According to Kevin Burkhardt of SNY, Johan Santana will not be heading back to New York for tests. Burkhardt told viewers during today's broadcast of the Mets and Astro's spring training game.
Apparently Johan felt so good after today's bullpen session, he canceled the trip. It's a good sign that he's feeling good, and enough so that he feels the exams are unnecessary. I am however questioning the judgement of management to allow him to make that decision himself. He won't be throwing tomorrow anyway, so why not send him to New York just to make sure nothing is ruptured?Picture by Howard Simmons of NY Daily News
Original Post
Don't let anyone wearing a Mets hat into the Empire State Building, because odds are they're there to take a leap. Johan Santana is headed to New York for tests on his troublesome elbow.
Adam Rubin of The Daily News is reporting that the pitcher will head to the city for a MRI and other examinations. GM Omar Minaya did not seem terribly worried about it saying it was strictly precautionary.If there is anything positive to take from today, it's that the pitcher said he was feeling good after throwing a 35 pitch bullpen session this morning. Per a later report from Rubin:
"I felt fine," Santana said. "It's the first time in the last four days that I threw, but I feel good. ... As you throw more pitches, you feel better. That tells me we're making progress and getting loose."
Both Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen and Santana believe this may have been caused by working out too intensely in order to try and prepare to pitch in the WBC:
"Coming to spring training, my mindset was to participate in the WBC," Santana said. "Somehow you have to find a way to get ready. I think that's what it is - throwing too much too soon."
I'm glad they're finally sending him up for tests. Knowing the Mets though, I don't trust them to be completely truthful regarding the severity of the injury. I expect a full press conference explaining the injury in detail. If all the press gets are comments from Dr. David Altchek that isn't going to cut it. I want to see a full blown live press conference. I want the MRI results given at SNY studios by a team of the finest physicians, standing on a stage in front of the Citi / Mets banner. I want every Mets beat writer there to cover it. I want to know the course of action, and know the worst case scenario. I want Johan to speak and tell the fans what he expects from himself this season.
Maybe that's overkill, but I do think the fan base expects a serious and detailed explanation. If that isn't given it will only lead to more speculation on the severity of things by the media. If that happens you're going to have to talk a lot of Mets fans off the ledge.
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