In light of Joba Chamberlain's recent trip to the disabled list, Tim Marchman looks at the curse that seems to have befallen young phenoms over the past twenty years.

Luis Castillo is close to returning. This is good news for Castillo and nobody else.

Ryan Church might not return at all this season. He has been taking batting practice and shagging flies, but the Mets have been tight-lipped about his upcoming medical evaluation and he has yet to be cleared for a return to the field.

Aaron Heilman still wants to start, and with the potential for two holes in the 2009 rotation who's to say he won't?

Jon Niese probably won't start for the Mets on Saturday. It'll probably be Brian Stokes or Claudio Vargas.

At The Hardball Times, Geoff Young looks back at the 1983 Lynchburg Mets, a team that went 96-43 and produced the likes of Dwight Gooden, Lenny Dykstra, Calvin Schiraldi, Ed Hearn and others.