Is Wagner Done for rest of the Year???

The Mets and Billy Wagner say no, that he is not finished for the year, despite what is looking like a very ominous elbow injury. I'm no doctor, but the fact that both Wagner and GM Omar Minaya described the inflammation as actually getting worse, that's not a good sign.

The immediate plan is to leave Wagner on the shelf until the swelling subsides and then have another MRI to get a better view of what's going on inside the elbow. Here's another troubling part. Wagner can't get a cortisone shot because doctors fear he could blow out the elbow if heads back out to the mound without them knowing the full extent of his injury. Again, not good.

That leaves manager Jerry Manuel little choice but to mix-and-match his current batch of relievers for the immediate future -- and perhaps for the remainder of the season. Both Minaya and Manuel pretty much ruled out using a starter in the bullpen.

As Manuel explained it, they don't want to push their luck with Maine, whose shoulder needs the time off between starts, and Oliver Perez is doing too well in the rotation. As for Mike Pelfrey, Manuel said he doesn't want him to shoulder that added responsibility this late in the season.

So there you have it -- no Wagner, no easy solutions in the bullpen or rotation, and little chance of trading for help either. One team official said that was very unlikely as just about all the candidates already have been blocked and relievers have almost zero chance of making it through waivers at this point.

Source: Lennon/On the Mets beat

Omar, better find some alternatives because it does not look good for the Mets!!