Billy Wagner to Have Shoulder Examined

The NY Mets are reporting that closer Billy Wagner will have his shoulder examined on Monday during the Mets off day.

Manager Jerry Manuel said, "We want to know what was keeping him tight. It was 120 degrees. ... I was loose."

The tightness began, Wagner said, as he warmed up.

He didn't anticipate having his am examined by an MRI.

"I hope I don't have to spend that much time in the city," he said.

Wagner said the trapezius has bothered him for about two weeks.

"I'm old -- I'm supposed to hurt," said Wagner, who turns 37 on Friday.

Wagner struck out the side in the bottom of the 10th to earn the save as the Mets closed out their series with the Reds in Cincinnati.

Johan Santana Injury Report

Is he injured, hurt, bruised, or all of the above? We'll really know today, but I vote for bruise and zero starts missed.

For those that watched the game, it didn't look too bad.

For those that like hype, like the media, it looked catastrophic. To whit:

There are two articles on MLB.com that are making this thing sound far worse than it is, and here are a few quotes and headlines:

"SAN DIEGO -- A decidedly left-handed man, Johan Santana extended his right hand into a small bag, removed lip gloss of some kind and applied it with his right hand. A few moments earlier Friday night, the Mets pitcher slid his arms into a shirt, clearly favoring his left arm. Underneath that shirt, on the front of his left shoulder, he wore a bandage, specially medicated to eliminate inflammation."

And here is the headline from another article:

"Santana hurt as Mets suffer tough loss!"

OK guys, let's bring this down a notch.

Yes, Santana was hit by a pitch in his left shoulder, and it was a solid hit.

He also stayed in the at-bat, and came out and pitched another inning.

Will it be bruised? Of course. But to jump around this morning inferring he has some type of major injury is irresponsible.