Are You Worried About Johan Santana?

9 Comments + Add Comment

• Gregga July 17, 2012 at 1:28 pm

  Terry Collins was 100% right. If he pulled Johan on 6/1, and the next guy came in a gave up a hit, we’d be killing Collins right now. That’s a fact. We could also pour through the records of all the guy who threw no only no hitters, but one hitters, and see they were not necessarily the greatest pitchers in the game. Look at Philip Umber for a recent example.
  As the season progresses and the weather warms up, so do the bats. Also I’m sure the opposition hase been studying lots of tape on Johan.
  Bottom line, the 6/1 games was Johan’s to win or lose. Terry made the right choice.
• Metsie July 17, 2012 at 2:23 pm

  Here is the deal with Santana and pretty much the story for anyone coming back from a long and difficult injury. He’s not going to be the only one to face this issue either. Murphy has already gone through it as well.

  We forget there are two components to athletic health and we often focus too much on the mechanical ascpects and forgot all about the aerobic aspects of being an athlete.

  In the Case of Santana he had to get his mechanics back and did but that layoff probably did more to hurt his aerobic stamina than it did the mechanical. The issue of aerobics is considerable because if your not aerobically fit you will tire easily and that tiring will lead to sloppy mechanics over time and could even lead to further injury in the long run.

  Throwing two CGs back to back must have taken a lot out of him and resting him an extra day probably was not a help there. Better would have been to start him and limit his Pitch count so he could maintain his feel even if it means a short outing. While it may have been a good rest for his arm it did nothing for his stamina which is as important to a pitcher having good outings and being effective as good mechanics as sound mechanics itself is.

  At this point I think we are seeing the effects of his not being aerobically conditioned to go through a full season. Murphy slumped for the same reasons. He looked tired and so too does Santana. Rest is not the answer to Aerobic conditioning and stamina, quite the opposite is true.

  Ike saw some of the same things during his slump and it explains his few fielding foibles during that time.

  Niese has had issues with the same thing in the past and time will tell if his focus on stamina has helped him there.

  Murphy Seems to have gotten his second wind but the real test for guys like Santana, Murphy and at this point even Young will be what happens in the dog days of August.
  The heat and Humidity will be at it’s highest, the mental pressure of being in a race will also weigh on them.
  And considering the current stretch of games they will play (thier longest WC road trip so far this sason and maybe the longest o the year!) vs the toughest teams in the NL, this could be a big wear on thoseguys who have missed significant time and are still getting their full seasonal legs under them.

  I don’t think the extra day of rest killed Santana but it sure didn’t help him maintain him mechanics and coupled with the heat and back to back complete games thatwhole week just took a lot out of him. Facing the Yankees in an emotionally charged game and getting rocked sure didn’t help any!
  • Stan July 21, 2012 at 12:17 am

    Terry Collins made the right call in leaving him in the game. Pitching that no hitter, boosted the spirits of the fans, the team and most of all Santana, he was on a high and that long layoff killed that high. When you have momentuim going in your favor, you need to keep going. He should have stayed in the rotation and keep his turn, then if he would’ve ran into trouble, then use the pen, that is what they are there for. He will return to his old form. Let the players tell you when they are pooped.
• jessep July 17, 2012 at 3:01 pm

  If Terry took Johan out, he would have lost the locker room. End of story.
  • Metsie July 17, 2012 at 3:28 pm

    Agree on that point.
    Terry really had no choice in either of those two CG shutouts to pull him.
    Deadly wrong message especially considering how our Pen was doing at the time.

    The only thing you can question is the extra day of rest.

    Santana was in a groove apparently and the extra day killed that groove.

    He should have started him and merely limited his Pitch Count or innings if he was worried about wear and tear.

    He stopped Santana’s Momentum and santana lost more than he gained by the interruption.
• gary s. July 17, 2012 at 4:10 pm

  Kind of ironic if Beltran’s shot sown the line is called correctly as a base hit, Johan comes out after 110 pitches and we do not have to read and comment on this post..
• sarge69 July 17, 2012 at 4:20 pm

  Regular, steady, if pitch limited for awhile, is what No Han needs till he gets his “aerobic/stamina” fixed plus he stop pitching in the top half of strike zone, only Young can get away with that as R.A. has also found out.
  Good luck going forward No Han.
• BXMets July 17, 2012 at 7:01 pm

  Santana is just going through his first dead arm period in 3 years, dont worry about him. Instead worry about Niese, Young and Dickey who have all pitched poorly. Dont worry about the guy with the Cy Youngs and the no-hitter. Worry about those other ones instead.
• jdon July 17, 2012 at 8:05 pm

  I am amazed he has pitched this well thus far. It was my understanding from things that I read that even when a shoulder physically heals after this kind of surgery, command can be a problem going forward. Just be happy with what we have, is my advice. Johan has had a lot of physical problems here. His natural competitiveness can carry him so far.