Santana= Damaged Goods.

[SledNeck]

Awwww. I feel so bad for the mets now.

Buster Olney reports in his blog for ESPN.com that Johan Santana’s velocity is down 3-4 miles per hour from a couple of years ago - according to some talent evaluators.

Olney further explains:

“He is short-arming the ball more than he has in the past — and this is after some red flags appeared in the physical examination he underwent before signing with the Mets. Sources say his shoulder showed some wear and tear, which is not unusual for a pitcher of Santana’s age. This is not to say Santana is not an effective pitcher now, but all of this information makes you wonder how effective he will remain during the course of his multi-year deal.”

http://www.metsblog.com/2008/05/22/read-santana-has-lost-velocity/

[zamboni]

Still wish the Sox woulda pulled the trigger when the Twins wanted Lester- hopefully our trade works out for us.

[mike morris]

Gomez is going to be VERY good, and I have a feeling we'll see one of those pitchers that we got in the deal yet this year.

I always thought the Twins knew something about Santana that we all didn't. He really is on the decline.

[huntnfishsd]

We will probably see one of those pitchers when Boof gets sent down very shortly...

As for Santana, I agree that the Twins knew something. Just look at the home runs he had been giving up the last couple years...

[SledNeck]

The reason I wont go to a twins game this year is I dont wanna take the chance of seeing boof pitch

[Cicada]

I wouldn't be so quick to shoot Santana. He always started out slow and then comes on after the All-Star break. Plus, in the last two years I would suspect his run support with the Twins fell off more than his performances. That would force him to press more and cause mistakes. The way the Mets are playing, he probably isn't getting any more help from his teammates than he did with the Twins.

[SledNeck]

velocity

[Maximum12]

Yeah, this is more wishful thinking than anything else. After the B.S. he pulled on the Twins I pray he never makes it to the playoffs with the Mets, but he's still a top-notch ace.

And the Twins brain-trust certainly wouldn't have offered him $80M if they suspected he was "damaged goods".

[Walleye Guy]

I read in a blog that from last years all-star game until today, no pitcher has given up more home runs than Johan. He certainly isn't done but I think he has won his last Cy Young and I would be he will have more 14-12 seasons than 19-6 seasons.

[Scott K]

I am glad we didnt give him all that money. Hernandez has done well replacing him, at a fraction of the cost!

[SledNeck]

Twins actually score runs when Livan is pitching. Now if we could only score 10-15 runs per bonser start we'll be in business.

[huntnfishsd]

Haha, I agree. Although we might need closer to 15!!

IMO, it hurt more to lose Torii than it did Johan. Torii played everyday and provided a spark and some power in the lineup, not to mention the spectacular plays in the field. Johan only played once every 5 games...

[tisosy11]

Santana's velocity was down last year as well as his homers were up. Still a phenomenal pitcher but no longer considered the best in the bigs imo.

[PierBridge]

Welcome home "American league" Yohan!...LOL!

[HarleyK50]

And the Twins brain-trust certainly wouldn't have offered him $80M if they suspected he was "damaged goods".

[Maximum12]

Harley, you're only entitled to your two cents if it's based on facts.

You think Torii only had a good year just before his contract you never watched the Twins. Torii played seven full seasons with MN in CF as a full-time player. The facts:

Average Season (7 Years in MN)

25HR, 90RBI, 141 Games, .272 Ave

Seven Seasons, Seven Gold Gloves

Only one good season? I'm sure Torii will accept your apology!

[greebs]

Harley, you're only entitled to your two cents if it's based on facts.

You think Torii only had a good year just before his contract you never watched the Twins. Torii played seven full seasons with MN in CF as a full-time player. The facts:

Average Season (7 Years in MN)

25HR, 90RBI, 141 Games, .272 Ave

Seven Seasons, Seven Gold Gloves

Only one good season? I'm sure Torii will accept your apology!

the team would gladly take these kind of numbers from any of the current outfielders on the team in a heartbeat.

[Quackaddict9]

You think Torii only had a good year just before his contract you never watched the Twins. Torii played seven full seasons with MN in CF as a full-time player. The facts:

Average Season (7 Years in MN)

25HR, 90RBI, 141 Games, .272 Ave

Seven Seasons, Seven Gold Gloves

Only one good season? I'm sure Torii will accept your apology!

Looks like 7 good seasons to me

3 homers in the last game, not bad...

[PierBridge]

I must admit I'm happy for Yohan that he went to a place that can win it all now and it wasn't about the $125,000,000....

Yankees 15 - Yohan and the Mets ZERO!

[nofishfisherman]

The Twins would kill to have Hunters current production out of center field. Or if you think he defense is slipping then put him in left and let Span take over in center.

Cuddy, Hunter and Span as your three outfields beats any combination we can currently put together.

Giving a pitcher that kind of money rarely works out for a team. When pitchers start getting alittle older they tend to drop off very quickly and then what do you do with them? There isn't much you can do with an older pitcher who lost the arm. A player like hunter will last longer and fall of slower. Also when he does start to slow down you could move him from center to left or right field. He could also spend more time at DH so you still have options.

[zamboni]

I think we did get rif of Johan at the right time, but I think we coulda got more for him than what we did.

[Maximum12]

Twins should certainly have gotten more from Santana, but he backed the team into a corner & pretty much forced a trade. And when other teams know you have to act, you lose a signficant amount of leverage.

I loved Johan up until that point, but when he started playing the 'trade me or else' card I lost a lot of respect for him. Now I'm praying he never reaches the playoffs with the Mets or anybody else. Jerk!

[bassNspear]

santana got smoked in his last outing! Still one of the best in the game IMO

[toughguy]

I still miss him. It was a blast watching him pitch. I'd feel bad for the Mets if we got anything in return for Johan.