2008 Baseball season

[formerlurker]

The Tigers.  They are going to be tough, but it is a long way until October so I am not going to make any predictions.  I think they have a good chance at making the Playoffs and will likely be going against the Yankees or Angels.  I think the wildcard will come from the AL Central. 

Tigers this year, or have they always been your team?

If always, then yes -- kittens look good this year.  Yankees have no pitching and an aging line up.   Angels, yeah we have been there before.  The only thing they are good for is beating the Yankees.

Red Sox have another winning team.  You have lost credibility by discounting them for one, and since when is a Detroit Tiger fan a Red Sox hater?   Very very odd. 

[Wretched Excess]

I begin this spring training with the same hopeful outlook for the Dodgers that I have every february.  but I am always prepared to have my heart broken.  call it a habit.

[Red October]

Just one of those days
Santana meets his match -- but it's just batting practice
By Marty Noble / MLB.com 

Mets hittters said Johan Santana showed sharp movement in his first BP session. (Nati Harnik/AP)

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The baseball left the bat of one of the dozens of anonymous wannabes who have assembled here in the Mets' Spring Training camp on Friday. It cleared the outfield fence, and it probably became the lunchtime chew toy for some creature indigenous to this region of the Sunshine State. But before it landed, this baseball traveled all the way to Valencia, Venezuela, and back.

Though the man who had launched the missile was a baseball unknown -- Salomon Eduardo Manriquez -- the pitcher who served the pitch was the polar opposite -- the highest-profile pitcher in the biggest baseball city, one Johan Alexander Santana. And that's what provided this batting practice poke the legs to reach the other side of the equator and make a splash.

Santana will not long recall so modest an episode in his award-winning career. Indeed, the newest star in the Mets' Milky Way assumed he had fathered other batting-practice home runs, but he could recall none. In contrast, the flight of the ball, the landing and the afterglow may push Manriquez's moments of fame beyond the Andy Warhol limit.

"Anyone I tell might remember it," Manriquez said an hour after splashdown. "I will."

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080222&content_id=2384192&vkey=spt2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

And so it begins.  Already.  Sure, they acknowledge it's only batting practice, but how many other pitchers would see this made into an MLB.com headline?  Every little mistake Santana makes will be made into a huge issue, no matter how stupid or unfair.  The pressures of New York will be much different than Minnesota.

[Taxman]

The Tigers.  They are going to be tough, but it is a long way until October so I am not going to make any predictions.  I think they have a good chance at making the Playoffs and will likely be going against the Yankees or Angels.  I think the wildcard will come from the AL Central. 

Tigers this year, or have they always been your team?

If always, then yes -- kittens look good this year.  Yankees have no pitching and an aging line up.   Angels, yeah we have been there before.  The only thing they are good for is beating the Yankees.

Red Sox have another winning team.  You have lost credibility by discounting them for one, and since when is a Detroit Tiger fan a Red Sox hater?   Very very odd. 

Not a Red Sox hater...not at all.  More of a Yankee hater.  However, pre-season predictions are always fun to look back on in October.  Do you realize how often the rags have it all wrong in March?   Look back to the '06 season to see proof of that.   Mostly, I am giving you shit for your bold predictions.  I have been a Tigers fan for so long that it is incredible...way back to the days of Kaline, Cash and Colavito.  I grew up in Michigan and vividly remember as a kid listening to the Tigers on my little transistor radio.   

[BlueStateSaint]

Just one of those days
Santana meets his match -- but it's just batting practice
By Marty Noble / MLB.com 

Mets hittters said Johan Santana showed sharp movement in his first BP session. (Nati Harnik/AP)

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The baseball left the bat of one of the dozens of anonymous wannabes who have assembled here in the Mets' Spring Training camp on Friday. It cleared the outfield fence, and it probably became the lunchtime chew toy for some creature indigenous to this region of the Sunshine State. But before it landed, this baseball traveled all the way to Valencia, Venezuela, and back.

Though the man who had launched the missile was a baseball unknown -- Salomon Eduardo Manriquez -- the pitcher who served the pitch was the polar opposite -- the highest-profile pitcher in the biggest baseball city, one Johan Alexander Santana. And that's what provided this batting practice poke the legs to reach the other side of the equator and make a splash.

Santana will not long recall so modest an episode in his award-winning career. Indeed, the newest star in the Mets' Milky Way assumed he had fathered other batting-practice home runs, but he could recall none. In contrast, the flight of the ball, the landing and the afterglow may push Manriquez's moments of fame beyond the Andy Warhol limit.

"Anyone I tell might remember it," Manriquez said an hour after splashdown. "I will."

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080222&content_id=2384192&vkey=spt2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

And so it begins.  Already.  Sure, they acknowledge it's only batting practice, but how many other pitchers would see this made into an MLB.com headline?  Every little mistake Santana makes will be made into a huge issue, no matter how stupid or unfair.  The pressures of New York will be much different than Minnesota.

What you weren't told in that story is that the batters were told what pitch was coming and the location of the pitch.  Not too hard to connect the dots, don't 'cha think?

I very seriously doubt that Brian Schneider is going to tell Jimmy Rollins, when Santana is on the mound, "Changeup away."

Oh--and if Kendrick posts the same numbers he did last year, when pitching 165-170 innings, then you'll have something.

[Red October]

What you weren't told in that story is that the batters were told what pitch was coming and the location of the pitch.  Not too hard to connect the dots, don't 'cha think?

I very seriously doubt that Brian Schneider is going to tell Jimmy Rollins, when Santana is on the mound, "Changeup away."

Oh--and if Kendrick posts the same numbers he did last year, when pitching 165-170 innings, then you'll have something.

He won't have to.  The change up is his go-to pitch.

And besides, that's not the point.  I'm not trying to convince anyone Santana won't be any good.  The point is he's under a ridiculous microscope.  That's not good for anyone's concentration.

[formerlurker]

Just one of those days
Santana meets his match -- but it's just batting practice
By Marty Noble / MLB.com 

Mets hittters said Johan Santana showed sharp movement in his first BP session. (Nati Harnik/AP)

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The baseball left the bat of one of the dozens of anonymous wannabes who have assembled here in the Mets' Spring Training camp on Friday. It cleared the outfield fence, and it probably became the lunchtime chew toy for some creature indigenous to this region of the Sunshine State. But before it landed, this baseball traveled all the way to Valencia, Venezuela, and back.

Though the man who had launched the missile was a baseball unknown -- Salomon Eduardo Manriquez -- the pitcher who served the pitch was the polar opposite -- the highest-profile pitcher in the biggest baseball city, one Johan Alexander Santana. And that's what provided this batting practice poke the legs to reach the other side of the equator and make a splash.

Santana will not long recall so modest an episode in his award-winning career. Indeed, the newest star in the Mets' Milky Way assumed he had fathered other batting-practice home runs, but he could recall none. In contrast, the flight of the ball, the landing and the afterglow may push Manriquez's moments of fame beyond the Andy Warhol limit.

"Anyone I tell might remember it," Manriquez said an hour after splashdown. "I will."

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080222&content_id=2384192&vkey=spt2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

And so it begins.  Already.  Sure, they acknowledge it's only batting practice, but how many other pitchers would see this made into an MLB.com headline?  Every little mistake Santana makes will be made into a huge issue, no matter how stupid or unfair.  The pressures of New York will be much different than Minnesota.

The NY Media isn't exactly a kind one is it -- hahahahaha.  Johnson cried like a little girl he couldn't handle the heat.

We'll see how he handles it.

[formerlurker]

The Tigers.  They are going to be tough, but it is a long way until October so I am not going to make any predictions.  I think they have a good chance at making the Playoffs and will likely be going against the Yankees or Angels.  I think the wildcard will come from the AL Central. 

Tigers this year, or have they always been your team?

If always, then yes -- kittens look good this year.  Yankees have no pitching and an aging line up.   Angels, yeah we have been there before.  The only thing they are good for is beating the Yankees.

Red Sox have another winning team.  You have lost credibility by discounting them for one, and since when is a Detroit Tiger fan a Red Sox hater?   Very very odd. 

Not a Red Sox hater...not at all.  More of a Yankee hater.  However, pre-season predictions are always fun to look back on in October.  Do you realize how often the rags have it all wrong in March?   Look back to the '06 season to see proof of that.   Mostly, I am giving you shit for your bold predictions.  I have been a Tigers fan for so long that it is incredible...way back to the days of Kaline, Cash and Colavito.  I grew up in Michigan and vividly remember as a kid listening to the Tigers on my little transistor radio.   

I make the same prediction every single year.  I am a die hard Red Sox fan -- I know no other way.   I also live for smack talk.   

I give it and will take it.  There is no crying in baseball or in the sports forum.  What is said here, stays here.

That said, while the Tigers have a great team on paper the season hasn't started yet. 

Batting lineups don't mean a damn in the AL -- it's all about pitching.   

[BlueStateSaint]

What you weren't told in that story is that the batters were told what pitch was coming and the location of the pitch.  Not too hard to connect the dots, don't 'cha think?

I very seriously doubt that Brian Schneider is going to tell Jimmy Rollins, when Santana is on the mound, "Changeup away."

Oh--and if Kendrick posts the same numbers he did last year, when pitching 165-170 innings, then you'll have something.

He won't have to.  The change up is his go-to pitch.

And besides, that's not the point.  I'm not trying to convince anyone Santana won't be any good.  The point is he's under a ridiculous microscope.  That's not good for anyone's concentration.

While he goes to it almost 50% of the time when he's got an 0-2 count, according to the site below, the count that he throws the slider on is also an 0-2 count.

http://baseball.bornbybits.com/plots/Johan_Santana.html

And, he throws it almost 19% of the time in that count.  Overall, he throws the changeup less than 30% of the time.  With a 95+-mph fastball, he'll be able to sneak the change in a fair amount.

Also, go down to the bottom of the page I gave the link for, above.  You can't see Santana's fastball release point listed--because it's the same as the changeup's release point.  Sit on the change and the fastball comes roaring by the batter, strike three, go back to the dugout.

[formerlurker]

What you weren't told in that story is that the batters were told what pitch was coming and the location of the pitch.  Not too hard to connect the dots, don't 'cha think?

I very seriously doubt that Brian Schneider is going to tell Jimmy Rollins, when Santana is on the mound, "Changeup away."

Oh--and if Kendrick posts the same numbers he did last year, when pitching 165-170 innings, then you'll have something.

He won't have to.  The change up is his go-to pitch.

And besides, that's not the point.  I'm not trying to convince anyone Santana won't be any good.  The point is he's under a ridiculous microscope.  That's not good for anyone's concentration.

While he goes to it almost 50% of the time when he's got an 0-2 count, according to the site below, the count that he throws the slider on is also an 0-2 count.

http://baseball.bornbybits.com/plots/Johan_Santana.html

And, he throws it almost 19% of the time in that count.  Overall, he throws the changeup less than 30% of the time.  With a 95+-mph fastball, he'll be able to sneak the change in a fair amount.

Also, go down to the bottom of the page I gave the link for, above.  You can't see Santana's fastball release point listed--because it's the same as the changeup's release point.  Sit on the change and the fastball comes roaring by the batter, strike three, go back to the dugout.

He hasn't proven anything until he can make those pitches in NY.   The NY media, Boston media and Philadelphia media are the most brutal in the country.

If you can make it there you can make it anywhere........

...he has to prove he can make it there.   


We're watching, as is 200+ sports media from NYC.   

[BlueStateSaint]

What you weren't told in that story is that the batters were told what pitch was coming and the location of the pitch.  Not too hard to connect the dots, don't 'cha think?

I very seriously doubt that Brian Schneider is going to tell Jimmy Rollins, when Santana is on the mound, "Changeup away."

Oh--and if Kendrick posts the same numbers he did last year, when pitching 165-170 innings, then you'll have something.

He won't have to.  The change up is his go-to pitch.

And besides, that's not the point.  I'm not trying to convince anyone Santana won't be any good.  The point is he's under a ridiculous microscope.  That's not good for anyone's concentration.

While he goes to it almost 50% of the time when he's got an 0-2 count, according to the site below, the count that he throws the slider on is also an 0-2 count.

http://baseball.bornbybits.com/plots/Johan_Santana.html

And, he throws it almost 19% of the time in that count.  Overall, he throws the changeup less than 30% of the time.  With a 95+-mph fastball, he'll be able to sneak the change in a fair amount.

Also, go down to the bottom of the page I gave the link for, above.  You can't see Santana's fastball release point listed--because it's the same as the changeup's release point.  Sit on the change and the fastball comes roaring by the batter, strike three, go back to the dugout.

He hasn't proven anything until he can make those pitches in NY.   The NY media, Boston media and Philadelphia media are the most brutal in the country.

If you can make it there you can make it anywhere........

...he has to prove he can make it there.   


We're watching, as is 200+ sports media from NYC.   

He already did, to an extent, when he notched his only shutout last season--a 92-pitch effort against the Mets in Shea when the Twins came there.  And, I think that he will make it.  He wants the pressure.  Pedro Martinez will help him a lot.

[Red October]

What you weren't told in that story is that the batters were told what pitch was coming and the location of the pitch.  Not too hard to connect the dots, don't 'cha think?

I very seriously doubt that Brian Schneider is going to tell Jimmy Rollins, when Santana is on the mound, "Changeup away."

Oh--and if Kendrick posts the same numbers he did last year, when pitching 165-170 innings, then you'll have something.

He won't have to.  The change up is his go-to pitch.

And besides, that's not the point.  I'm not trying to convince anyone Santana won't be any good.  The point is he's under a ridiculous microscope.  That's not good for anyone's concentration.

While he goes to it almost 50% of the time when he's got an 0-2 count, according to the site below, the count that he throws the slider on is also an 0-2 count.

http://baseball.bornbybits.com/plots/Johan_Santana.html

And, he throws it almost 19% of the time in that count.  Overall, he throws the changeup less than 30% of the time.  With a 95+-mph fastball, he'll be able to sneak the change in a fair amount.

Also, go down to the bottom of the page I gave the link for, above.  You can't see Santana's fastball release point listed--because it's the same as the changeup's release point.  Sit on the change and the fastball comes roaring by the batter, strike three, go back to the dugout.

He hasn't proven anything until he can make those pitches in NY.   The NY media, Boston media and Philadelphia media are the most brutal in the country.

If you can make it there you can make it anywhere........

...he has to prove he can make it there.   


We're watching, as is 200+ sports media from NYC.   

It's all part of the Vast East Coast Conspiracy. 

[Red October]

In all honesty, I'll be very surprised if Santana doesn't lead the league in strikeouts.  Thank God for the modern era of starters only pitching half the game. 

[formerlurker]

What you weren't told in that story is that the batters were told what pitch was coming and the location of the pitch.  Not too hard to connect the dots, don't 'cha think?

I very seriously doubt that Brian Schneider is going to tell Jimmy Rollins, when Santana is on the mound, "Changeup away."

Oh--and if Kendrick posts the same numbers he did last year, when pitching 165-170 innings, then you'll have something.

He won't have to.  The change up is his go-to pitch.

And besides, that's not the point.  I'm not trying to convince anyone Santana won't be any good.  The point is he's under a ridiculous microscope.  That's not good for anyone's concentration.

While he goes to it almost 50% of the time when he's got an 0-2 count, according to the site below, the count that he throws the slider on is also an 0-2 count.

http://baseball.bornbybits.com/plots/Johan_Santana.html

And, he throws it almost 19% of the time in that count.  Overall, he throws the changeup less than 30% of the time.  With a 95+-mph fastball, he'll be able to sneak the change in a fair amount.

Also, go down to the bottom of the page I gave the link for, above.  You can't see Santana's fastball release point listed--because it's the same as the changeup's release point.  Sit on the change and the fastball comes roaring by the batter, strike three, go back to the dugout.

He hasn't proven anything until he can make those pitches in NY.   The NY media, Boston media and Philadelphia media are the most brutal in the country.

If you can make it there you can make it anywhere........

...he has to prove he can make it there.   


We're watching, as is 200+ sports media from NYC.   

He already did, to an extent, when he notched his only shutout last season--a 92-pitch effort against the Mets in Shea when the Twins came there.  And, I think that he will make it.  He wants the pressure.  Pedro Martinez will help him a lot.

Not the same at all.  He wasn't playing for a NY team.    They eat their own for appetizers in NYC. 

[formerlurker]

What you weren't told in that story is that the batters were told what pitch was coming and the location of the pitch.  Not too hard to connect the dots, don't 'cha think?

I very seriously doubt that Brian Schneider is going to tell Jimmy Rollins, when Santana is on the mound, "Changeup away."

Oh--and if Kendrick posts the same numbers he did last year, when pitching 165-170 innings, then you'll have something.

He won't have to.  The change up is his go-to pitch.

And besides, that's not the point.  I'm not trying to convince anyone Santana won't be any good.  The point is he's under a ridiculous microscope.  That's not good for anyone's concentration.

While he goes to it almost 50% of the time when he's got an 0-2 count, according to the site below, the count that he throws the slider on is also an 0-2 count.

http://baseball.bornbybits.com/plots/Johan_Santana.html

And, he throws it almost 19% of the time in that count.  Overall, he throws the changeup less than 30% of the time.  With a 95+-mph fastball, he'll be able to sneak the change in a fair amount.

Also, go down to the bottom of the page I gave the link for, above.  You can't see Santana's fastball release point listed--because it's the same as the changeup's release point.  Sit on the change and the fastball comes roaring by the batter, strike three, go back to the dugout.

He hasn't proven anything until he can make those pitches in NY.   The NY media, Boston media and Philadelphia media are the most brutal in the country.

If you can make it there you can make it anywhere........

...he has to prove he can make it there.   


We're watching, as is 200+ sports media from NYC.   

It's all part of the Vast East Coast Conspiracy. 

Speaking of which, where is DK?

[BlueStateSaint]

In all honesty, I'll be very surprised if Santana doesn't lead the league in strikeouts.  Thank God for the modern era of starters only pitching half the game. 

I just read something to the effect on Metsblog.com that the AP is saying that Brad Lidge caught a spike on the mound on the first pitch he threw in batting practice today, injuring the same knee that he had surgery on last October.  Lidge "'limped off the field after talking with team trainers,' notes the report."  Apparently, the Phillies hope to know more about the extent of the injury tomorrow . . . 

Santana will have 260+ Ks in 2008.

[Red October]

Just our luck    They're saying it's nothing serious, that he felt some "irritation."  This right after we paid Freddy Garcia ten million dollars to go 1-5 for us then land on the DL.  God hates Philly teams for some damn reason.   

[BlueStateSaint]

Just our luck    They're saying it's nothing serious, that he felt some "irritation."  This right after we paid Freddy Garcia ten million dollars to go 1-5 for us then land on the DL.  God hates Philly teams for some damn reason.   

You and I both know that an "irritation" doesn't make you limp off the field . . . 

And, with the admission that El Deadguy's third toe on his right (?) foot is shorter than it used to be last year, thus he has to alter his delivery, and with Pedro and Johan being friends of his, it wouldn't surprise me to see Freddy Garcia in a Mets' uniform in August.

[Taxman]

The Tigers.  They are going to be tough, but it is a long way until October so I am not going to make any predictions.  I think they have a good chance at making the Playoffs and will likely be going against the Yankees or Angels.  I think the wildcard will come from the AL Central. 

Tigers this year, or have they always been your team?

If always, then yes -- kittens look good this year.  Yankees have no pitching and an aging line up.   Angels, yeah we have been there before.  The only thing they are good for is beating the Yankees.

Red Sox have another winning team.  You have lost credibility by discounting them for one, and since when is a Detroit Tiger fan a Red Sox hater?   Very very odd. 

Not a Red Sox hater...not at all.  More of a Yankee hater.  However, pre-season predictions are always fun to look back on in October.  Do you realize how often the rags have it all wrong in March?   Look back to the '06 season to see proof of that.   Mostly, I am giving you shit for your bold predictions.  I have been a Tigers fan for so long that it is incredible...way back to the days of Kaline, Cash and Colavito.  I grew up in Michigan and vividly remember as a kid listening to the Tigers on my little transistor radio.   

I make the same prediction every single year.  I am a die hard Red Sox fan -- I know no other way.   I also live for smack talk.   

I give it and will take it.  There is no crying in baseball or in the sports forum.  What is said here, stays here.

That said, while the Tigers have a great team on paper the season hasn't started yet. 

Batting lineups don't mean a damn in the AL -- it's all about pitching.   

I agree that pitching plays a key role.  But a balanced offense along with good pitching is what it takes.  Having great pitchers is half the equation...the other is the ability is to put up runs.  The Red Sox will be tough but it is doggone hard to go all the way two years in a row.  It happens but today it is tougher.  I have been a die hard Tigers fan and have gone through some VERY rough seasons following them. 

[BlueStateSaint]

The Tigers.  They are going to be tough, but it is a long way until October so I am not going to make any predictions.  I think they have a good chance at making the Playoffs and will likely be going against the Yankees or Angels.  I think the wildcard will come from the AL Central. 

Tigers this year, or have they always been your team?

If always, then yes -- kittens look good this year.  Yankees have no pitching and an aging line up.   Angels, yeah we have been there before.  The only thing they are good for is beating the Yankees.

Red Sox have another winning team.  You have lost credibility by discounting them for one, and since when is a Detroit Tiger fan a Red Sox hater?   Very very odd. 

Not a Red Sox hater...not at all.  More of a Yankee hater.  However, pre-season predictions are always fun to look back on in October.  Do you realize how often the rags have it all wrong in March?   Look back to the '06 season to see proof of that.   Mostly, I am giving you shit for your bold predictions.  I have been a Tigers fan for so long that it is incredible...way back to the days of Kaline, Cash and Colavito.  I grew up in Michigan and vividly remember as a kid listening to the Tigers on my little transistor radio.   

I make the same prediction every single year.  I am a die hard Red Sox fan -- I know no other way.   I also live for smack talk.   

I give it and will take it.  There is no crying in baseball or in the sports forum.  What is said here, stays here.

That said, while the Tigers have a great team on paper the season hasn't started yet. 

Batting lineups don't mean a damn in the AL -- it's all about pitching.   

I agree that pitching plays a key role.  But a balanced offense along with good pitching is what it takes.  Having great pitchers is half the equation...the other is the ability is to put up runs.  The Red Sox will be tough but it is doggone hard to go all the way two years in a row.  It happens but today it is tougher.  I have been a die hard Tigers fan and have gone through some VERY rough seasons following them. 

I've said it before (only a couple of pages ago, IIRC) and I'll say it again--put Dontrelle Willis with Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson, and that's a lethal staff.

[Odin's Hand]

Lidge is gonna miss at least a month.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AotswELgl3Fg5pAkYJE079IRvLYF?slug=ap-phillies-lidgesurgery&prov=ap&type=lgns

and so the vagina monologues begin...

[BlueStateSaint]

Lidge is gonna miss at least a month.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AotswELgl3Fg5pAkYJE079IRvLYF?slug=ap-phillies-lidgesurgery&prov=ap&type=lgns

and so the vagina monologues begin...

If Lidge is out six weeks, that puts him coming back right around the time the Phillthies go to Shea for the first time . . . at least he's not going to be pitching at the bandbox that is Citizens' Bank Park . . .

[formerlurker]

Santana: three runs in two innings
By BART HUBBUCH

The MetsNew York Mets  can only hope Johan SantanaJohan Santana  is a slow starter.

Their $137 million ace had a rough first inning today against the Cardinals in Port St. Lucie in his game debut as a Met. St. Louis took a 3-0 lead on a Juan Gonzalez home run to left against Santana, who gave up hits to three of the first five batters.

"There's a lot of things I need to learn throughout the season," Santana told SNY afterward. ``It takes some time. We're working on it."

Santana was better in his second (and final) inning of work. He took the loss in the Mets' 5-4 defeat.

After the Mets had cut the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the first, Santana threw 13 pitches in a scoreless second while retiring the side on three flyouts. The only damage was a two-out triple to the wall by No. 9 hitter Brendan Ryan.

Santana was pulled, then threw 15 pitches in the Tradition Field bullpen to get to his 45-pitch workload for the day. Johan's line: three runs, four hits, no walks and one strikeout.

http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/mets/archives/2008/02/santanas_debut.html

 

[BlueStateSaint]

Santana: three runs in two innings
By BART HUBBUCH

The MetsNew York Mets  can only hope Johan SantanaJohan Santana  is a slow starter.

Their $137 million ace had a rough first inning today against the Cardinals in Port St. Lucie in his game debut as a Met. St. Louis took a 3-0 lead on a Juan Gonzalez home run to left against Santana, who gave up hits to three of the first five batters.

"There's a lot of things I need to learn throughout the season," Santana told SNY afterward. ``It takes some time. We're working on it."

Santana was better in his second (and final) inning of work. He took the loss in the Mets' 5-4 defeat.

After the Mets had cut the deficit to 3-2 in the bottom of the first, Santana threw 13 pitches in a scoreless second while retiring the side on three flyouts. The only damage was a two-out triple to the wall by No. 9 hitter Brendan Ryan.

Santana was pulled, then threw 15 pitches in the Tradition Field bullpen to get to his 45-pitch workload for the day. Johan's line: three runs, four hits, no walks and one strikeout.

http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/mets/archives/2008/02/santanas_debut.html

 

It's his first start of spring training.  All I worry about is his health.  He was throwing 91 mph, and pitchers generally pick up 4-5 mph between the first week and the last week of ST.  The first start is all about mechanics.

Plus, Juan Gonzalez is trying to make the Cardinals, so it's a given that he's going to play hard in ST. 

[Bondai]

GO D'BACKS!
Randy Johnson will make a start against the Rockies on monday. It looks as though he is right on schedule rehab wise. Good luck Randy....

GO D'BACKS!