Reds to Miss Johan Santana on Opening Day

[TheBigLebowski]

Mets announced today that Santana will miss at least his first start.

:beerme:

[WildcatFan]

World Series here we come!

[Captain Hook]

Nice break for the Reds.Hope they can get a bunch more.

[Jerome]

Just another reason we are the Tampa Bay Rays of this season--they too did not face Johan Santana in the first series of last year.


http://jeromesredscare.blogspot.com

[davereds24]

Finally Harang is catching a break. Would be great to see him start off 1-0.

[DTCromer]

Does that mean we get to face Oliver Perez opening day?

[mroby85]

I'm not sure what their rotation is exactly, but if we get him, I could see him being tough on the lefties. I like the chances better than facing Santana though.

[Ghosts of 1990]

This is great news. Lets hope the mets throw Maine opening day and not Perez

[redsfandan]

This will definitely help. Take out Santana and that rotation doesn't scare anyone.

[Eric_the_Red]

I think this means we'll get Pelfrey.

[steig]

I'm disappointed about missing Santana. As a baseball fan I want to see the best play, especially with the unbalanced schedule. This is the only trip the Mets make into Cincinnati and I like to see the other teams ace pitch against the Reds. Yes, it's harder to win but you are going to have to be able to consistently beat the best pitchers at some point if you want to win a world series.

[xavr1]

I somewhat agree about being a bit disappointed because we won't face their best. But this is still good news to me because of how important I think winning Opening Day is. With our superstar-less roster, this year's Reds need to give casual fans every reason to come out to GAB. A win on the much-hyped Opening Day will do a lot.

[Grounds_Crew]

Don't count your chickens just yet folks...

Santana says he'll be ready.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2009/news/story?id=3950758


Santana threw 46 pitches off a mound early Wednesday in his most ambitious and productive bullpen session since the start of spring training, and made it clear he wants to start for New York on April 6 in Cincinnati despite concerns over his tender elbow.

"I appreciate everything they're doing trying to protect me and trying to keep me healthy," Santana said. "But I'm a professional and I know exactly what it takes for me to be ready. I've been doing this for years now and I know exactly what I have to do and I'm pretty sure I'll be ready for Opening Day."

Santana has an irritated triceps tendon that has caused discomfort in his throwing elbow.

The two-time Cy Young winner has yet to pitch in a spring training game for the Mets, but he threw all of his pitches Wednesday under the watchful eye of pitching coach Dan Warthen.

Warthen had said Tuesday that the left-hander wouldn't make his spring debut until March 18, putting him on track to start the Mets' fifth game of the regular season. After seeing Santana throw, Warthen said he is open to changing that schedule.

"All plans have got to have room for modification," Warthen said. "If he feels good [Thursday], I have no problem moving the schedule up. His arm strength is fine. We were all worried about the elbow -- we didn't want that thing to fire up again -- but he threw his slider and he looked great. He threw the ball really well today."

Santana had arthroscopic surgery Oct. 1 to repair torn cartilage in his left knee. He reported to camp early and threw bullpen sessions every other day, a routine he said he has never followed before and one he thinks may have caused the tightness in his elbow.

Santana looked sharp Wednesday as he threw his final dozen or so pitches to catcher Brian Schneider with a batter standing in at the plate.

"I feel good," Santana said. "I threw all my pitches, I threw my breaking ball and everything was good. From now on it's just a matter of trying to get everything together, but I think big progress today."

[bounty37h]

I'm disappointed about missing Santana. As a baseball fan I want to see the best play, especially with the unbalanced schedule. This is the only trip the Mets make into Cincinnati and I like to see the other teams ace pitch against the Reds. Yes, it's harder to win but you are going to have to be able to consistently beat the best pitchers at some point if you want to win a world series.

Your also going to have to catch some breaks to give you enough wins to get to a world series. I am sure we will see great pitching in at least one other game this season.

[steig]

Your also going to have to catch some breaks to give you enough wins to get to a world series. I am sure we will see great pitching in at least one other game this season.

I agree but this is probably the only chance to see Santana in Cincy this year.

[bounty37h]

^ah, I understand that for the fans then-makes sense- but I wont be there either way, so would rather just get the win and move on to game 2....But, for those that get to go, enjoy it-Santana or not.

[Eric_the_Red]

I enjoy a Reds win much more than a loss, so I'm hoping for NOhan Santana.

[redsfandan]

It probably is premature to know for sure if he'll start or not so I'll be curious to see what happens with Santana over the next couple weeks.

[TheNext44]

I actually hope he starts, because if he does, I doubt he will be at 100% or last more than 5 innings. This way, fans get to see him pitch, but it increases the chance for a Reds win.

[redsfandan]

The better shot we have of adding up some wins in april the better cuz if we have a lousy record on may 1 it will be harder for the rest of the games to mean as much. I mean would you rather be only a couple games out on may 1 or 7+ games out? I can watch Santana on tv. We'll still face our share of aces but I want some wins.

[Jones1]

I'm not sure what their rotation is exactly, but if we get him, I could see him being tough on the lefties. I like the chances better than facing Santana though.

This is great news, with this team being built around speed it is virtually impossible to steal on Santana his move is the best in baseball and he has been the toughest pitcher to steal on in the MLB. Also, Santana is way tougher on lefties than Perez, Considering Santana is a lefty..

[redsfandan]

Manager Jerry Manuel announced Monday that Johan Santana will make his spring debut Thursday night against the Marlins.

Santana was able to throw all of his pitches during a successful bullpen session Monday morning. He's still planning on being ready for Opening Day.
Source: SNY
Is it bad that I want him to have just a little more trouble with his elbow?