Santana hopes he recovers as swiftly as in 2004

Two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana confessed Friday that he still is "recovering" from last September's surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow.

With Santana set to make his first regular-season start against the Twins on Saturday, he was asked if his stuff is any different from his time in Minnesota. It was then that Santana suggested he feels as if he still is working his way back from the operation.

"The doctor told me it would take up to a year to fully recover," Santana said. "I'm competing. I'm doing my job. I feel like I'm making my adjustments and improving every start. I remember '04 in Minnesota, it took a couple months to put everything together. Then after that, I got into a roll where everything was great. So right now, I know exactly how it feels."

Santana had surgery to remove bone chips from the same elbow after the 2003 season and began the following year 2-4 with a 5.50 ERA in his first 12 starts. But he went 18-2 with a 1.36 ERA in his final 22 starts and finished 20-6 with a 2.61 ERA to earn his first Cy Young Award.

This season, Santana is 5-4 with a 3.31 ERA in his first 15 starts and has struggled at times with diminished velocity and spotty location. The Mets can only hope for a repeat of 2004.

Extra bases

Carlos Beltran went 2-for-3 with a double and walk Friday as the DH for Class A St. Lucie. "The knee feels a little bit better today. I am happy with the progress," Beltran said afterward. "Right now, this is something that will be day-to-day. I feel comfortable, it feels great. In my first at-bat, my opposite-field double shows that I am allowing the ball to get deep. That is the Carlos of old." . . . Angel Pagan missed a second start because of muscle spasms in his right side and Jerry Manuel hopes he will be ready Sunday . . . Rod Barajas (back tightness) also was off but said he could have played and expects to play Saturday.