Isringhausen comes full circle with Mets

Jason Isringhausen said he didn't notice the warm reception he received when he ran onto the field to pitch for the Mets for the first time in almost 12 years.

"I was just worried about not passing out before I got out there," the 38-year-old righthander said of his second debut for the team, this one coming in Monday night's 7-6 loss to the Rockies.

Isringhausen, called up from extended spring training in Port St. Lucie Sunday, was brought in with two on and one out in the seventh and retired the two batters he faced to keep the score tied at 4 at the time. He picked up the two outs efficiently -- it took seven pitches -- and he hit 92 mph with his fastball on the Citi Field scoreboard.

Not only was it his first time in a Mets uniform since the former phenom was traded away on July 31, 1999, it was the first time he'd taken a big- league mound since 2009. Since then he'd been recovering from his third Tommy John surgery.

Isringhausen spoke about "the heart pumping a little bit" when he jogged in from the bullpen and said he was nervous about it. "But that's what makes it fun," he said.

There were times he wondered if he would ever get another chance to pitch in the majors. "There's always doubt when you're coming back from an injury," he said. "I've had six surgeries on my elbow, three on my shoulder, two on my hip. Every time they cut you open, there's always that chance that you're never going to do it again."

That uncertainty is leading to his gather-ye-rosebuds mentality. "When I get the phone call, I'm not going to leave anything out there," he said. "I'm going to give it everything I got because I know it can happen in an instant." It, of course, is an injury, which likely would end his coda with the Mets and his career.

Terry Collins said Isringhausen is with the Mets not only to get outs but for intangibles, and he encouraged pitchers such as Pedro Beato and Bobby Parnell to pick his brain as much as possible. "You just don't find guys with his background on a young pitching staff," Collins said.

Isringhausen has been away from New York for a long time. And while he needed help finding his way around Citi Field on Monday, he knows how things will work with Mets fans who greeted him so enthusiastically.

"Hopefully it stays that way," he said. "I know when I pitch bad, I'll get the opposite."