Jose Reyes, the superstar shortstop for the New York Mets, is currently sidelined due to mysterious leg injuries. The native of the Dominican Republic hasn’t played since May 20th.

Jose Reyes Injury Update (Image: Zuma Press)

The bad news for Mets fans is that there isn’t a definite plan for when he can return to the lineup. His initial injury was a calf strain. However, he has since suffered a hamstring tear.

On the season, Reyes is hitting .279 with two homers, 15 RBI, 18 runs and 11 stolen bases. At 25, many experts thought this could be a huge year for Reyes but that hasn’t happened. Instead, the shortstop is struggling to find his way back onto the field.

To date, Reyes’ best season may have been in 2006 when he hit .300 with 19 homers, 81 RBI, 122 runs and 64 stolen bases.

According to Reyes, he doesn’t think his latest hamstring injury is as serious as hamstring injuries he has suffered in the past. That said, no one really knows when he’ll return to the Mets’ lineup.

Francisco Rodriguez, the star closer for the New York Mets, was taken by ambulance from Fenway Park to a local hospital. According to Jerry Manuel, the manager of the Mets, Rodriguez suffered back spasms and was unable to walk. It’s unknown how long Rodriguez will be out of action.

On the season, Rodriguez has 12 saves and no blown saves in 20 appearances. His record is 1-0 to go with a 0.87 ERA. Last year while with the Los Angeles Angels, he set a major league record with 62 saves in one season. He broke the record formerly held by Bobby Thigpen of the Chicago White Sox.

Without Rodriguez, the Mets were able to defeat the Boston Red Sox on Saturday by a final count of 3-2. In the top of the ninth inning Omir Santos hit a two-run homer to give New York the lead. In the bottom of the ninth, J.J. Putz filled in for Rodriguez as the closer and was able to pick up his second save of the 2009 baseball season.

Francisco Rodriguez - New York Mets Closer (Image: Zuma Press)

Albert Pujols got the St. Louis Cardinals off to a good start and then Joel Pineiro’s pitching did the rest. Thanks to that duo. the Cardinals were able to defeat the New York Mets by a final count of 5-2.

In the first inning, Albert Pujols got an RBI on a sacrifice fly. In the third inning, Pujols hit an RBI single to put the Cardinals up 2-1. St. Louis would never trail again.

Pujols finished the outing by going 2-for-3 to lift his batting average to .315. He also has four homers and 18 RBI on the season.

In eight innings, Pineiro allowed six hits, two walks and two earned runs. He lowered his ERA to 4.12 and is now 3-0 on the season. The 30-year-old out of Puerto Rico is well on his way to winning double-digit games for the first time since 2003 with the Seattle Mariners.

With the win, the Cardinals are now 10-5, while the Mets are 6-8 after the loss.

Albert Pujols (Image: Newscom)

Gary Sheffield of the New York Mets entered the 2009 baseball season with 499 homers. On Friday, Sheffield became the 25th player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 home runs.

Gary Sheffield Hits 500th Homer (Image: Newscom)

Sheffield’s homer actually was very helpful for the Mets. With New York trailing by a run in the bottom of the seventh, Sheffield’s solo shot tied the score. In the bottom of the ninth, the Mets got the winning run when Luis Castillo hit an infield single and scored Carlos Delgado from third base.

The 40-year-old Sheffield has already been through a lot in the 2009 season. Before the season began, he was released by the Detroit Tigers. After flirting with a host of teams, Sheffield decided to sign with the Mets.

Not only was that Sheffield’s first homer of the season, it was also his first hit. In seven previous at-bats, he had walked three times and struck out twice.

In a bit of a surprise, the New York Mets have signed free agent slugger Gary Sheffield. After the Detroit Tigers released Sheffield, there were rumors linking Sheffield to various destinations. However, the Mets made a hard push for him on Friday and were able to convince Sheffield to join their club.

Gary Sheffield joins New York Mets (Image: Newscom)

The most interesting aspect of this transaction will be how the Mets find at-bats for Sheffield. In the past, he has said that he wouldn’t be happy with a reserve role. With the Mets, they could possibly mix him into the outfield rotation and also play him a little bit at first base.

Sheffield’s first home run for the Mets will be a significant one. With 499 homers, Sheffield needs just one more long ball to join the exclusive 500 club.

The Mets will be the eighth team of Sheffield’s career. He has previously played for the Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees and the Tigers.

Teams that were thought to be possible Sheffield destination were the Braves, Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Phillies.

Brian Schneider, the starting catcher for the New York Mets, is out for an indefinite amount of time due to a right calf strain. After missing Wednesday’s spring training game, Schneider underwent an MRI that confirmed the injury.

Brian Schneider, Mets - Calf Injury (Image: Newscom)

The 32-year-old native of Florida is entering his second season with the Mets. Last season, Schneider played in 110 games and hit nine homers, drove in 38 runs and scored 30 runs. Prior to joining the Mets, Schneider had played his whole career with the Washington Nationals franchise.

During spring training, Scheider has been impressive. He’s getting rave reviews for his handling of the pitching staff and he is also hitting over .300 at the plate.

If Schneider’s calf doesn’t allow him to begin the season as the starting catcher for New York, Ramon Castro is likely to get the starting nod. Castro has been with the Mets since 2005 but he’s never played more than 100 games in any season.

After watching today’s New York Mets game, I think Mets fans can point to this game as the reason they acquired Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins before the season. Santana pitched a complete game shutout against the Florida Marlins Saturday afternoon. That win, coupled with a Milwaukee Brewers loss propelled the Mets into a tie at the top of the National League Wild Card race.

Santana allowed just three hits and struck out nine in the win as he picked up his 16th win of the season. After June 28th of this season, Santana had fallen to 7-7 overall. But, the Mets’ ace has reeled off nine consecutive wins in his last 17 starts.

This is the reason New York General Manager Omar Minaya picked up Santana. And should the Mets hold off the Brewers (and let’s be truthful - not blow it), Santana should be looked to as the savior of this organization - again, that is if they make the playoffs. If not, Santana just had one heck of a second half of the season and did all he could to help his team.

Image: Newscom

That’s because he’s giving up hand-shakes. Or at least he will be giving up the intricate, celebratory handshakes he used to do with his teammates. Because God forbid that anyone have fun while playing baseball.

In addition to the Mets’ championship dreams, a part of Jose Reyes’ died on that final weekend at Shea Stadium. The fun part, the dancing part. Alas, it looks like the shortstop’s celebratory handshakes, just like the one that turned the Marlins into maniacs during that doomed series, are now history.

“I’m not even thinking about that,” Reyes said Tuesday. “No more handshakes. People kept saying we got teams fired up when we did those handshakes, so now I want to focus more on baseball.”

I really don’t think that Jose Reyes’ celebrations were responsible for the epic collapse of the Mets last season, but oh well. The baseball season is quite long and  boring. There’s a lot of sitting, and waiting, and traveling. I suspect Reyes will use some of that time on handshake choreography. Because what else is he going to do, knit?

[The Mets, Yankees, Red Sox are seated in a meeting room. The Twins are standing at the front. The Twins speak.]

What we have here is the the best pitcher in baseball, my friends. And we’re willing to part ways with him. But it’s going to take some might fine baseball players, we’re not going to just give away Johan Santana. Don’t wait though, you should act fast. We expect a lot of interest on this one.

[silence]

You don’t want your division rival to get Johan Santana, do you? [Twins look at Yankees.] You better hurry up before your arch-nemesis gets him and wins the world series. [Twins look at Red Sox] You won’t be able to win the whole thing without Johan Santana, the best pitcher in baseball.

[Yankees and Red Sox look at each other, shrug]

Ok, well, maybe he won’t guarantee you a World Series, but this is Johan effing Santana. You want him, badly, and here we are, offering him to you.

[cough]

Seriously, this is a two-time Cy Young winner. We need at least a five-tool major league guy…

[Mets avoid eye contact with Twins]

Well… at least a five-tool prospect…

[Yankees and Red Sox leave while avoiding eye contact]

You assholes, this is some quality pitching I’m offering you here.

[Twins look around, then look down, and sigh]

Ok, Mets, we’ll take whatever you got.

[Mets hand over Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Deolis Guerra, Kevin Mulvey]

Fine…shit…and remember you only have until Friday to return him if you don’t want him!