Mets baseball blog

Santana is done for 2009

Johan Santana will have his elbow cleaned out, ending his season, but the ace should be fine for 2010, the Mets announced. Team doctor David Altchek examined Santana at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Santana will undergo an arthroscopic procedure to remove bone chips.

The 30-year-old lefthander finishes the season with a 13-9 record and 3.13 ERA. He logged 166 2/3 innings, snapping a streak of five straight seasons of exceeding 200 innings pitched. Santana's velocity has sagged during the second half.

"It's mostly soreness. It's my understanding from the doctors there are bone chips," Mets general manager Omar Minaya said on a conference call. "We all want to see Johan Santana pitching in September. But this is a smart move because we want to see him pitching for the long haul." (Daily News)

Mets prefer Santana to not pitch in allstar game

Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen offered this bit of parting advice to Johan Santana before the ace joined K-Rod and David Wright on a private plane bound for the All-Star Game: Be careful.

In fact, the Mets prefer that Santana goes unused in Tuesday's Midsummer Classic. The Phillies' coaching staff, which is running the NL operation, appears willing to comply with the wishes of its rival. Continue

Santana with 2 big starts this week

The Mets had a miserable showing in Pittsburgh, but the dreariness had one silver lining: A rainout in the Steel City delayed Johan Santana's turn in the rotation. As a result, the ace gets to bookend a six-game stretch against a pair of rivals.

Tuesday, Santana opens the Mets' series against the Phillies, with the Mets trailing the NL East leaders by three games. He then faces the Yankees on Sunday in the Bronx. Continue

Santana shaping up nicely for opening day

Johan Santana looks like an Opening Day starter to Jerry Manuel. And why not be excited after the ace held the Braves hitless through four innings Sunday?

Santana eventually gave up a solo homer to Matt Diaz and a double by Clint Sammons, finishing his five-inning outing with seven strikeouts and two walks as the Mets crushed the Braves, 12-1.

"The velocity was a little up, surprisingly, for me," Manuel said. "And I don't look at the gun much. But it just seemed like everything was a little quicker today. That's good for us. That means he's feeling pretty good about his stuff right now."

Said Santana: "I think we're on the right track trying to get everything as planned." Continue

Johan throws 56 pitches for Mets against minor-leaguers

Francisco Rodriguez recorded a high-intensity, four-out save against Puerto Rico in the Worl dBaseball Classic on Monday night. Johan Santana watched on television and munched on pita chips.

Then, Santana awoke Tuesday and threw a four-inning, 56-pitch game against Mets minor-leaguers. Santana was so into the intrasquad game, he was giving the umpires a hard time about a pair of disputed second-inning calls. "This is a game. You have to do whatever it takes, even to win that game, and to get ready," Santana said after allowing two earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts, no walks and two wild pitches. "That's the thing: When Opening Day comes, there's not going to be any practice or anything. You've got to be ready." Continue

Santana's shaky but healthy in spring debut

Johan Santana's left elbow held up just fine here last night, and that was all that mattered to the Mets.

Santana hit some rough patches in his spring-training debut, giving up a homer and three runs in 2" innings of an eventual 16-8 loss to the Marlins.

But that was entirely beside the point.

All eyes were on Santana's pitching elbow - which had experienced tightness two weeks ago - but there didn't appear to be any problems there in his first appearance in a game since Oct. 1 knee surgery. Continue

Santana make his 1st start tonight

D-Day has finally arrived for Johan Santana and his prized left elbow.

The Mets' ace left-hander makes his first game appearance of the spring tonight against the Marlins in a rare Grapefruit League game under the lights.

It's also Santana's first appearance in a game since undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee last Oct. 1. Not to mention, it's his first outing since a heroic complete-game shutout on just three days' rest with a torn meniscus the next-to-last day of last season - also against the Marlins. Continue

Santana faces real hitters

Johan Santana's first Grapefruit League appearance looks headed for prime time later this week.

Santana, who had been briefly slowed by elbow tightness nearly two weeks ago, faced hitters for the first time all spring Saturday, when the ace tossed a 36-pitch, two-inning simulated game against Mets hitters. While team officials wouldn't commit to a date for Santana advancing to an actual game, all signs point to Thursday night against the Marlins as the target for Santana's return. Continue

Santana now ahead of schedule?

When Johan Santana's name was conspicuously absent from Friday's pitching grid on the clubhouse wall, it could have meant any number of things.

Perhaps Santana, who cruised through Wednesday's side session, was having elbow issues again. Or maybe the Mets needed more time to figure out his new throwing schedule.

The third possibility proved to be the correct one. The Mets, still sensitive over the whole Opening Day fiasco, decided to go underground with their Santana plan and unveil the next step at a time of their choosing. Continue

Mets a joke with Johan, now Santana may start opening day

Johan Santana wants the ball Opening Day in Cincinnati, even if a more conservative schedule had been plotted by his pitching coach.

Jerry Manuel plans to comply with his ace's wishes, although Manuel maintains it's ultimately the manager's call.

Santana, slowed last week by elbow tightness, threw a 46-pitch bullpen session Wednesday and reiterated his intention to take the mound April 6 against the Reds. Continue