New York Mets announce Johan Santana as Opening day starter - MLB Update
Finally New York Mets announce their opening day starter and Johan Santana will be performing the role. Mets delayed their declaration until the last day before their regular season start, giving way to undue speculations by fans as to possible names for
the position.
It also drew criticism from some quarters regarding a likely negative impact delay will render on performance.
Part of the reason why manager Terry Collins kept cards close to his chest was determination of Santana’s fitness. As he threw tirelessly 71-pitches in the bullpen, he left no reason for manager to give him the nod.
Before dwelling on his season prospects, mentioning the fact that he will be resuming as Major League starter after almost 19 months is more significant.
As he lingered with left shoulder injury, he was unable to make to the rotation last year despite few hopeless attempts he made. Demoralised by his last year inability to recover from injury, he had to repair his torn anterior capsule, a surgery which can
be costly and end careers.
R.A. Dickey was originally decided for the place but as manager Terry Collins saw Santana progressing faster, he was finally awarded the role.
In an immediate response to his selection, he expressed his confidence about making entry to the Big League at some time in life and now as he has made there, he is happy that his effort has borne fruit.
"It means that everything that we have done since I had my surgery, all the way to today, has been paid off," Santana said. "We worked hard and I'm very happy."
Getting a player who holds an incredible 133-69 career wins record along with 1877 strike-outs is going to lift the Mets chances in many ways.
As per the plan, manager aims to see him pitching in most of the games even if in each game he throws less than 100. This plan though is different from other teams in a way that most of them like to get their starters crossing their figures, but in context
of Santana's recent recovery from injury, Mets are giving him a different treatment.
If Santana plays for the whole season without interruption, Mets are going to benefit hugely from his presence.
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