On the Mets beat

Alou, who is already recovering from hernia surgery, was scratched from the lineup for Single-A St. Lucie on Friday because of swelling and pain in the ankle. He didn’t play Saturday, either.
Minaya said a CAT scan taken Friday showed “there might be potentially a slight fracture in there.” Alou is scheduled to come to New York today for a possible MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
“The CAT scan shows something,” Minaya said. “What that something is, they want to be able see here in New York.”
Minaya said Alou wanted to play Saturday for St. Lucie but the Mets said no. It’s a little incomprehensible how Alou would be able to return to the big-league lineup if a fracture is confirmed, but Minaya wouldn’t rule it out.
“He was pretty close to playing [in the big leagues],” Minaya said. “A lot of is going to be how he feels. He might need a day or two more or . . . walking around, he’s doing everything fine. He wanted to play [Saturday]. We just want to be cautious with it.”
Minaya said Alou might make an appearance at Shea today after his doctor’s visit. To play, he was asked?
“To play?” he answered. “No, not to play.”
Alou has missed the season's first month because of the March 6 hernia operation. Last season, his first with the Mets, he played in 87 games and hit .341 with 13 HRs and 49 RBIs. He hasn’t had more than 427 at-bats in a season since 2004.
The Mets had hoped Alou could return for the just-completed weekend series against the Braves. Then they pushed that back to tonight’s series opener against the Pirates. Now the best-case scenario, according to Minaya, is later this week.
Could he really play with a slight fracture in the ankle?
“It’s possible,” Minaya said.
Endy Chavez started in leftfield yesterday. Angel Pagan, who started the season hot with Alou out, has three hits in his last 20 at-bats and is down to .289.