Johan Santana Scoreless In First Appearance Since 2010

It’s hard to read too much into anything related to spring-training results, but here goes. Johan Santana:

You can focus on the scoreless part, or you can focus on the part where he wasn’t missing any bats. If I can suggest one of them, though, it would be the “two innings” part. It’s just nice to see him out there for the first time in over a year.

It doesn’t matter exactly what an anterior capsule is, but once you know that it’s somewhere in the shoulder, you know it was serious. The shoulder is the alien technology of the human body, at least when it comes to sports. As such, Santana was shut down at the end of 2010 and missed all of 2011.

On Tuesday, though, there’s good news. From the New York Daily News:

Well, word’s back on his appointment. From Adam Rubin, the news is pretty good:

Simple fatigue, and nothing structural. This is a setback, but only a minor one, and Santana will resume his throwing program a week from now. In the meantime, he’ll keep conditioning the rest of his body.

Working his way back from major shoulder surgery, Santana got as far as making a minor league rehab appearance, throwing three innings for class-A St. Lucie last Thursday. He was scheduled to throw again this Wednesday, but now that appearance has been canceled, as Santana’s visiting with a specialist. Why? Mike Fitzpatrick:

There’s no guarantee that anything’s actually wrong, aside from the general soreness. Santana could be just fine. That’s why he’s going to the doctor. But while the Mets are reluctant to call this a setback, it’s a setback, as Santana’s return has been delayed. Where it looked like he’d be able to get some major league innings under his belt before the end of the season, that’s currently in doubt, pending the doctor’s word.

Not long ago, Santana experienced something of a setback. Soon thereafter he got back on a mound and threw a few bullpens and simulated games without incident. The Mets are proceeding cautiously, but a minor league rehab assignment is the next step, and the last step between where Santana is now and a return to the majors.

If everything goes according to plan, Santana could re-join the Mets near the end of August. Everything may not go according to plan, as everything seldom does, but there exists that possibility, and if not August, then September. It seems probable that the Mets will see at least something out of Santana before the end of the year, which should help them plan for 2012. Santana’s still under contract through 2013 so he’s not going anywhere, but if the Mets think they can actually count on him to pitch effectively with the injury behind him, then that’ll provide a big lift.

Scratch that. Here’s the latest, from Mike Puma (via the Post):

At best, right? I suppose that “sometime in August” is most likely ... but significantly more likely than “sometime in September” or “sometime in the spring of 2012”? I’m not convinced. Santana’s been mired in rehab hell for longer than anyone can remember, so at this point it will seem like something of a surprise if he ever pitches again, ever.

This was the next step in the progression of Santana’s rehabilitation from surgery to repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder, with the first step coming earlier in the month when Santana was throwing on flat ground over a distance of up to 150 feet. The Mets are still hoping for a July return, though Rubin brings up a sobering point:

That’s probably the first time you’ve thought about Chien-Ming Wang in a year, and he too used to be one of the best starting pitchers in the game. While Santana appears to be on track, there’s never a guarantee that he’ll be the same pitcher.

Well, on Sunday, Santana refuted that report. Said Johan:

Santana played catch on Friday and Saturday, before preparing to rest on Sunday and Monday. It is a slow rehabilitation process, but he is moving along, and says that he’s taken a step forward since reporting to camp. He doesn’t know when he’ll be able to return to a mound, but general manager Sandy Alderson projects him to participate in minor league games in May and come back to the Mets by July. And as of now, there’s no reason to believe that Santana’s off track.

Johan Santana’s pectoral injury seemed to be no big deal. Though it forced him out of a game early, and caused him to miss his next scheduled start, by and large things were looking pretty good. Until Thursday night. Thursday night is when an MRI revealed something far more sinister. The press release:

This will be the third straight year that Santana has undergone a surgical procedure - he had elbow surgery to remove bone chips a year ago, and had his knee worked on in 2008. On the plus side, each of those operations was on a different part of his body. On the down side, you never want your big-money ace to turn into a scalpel magnet. That Santana is about to have shoulder surgery is especially concerning. Knees can be fixed. Elbows can be fixed. Shoulders are more tricky. Shoulders can be fixed, too, and often are, but if a pitcher has to get hurt anywhere, the shoulder’s about as bad as it gets. Except for the brain, I guess. The brain and the spine.

Santana, to that point, had allowed just one run on three hits, and was on track to have another long and effective start. The 31 year old southpaw owns a 2.98 ERA and an 11-9 record after still picking up the win.

Nothing is as yet known as to the severity of his strain, but given the way these things usually go, Santana could end up missing a start or two, as the Mets have little reason to push him very hard.