Mets baseball blog

Will Santana pitch in 2011?

 Johan Santana denied a published report Sunday that said he is in danger of being shut down from rehabbing his surgically repaired shoulder and that his entire season is in jeopardy.

The Record of North Jersey, citing "one member of the Mets organization," said Santana "has not been progressing in his return to light throwing and the team is concerned enough to halt this section of his rehabilitation."

But Santana said that is not the case.

"I don't know who's saying that I'm not ready or whatever," he said. "According to everything the way it has been done, we're right on track and where we're supposed to be. So whoever is saying that I'm not ready, I think, is lying. (Newsday)

June-July for Johan Santana

Johan Santana is back among his teammates and participating in some workouts, but the Mets do not expect their ace to pitch in a major league game until June or July.

Thursday, Sandy Alderson defined Santana's process of returning from September shoulder surgery in three phases: recovery, throwing and pitching. "Johan has gone through phase 1, recovery from the surgery, " Alderson said. "There was a healing process, a restoration of range of motion, that sort of thing. And that took about 4-1/2 months. The second stage is a return to throwing, which is the stage he is in currently. We expect that to last maybe three months. It will involve flat ground, a gradual lengthening of the tossing and also intensity (and) velocity. We expect that's going to take about three months, so that would take us maybe into ... the first of May.

"The third phase is actual return to pitching. The medical expectation is maybe six to eight weeks. So if you do the math, it gets you to the end of June, the middle part of July." (News)

Santana on the long road back for Mets

The Mets still don't know when Johan Santana will be back on the mound, but entering a season filled with uncertainty, they at least know their ace finally is showing signs of progress.

Santana, sidelined since undergoing September surgery to repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder, has begun playing catch, according to pitching coach Dan Warthen.

"He's thrown a baseball three times now," Warthen said at Digital Domain Park yesterday. "We'll find out how he is and put together a program."

Warthen spoke on the phone with Santana, who continues to rehab near his home in Fort Myers, Fla. He is recovering from an unusual injury, which is why the timetable for his return remains so murky. (Post)

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