Mets send contingent to Walter Reed Medical Center

WASHINGTON - Despite a disappointing season, and many new faces in the clubhouse, the Mets did pull together as a team Tuesday to visit the nearby Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The Mets sent a contingent of 29 players - with only four skipping the trip - plus the coaching staff, COO Jeff Wilpon and general manager Omar Minaya. The visit was not mandatory, and last night's starting pitcher Dillon Gee was told to take a pass in order to prepare for his major-league debut. Carlos Beltran, Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo also did not attend.

"I think it's cool that we basically had everyone go except for three players," David Wright said. "Obviously, it's nice to get the team over there and see those guys, to give everybody a big thank you and show our appreciation for the jobs that they do. That's the No. 1 thing. For that reason, I think everybody should go."

Many of the soldiers were wounded in Afghanistan, and the players were surprised at how forthcoming they were about their experiences. A few players were still preoccupied by the visit as they dressed for batting practice.

"It's always a tremendous experience," Jerry Manuel said. "It's a sad experience in the sense that you see lives given up for the freedoms that we take for granted on a daily basis. We hope that we could just add a little bit of life to them and hope we can encourage them in some way as they have definitely been encouragement to us."

Extra bases

Manuel confirmed after the game that Jose Reyes will not play until Friday against the Phillies at Citi Field. Reyes felt good after batting practice, and wanted to start in Wednesday's series finale, but Manuel wanted to be extra cautious with his strained oblique . . . The team said Mike Pelfrey will start Saturday and Jon Niese will be pushed back to Sunday.