Chris Young trying to recover from shoulder surgery
Chris Young of the Mets deals a pitch against the Washington Nationals. (April 10, 2011) Credit: Jim McIsaac
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- The Chris Young Experiment, Part II, got underway Wednesday at the Mets' spring training complex. Where it leads this time is anyone's guess, but Young is probably in better shape post-surgery than he was a year ago.
That's right. The doctor told Young that his shoulder had been damaged long before he broke down and had an operation May 16 to repair the torn anterior capsule in his pitching shoulder. He lasted only four starts -- pretty good ones, too -- and cost the Mets' $1.1 million.
"Initially, when the injury happened, I had been pitching with it for maybe a year and a half," Young said Wednesday. "It had scarred over -- they thought it had healed. It felt like the rug had been ripped out underneath my feet. It was just a shock to me to start back at square one."
Young underwent the same surgery as Johan Santana, who has not pitched in the majors since 2010, but seems to have made more rapid progress. Young already had thrown off a mound nine times, and expects to face hitters in the near future. As for a potential return date, that still is too murky to estimate at this point.
"I'm focused on the rehab -- that's it," Young said. "If my shoulder's healthy, it will all work out, but I can't do anything unless it's healthy. It's been a great rehab process thus far. It's been smooth and steady. I hope it will continue that way, but it's time to be in an environment where I can be doing baseball activity and really sort of start spring training."
Young said he texted with Santana throughout the process, but also stressed that each rehab is different from capsule tears, even if the surgery itself sounds similar. In both of their cases, the shoulder was cut open -- it was not arthroscopic -- and that can add to the recovery time.
Still, Young is a little more than 10 months removed from surgery, and for Santana, it's been 18 since he's pitched a regular-season game. In Chien-Ming Wang's case, his return was the two-year anniversary of the operation. Despite the uncertain projections, Terry Collins already is thinking of Young as a potential sixth starter later in the year, suggesting his others -- such as Santana and Dillon Gee -- could use the additional rest by then.
"We don't know yet," Collins said. "If he comes back in the shape he was last year, and the form we saw last year, he's a very good major-league pitcher. We don't know what's going to happen this summer. Is Johan going to need extra days? Some guys could use an extra day now and then."
Notes & quotes: Scott Hairston, back from an oblique injury, made his Grapefruit League debut Wednesday and went 0-for-3 in the Mets' 3-2 loss to Washington. Hairston has a new pregame stretching regimen that he hopes will take the tension away from his oblique and he intends to be ready for Opening Day. "I always envisioned starting the year with the team," Hairston said. That's good news for Collins, who may need a centerfielder as Andres Torres has yet to recover from a calf strain . . . Jon Niese struck out six in six innings and has one tuneup left, Tuesday against the Yankees, before his regular-season debut April 8 against Atlanta . . . Johan Santana is expected to pitch a short simulated game Saturday as he wraps his preparation for Opening Day next Thursday.
