Santana, Wright proceeding with caution
New York Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana delivers against the St. Louis Cardinals in the first inning of a spring training baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla. (March 26, 2012) Credit: AP
JUPITER, Fla. -- With Johan Santana on the mound and David Wright finally at third base, the Mets got a preview Monday of what they hope to be two big pieces of their Opening Day lineup. Whether that becomes a reality, however, still is very much up in the air.
Santana struggled early with command issues and a slight velocity dip during his five innings in the Mets' 6-3 win over the Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. Wright went 1-for-2 in his Grapefruit League debut and made a nice diving play to rob Rafael Furcal of a hit.
Both said they have work to do, and even Terry Collins isn't quite ready to sign off on either one being a slam dunk for the April 5 opener against the Braves at Citi Field.
On Santana, Collins said, "We'll see how he comes out of it."
In Wright's case, Collins emphasized the need to squeeze in as many as 30 at-bats in the next seven days in an effort to get him up to speed.
"If anybody is going to get himself ready as he possibly can be, it's going to be David Wright," Collins said. "We're going to give him [Tuesday] to catch his breath and then he's probably going to do two or three games in a row."
But there is a risk involved with rushing Wright back, and the third baseman, who had been sidelined with a torn abdominal muscle, is very wary of that. Last season, he tried to play through a stress fracture in his back before spending two months on the disabled list. There is added danger from the abdominal area, which is particularly vulnerable to the twisting motion of swinging a bat.
"I can't feel rushed or I can't feel like I'm up against the clock to go out there and start cramming innings in because that's when you get hurt somewhere else," Wright said. "Not just the current thing I got going on, but also if you push yourself when your body is not ready for it, something else will get hurt.
"I need to go out there and get my work in, but I have to take it kind of slow, too. Just because there's eight or nine days left, I can't try to cram it in and do something stupid."
In the first inning, Wright slapped a 3-and-2 pitch from the Cardinals' Jake Westbrook back up the middle for a single. "I was just lucky," he said.
Wright grounded to short in the fourth. His highlight of the day was diving toward the line to spear Furcal's grounder and throw him out. Santana was happy to see it.
"It's good to have him back," Santana said. "I told him to guard the line, and he did, just like he always does."
But Wright was powerless to help Santana in the first inning, when he gave up two runs and allowed the first four batters to reach on three walks and Matt Holliday's RBI single. After that bout of wildness, Santana retired nine straight, including five strikeouts, but he threw 88 pitches (55 strikes) in only five innings.
"I felt all right," Santana said. "I don't think it was my best day overall. It's a process I have to go through until I establish everything. You're going to have good days and bad days. That's just the way it is."
Five days earlier, in the same stadium, Santana limited the Cardinals to one run in six innings and struck out six without a walk. This time it was more of a battle, and his only remaining start should be just a short tuneup for Opening Day -- if the Mets believe he's on track for the assignment. Even if he's green-lighted for that afternoon, Santana will be handled cautiously, which could mean a short leash.
"I don't know," Santana said. "I don't have an answer for that. I think we have to wait until the season starts and see how everything goes. Right now, I just have to focus and make sure I'm doing everything that needs to be done."
