The Mets placed SS-S Kazuo Matsui on the disabled list yesterday. Matsui injured his left ankle in late July and apparently aggravated an old back injury while compensating for the bruised joint. Back spasms forced him out of New York's August 8th game in St. Louis during the fifth inning. He's already resumed some baseball activities, but the Mets were not willing to go another couple of days with a short bench, so the team moved him to the DL. The 28-year-old may be ready to return when he's eligible to come off the disabled list on August 24th, but he could be out until September.

New York called up 1B-L Craig Brazell to fill Matsui's roster spot. The Mets drafted Brazell out of high school with a fifth round pick in the 1998 draft. He worked his way slowly through the New York system, arriving at AAA Norfolk in the International League late last season and returning there this spring. At the time of this call-up, the 24-year-old was hitting .266 with a .297 OBP and .464 SLG on 115 H, 19 2B, 2 3B, and 21 HR with an 18:91 BB:K and 1/2 SB% in 433 AB at AAA. Brazell possesses substantial power, but his poor plate discipline prevents him from offering the production desired from a first baseman.

Mike Piazza hit the DL on August 11th. Piazza has been battling inflammation in his left knee since injuring the joint in late May. However, he has not been able to keep pace with the injury lately and had to have fluid drained from the knee on the 10th. The Mets were concerned that the 35-year-old might need surgery in the off-season if he continued to try to play through the problem now, but the organization expects him to be ready to rejoin team for the homestand that begins on the 23rd. Hopefully, the rest also will eliminate any troubles that may be lingering from when he sprained his left wrist in late July.

Jose Reyes returned to the disabled list on August 13th. An MRI revealed a stress fracture in Reyes' lower left fibula, which could keep him out anywhere from two weeks to the remainder of the season. Reyes evidently played through some discomfort in his leg for all of July, but the pain became severe during the Mets' August 10th game against Houston. The team does not know if he was playing with the stress fracture for that entire time or if his pain was related to one of his other leg problems. If everything goes well, he may be able to return before September. However, while New York would love for him to log more major league at-bats this year, the Mets are not likely to let him return until he's fully recovered.