15
2009
So What’s The Deal With Johan Santana?
An article by 
It’s been a steady decline in performance for Johan Santana recently. It’s a decline that began on May 16th and culminated in an all time low point in his career on Sunday against the Yankees.
Santana’s velocity has now dropped to 89 MPH on his fastball, which makes his usual lethal changeup a lot less lethal and his fastball a lot more hittable. He wasn’t fooling anybody out there on Sunday, and you could say the same thing about his last game against the Phillies who touched him up for four homeruns in cozy Citi Field.
“It was a bad day, actually one of the worst of my career,” said Santana, who was rocked for a career-high nine runs and nine hits in three-plus innings. “There are no excuses or anything, today was just a rough day.”
Now here is something I found kind of odd. Apparently, pitching coach Dan Warthen said Santana changed the grip on his fastball a few starts ago because of a blister on his middle finger, and thinks the new grip may have created more cutting action on the ball that caused a slight decrease in velocity. I don’t know who’s dumb idea it was to change the grip of one of the best pitchers in baseball, but here’s how I feel about that…
If it was Johan’s idea, bad freaking idea dude!
If it was Warthen’s idea, pack your shit up and leave the premises, your fired!
The Mets need for Johan Santana to get his act together and return to the form we saw in April. He was once the sure thing in the rotation, but not anymore. The Mets have no sure things in the rotation. Worse yet, their starting pitchers (or whatever you want to call them these days) have to be nearly perfect whenever they are on the mound. Even just one mistake pitch and the game could be lost. The reason for that is that the offense can’t go toe to toe with the upper echelon teams. They can’t wait out around for the eventual three run homer like they used to. Reading a Mets boxscore is mind boggling to say the least; 17 hits – 5 runs, 11 hits – 2 runs, 10 hits – 0 runs.
The Mets fixed the bullpen, but thought they would leave leftfield, rightfield, first base, catcher and second base in the hands of a bunch of singles hitters with warning track power. Sure Tatis and Church might hit the occasional homerun, but gimme a break…
The only thing that has kept the Mets afloat this season is Gary Sheffield, who was a last minute addition courtesy of the Detroit Tigers. Without Sheff, the Mets would already be counting down their tragic number.
So get well soon Johan, and remember… You have to be perfect…
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
Went to my first Mets game, a Mayors Trophy game at Shea, in '73. We beat the Yankees 8-4 and I was hooked. I marched in two Banner Day parades, and before the Grand Slam single, there was the "Hendu Can Do" grand slam - I was there. I've collected Mets memorabilia all my life and started Mets Merized Online to feed my addiction.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationals | 26 | 18 | .591 | - |
| Braves | 26 | 19 | .578 | 0.5 |
| Mets | 24 | 20 | .545 | 2.0 |
| Marlins | 24 | 20 | .545 | 2.0 |
| Phillies | 22 | 23 | .489 | 4.5 |
Last updated: 05/24/2012
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Bang on, Joe. I hate sounding the alarm, but we are no CHicken Littles. You, for example, provided the right analysis; this is not a bunch of problems that will simply iron themselves out, at least not according to contemporary baseball trends.
Re: Santana. If this had been one horrible aberration, we could slough it off, but we see the spiral–not encouraging.
I have been wondering for a while what Warthen gives our staff. I’m not crticizing per se, just wondering what his reputation i around the Bigs.
Santana should definitely be given a full physical exam. Honestly, he is our major hope for a decent season.
I would love to see amazing play from Murph and FMart, but I don’t have that kind of optimism, so I won’t be holding my breath. Several huge and missed off season opportunities.
Recal, Omar after K-Rod: we’re essentially done. Yep, we’re done alright. I know the defenders will see: “Hey, how was he supposed to know?” A GM has to have vision. No, he’s not a prognosticator, but he must anticipate difficult scenarios and figure out the contingency plan. If what we’ve got now is Contingency, then oh, boy, we’re in deep doo-doo.
Looking at your graphic, I actually don’t feel as bad(concerned) about Santana as I did this morning.
I’d say his last TWO games, not four or five like some post were not very good, but those two games were both off of very good offensive teams.
I would be concerned with the velocity issue. I’d say give him one more game and THEN push the panic button.
The velocity on his fastball is down and the location on his off-speed pitches is missing. He isn’t just struggling against good teams but has had a hard time against the Giants and Nats as well.
After the game he attempted to proclaim his health but also admitted he’s been battling a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand, which is effecting his fastball and a sore back.
Bottom line, is to put him on the DL for 1 start, and call up Knight from Triple A Buffalo. Have Knight throw, see how he does, and then if he plays well have him pitch Santana’s next start (depending on if he is feeling good and ready to go). We need to rest Santana as much as we can because we really need him to bounce back and give us some solid outings to get us back into the contention for 1st, even if it takes the DL for another pitcher. (at least for now)
And how bout that new guy??? That guys sick!
The deal with Johan Santana is obvious to anyone who didn’t buy into the myth that he was going to make the difference for the Mets. And it’s obvious to anyone who’s seen “Rocky IV”: He’s not a machine, he’s a man.
Which is more than I can say for some of the Mets. So when does the demand for Jerry Manuel to get fired begin? After all, he doesn’t seem “devastated” (to borrow Tom Glavine’s word) by two of the most stunning pre-late September losses in Met history.
If it were me, everyone goes. Except for Wright and Reyes. Its obvious that this team cannot compete for a title. And since the Wilpons just got ganked for 250 million, we’re not going to be able to spend much $$$ next offseason. So realistically you’re not gonna compete for a playoff spot until 2011. O.K. fine. So build a team with guys who will be good or still good by 2011.
Looking at the roster heres a list of guys you could get quality back for.
Beltran – Has 2 years left on his deal. Even in a bad economy theres at least 10-15 teams interested in him. He can get you a lot.
Johan- With his contract the only 2 teams that can take him are Boston and the Yankees. I wouldn’t want any of the Yankees young players, but Boston could put together a nice deal. I’d ask for Pedroia. Theo would probably laugh at me.
The other players you’d have to package together. Church, Murphy, Maine, Pelfrey, you could probably get something for, but I don’t know what.
You’re not gonna get much for KRod because teams had a chance at him in November and no one wanted to pay that much.
Really you have to (and a good GM could do this) get 2-4 more core players from dealing Johan and Beltran. So that leaves you with Wright, Reyes, and 2-4 core guys. Maybe a starter or 2 and hopefully 2 young everyday players. Restock the farm system, and then when they become available, and they will become available, trade for MCab, or Hanley. Both young players you can build around.
Anyway this is a waste of time because as long as the Wilpons own the Mets nothing will change. They’ll always be a half a$s organization that spends just enough to be competitive but doesn’t have the foresight or baseball skills to build a contender. Omar is horrible no doubt, but its Fred and Jeff where the real problem lies. If anything, lets just pray that they go bankrupt and are forced to sell the team. Bernie Madoff may end up being a savior to all Mets fans.
Get rid of Beltran and Santana? Are you kidding me? Why, exactly what good is breaking up th “core”, that just sounds to me like rehased garble coming out of Fatscessca’s mouth. I do not understand the purpose of that at all. Please explain.
Nosh, To put it nicely, you’re just plain NUTS! Get rid of core players like Beltran and Santana to bargain for some other miscellaneous core players? Why would you ever do that? Just keep the core players you already have. Get rid of these guys and there isn’t much of a team left. You suggestion will put the Mets under the waves for years to come. It will be a long haul to build the team back up into competitivenes after that boondoggle. Did you read the piece about what happened after M Donald Grant got rid of Tom Seaver? It was Grant’s Tomb for 10 years. Your suggestion is a repeat of that blighted strategy.
MASK, MARK TODAY ON YOUR CALENDAR AS I HAVE, WE FINALLY AGREE! IF NOSH HAD HIS WAY I’D CERTAINLY SAVE A LOT OF MONEY IN NOT FLYING THE FAMILY IN EVERY YEAR FOR A COUPLE OF GAMES & I CAN CANCEL MY EXTRA-INNINGS PKG TOO! THANKS, NOSH! I’M RICH, UNHASPPY; BUT SWIMMING IN IT! ‘NOSH’ MUST BE BENINGO’S NOMDEPLUMB LMAO! ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK!
Mets62, Glad we agree. I would hate to see this team go into a 10 year long rebuilding phase, when there is no need for that. It would certainly be a demotivator for attending games as you point out.