May
1
2012

Wonder If Johan Santana Regrets Signing With Mets?

An article by John Delcos

This time, it was the Mets’ bullpen that betrayed Johan Santana. The Mets finally scored runs for him, but the bullpen blew a four-run lead in the eighth inning with Tim Byrdak serving a grand slam homer to Todd Helton.

Another no-decision for Santana, who is still looking for his first victory since September 2010.

I know Santana doesn’t regret the money, but there are times such as yesterday when I wonder if he regrets not staying with Minnesota, where he had a chance to go to the World Series, or try the free-agent market where he could have gotten the money and a better chance to win.

The Mets were still a contender when they acquired him, but there were major cracks in the foundation. When Santana agreed to the deal, did he think about those things?

Santana has pitched well with the Mets when healthy, and to be fair, injuries could have happened anywhere. But, there have been too many games when the offense disappeared or the bullpen imploded to make him wonder if he did the right thing.

“We won. and that’s all I care about,” Santana said after yesterday’s game.

But, if winning is the only thing that matters, there must be times when he wonders if he made the right decision as there have been so many games since joining the Mets when he came away empty.

Santana is 0-2 with three no-decisions despite a 2.25 ERA this year. He’s given up only six earned runs in 18 innings, with four of them coming in one start.

He pitched to a 2.89 ERA in 2010 before the injury, but with nine no-decisions. Eight of those were games decided by two runs or less, and seven by one run.

In 2009, eight games he started that the Mets lost were decided by two runs, with five by one run.

There were 11 no-decisions in 2008, with the Mets winning six of those games. The Mets lost nine of the games he started by two runs or less, with six by one run.

Even with the time missed due to injury, Santana has made 64 quality starts for the Mets resulting in just 40 wins. His ERA in starts resulting in Mets losses and no-decisions is 3.05.

All those numbers reminds me of the Peanuts cartoon strip when Charlie Brown, after being told of his lousy pitching record, screams “Tell your statistics to shut up!”

Trouble is, that can’t be done. The stats are louder than ever.

About the Author: John Delcos

I am an active member of the BBWAA and have covered Major League Baseball in several capacities for over 20 years, including ten in New York working the Mets' and Yankees' beat. I covered the Baltimore Orioles for eight years and the Cleveland Indians before that. I currently serve as an editor and senior staff writer for Mets Merized Online. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos.

7 Comments + Add Comment

trs86 May 1, 2012 at 9:01 am

I am not sure, I think that there were no guarantees regardless of who he chose and at the time the Mets certainly appeared to be a good option. He wanted out of the AL and I don’t think he viewed Philly as the contender they would become. He most likely chose between maybe the Mets and Dodgers? Would things have been different there?
srt May 1, 2012 at 9:30 am

Have no idea if he has any regrets. If he does, oh well. He’s getting a good buck to pitch for a living and there’s no guarantees the team you pitch for will get you where you want to go. Don’t we all have some regrets in life?

I’ll say one thing for sure……as smart as Johan is, I doubt he’ll ever voice any disappointments or regrets in signing here as long as he’s playing for the NY Mets.
John Vittas May 1, 2012 at 9:50 am

I don’t think Johan cares one bit about his record. He is completely focused on his recovery and managing his body so he can stay healthy for the whole season and help the team win games.
Russell Zanca May 1, 2012 at 10:25 am

John D, no offense, but isn’t this a “broken record” column? If I didn’t know better I’d say it’s a piece published at least three or four times in the past. Mets fans ask themselves this question all the time.

Ultimately, if he is the true team player as he seems to be, then I doubt he regrets it all that deeply.

As a fan, my sympathy for him is limited, too. Of course, I wish he consistently would have 18-+ per year, but it’s the team’s accomplishments that matter most.
Joe D May 1, 2012 at 10:27 am

Hmmm regrets and $25 million a year, or no regrets and $5 million a year. That’s a tough one.
- Metsie May 1, 2012 at 12:19 pm
  
  LOL If he does have regrets lets hope that becomes contagious in the MLB and shows players getting lots of money for lots of years may not be the best deal to be had!
  
  Agents may have convinced the Players that Megabuck career ending contracts are a good thing for them but the truth is it is really not. Anyone know what a player like Pujols might be worth in 5 years time? I bet it’s more per year than he is making now!
  
  Being on a WS team alone regardless of your nubers adds a few million to your salary just look at Jason Werth for proof of that!
  
  Truth is when you making anything over 10 Mil a year your making enough to never need to work again the rest of your life if you just show a modicum of intelligence about how you invest that money.
  
  And one your rich in baseball there is only one goal left and money can’t buy it!
  A World Series Championship Ring!
  And if your signed for life to a team that can’t get that your pretty much screwed in achieving that goal!
  Players need to understand that their Agents don’t have the player’s best interest at heart what they have is thier own wallet at heart and cold care less abot the player’s desires.
  Only time it is even listened to is when they are a free agent and once you sign a for life contract that listening is over!
AL. May 1, 2012 at 5:32 pm

Ask Lee he did what need to do, for him and his family.

NL East Standings

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB
Braves	24	18	.571	-
Nationals	23	20	.535	1.5
Phillies	20	23	.465	4.5
Mets	16	24	.400	7.0
Marlins	11	32	.256	13.5

Last updated: 05/18/2013

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