NL East

Oh man, it's been so many months since I've done an MLB Rumor Mill at BleacherReport.com. It's been ages, literally!

So here I am, back with the MLB Rumors. And that brings me to another thing: I haven't written an MLB article for a long time, too. Jeez.

  The Mets twice tried to send pitcher Oliver Perez to the minor leagues, but he twice refused so instead of asking him a third time the team simply put him on the DL. Now it appears that the MLB is looking into whether or not Perez is legitimately hurt.

Roughly two months into the regular season, it seems like a good time to review what the Mets have developing down on the farm. The Mets are often criticized for not developing homegrown talent that is up to par with the rest of baseball. However, there does appear to be a core of young prospects experiencing the necessary growth required to reach the big show.

These young guns will indeed be necessary, because looking at this team, some fresh young potential will need to surround core leaders like Johan Santana, Mike Pelfrey, Jose Reyes, and David Wright.

It’s official. In order to make room for today’s start Jon Niese on the roster the Mets have placed Oliver Perez on the disabled list with what they are calling tendinitis in his knee . Yeah right, and if frogs had wings they wouldn’t bump their ass when they hopped.

When looking at the Mets this year, fans can see there is one thing they truly lack: charisma. Jerry Manuel is known for his laid back attitude and approach to the game. So far this has been terribly unsuccessful. He has a 152-157 record since taking over as Mets manager midway through the 2008 season. Mediocrity is not acceptable in New York.

Mets center fielder and DL frequenter Carlos Beltran actually played in a game today .

It was an extended spring training game, but still a game nonetheless. He went 2-for-6 with a pair of singles.

Beltran ran the bases, although he took it easy with the running.

The Mets made a few roster changes today, starting with putting second baseman Luis Castillo on the DL due to a couple of foot injuries. In his place, they called up infielder Ruben Tejada. They also designated struggling outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. for assignment and called up catcher Omir Santos in his place.

The biggest news is probably that they finally released Gary Matthews Jr. He came over from Los Angeles in a trade for Brian Stokes, and talk about disappointing, Matthews has been beyond bad while in Flushing.

The New York Mets have DFA'ed Gary Mathews Jr. This is a move that many Mets fans will be excited about. In a related move, the Mets called up Omir Santos.

That decision does not make sense.

There is no need for a third catcher on the roster. Rod Barajas has been playing great this year. I do not see much playing time in Santos's future. My thoughts are that the Mets may be trying to showcase him for a trade.

The Mets should have brought up Jesus Feliciano, who is currently tearing up Triple-A with a .388 batting average through 170 at bats.

The New York Mets have reported that Daniel Murphy has a high grade MCL tear. Murphy is expected to miss the next four to six months. Murphy however will not need surgery.

This eliminates any chance that Murphy will be traded at the deadline for pitching help this year.

Having gone through a severe knee injury myself, I know that Murphy has a long road to recovery ahead of him. He will need to work hard in physical therapy to return to where he was.

Hopefully Murphy will be able to surprise us and recover quickly. He may be able to make it back in late September.

Painful.  That is the perfect word to use when describing the Mets loss to the Padres in the series finale.

The Mets had a chance to accomplish something they haven’t since July 25 and 26 of 2009: Win back to back games on the road.

Unfortunately, they lost a game that they were one strike away from winning.

Johan Santana’s Aceness

I have always said that the true mark of an ace, is a pitcher that can hold offenses at bay when he doesn’t have his best stuff.