On Saturday Steve Popper and Bob Klapisch of the Bergen Record reported that Johan Santana’s rehab has not been progressing well and that Mets sources are concerned that he may not pitch at all in 2011. The team refuted that report yesterday. But in today’s Daily News, Santana refutes it even more strongly:
If this were any other team we’d probably be obligated to give the benefit of the doubt, but it’s the Mets we’re talking about here. Yes, they’re under new management, but they are coming off a recent run of being less-than-forthcoming when it comes to injuries so some trust needs to be regained before we simply take their word for it.
Indeed, last year at this time the Mets were refuting my report that Kelvim Escobar was seriously hurt, insisting that he merely had a “tired shoulder” and would be pitching any day. Indeed, Johan Santana himself was one of the people quoted as saying that Escobar was throwing the ball well and that his rehab from a winter injury was coming along nicely. That turned out to not be the case.
I’m hoping that the Sandy Alderson regime has put an end to the propaganda and I’m hoping that Popper and Klapisch merely spoke to someone with bad information because life is better when Johan Santana is pitching than when he is not. At present, however, I’d be wary of taking the Mets or Santana’s claims about his rehab at face value and would prefer to be pleasantly surprised if and when he takes the mound this year.