It looked as if Phillies starter Cliff Lee was going to have a bad day. However, that’s all he would allow for six more innings.

The Mets’ second error came in the second inning when Paul Bako got to second on a fielding mistake by Sheffield. That would be the limit of the damage for the rest of that inning.

Parnell only allowed four hits. Unfortunately, two of those hits were bombs by Howard. The second one was a two-run homer in the third inning to make the score 5-2. Maybe next time Parnell faces Howard, he and Jerry Manuel will know what an intentional walk is. The Mets’ third error came in the same inning when Tatis made a bad throw.

The errors were over, but so was the Mets offense. They managed just six hits today, two of them coming from Sheffield. Luis Castillo finally broke out of his multi-hit streak.

The Mets next face the Florida Marlins in Miami on Tuesday night but without Johan Santana who will have his left elbow examined by a doctor. Nelson Figueroa will be the starter.