This is his sixth game in a row he's really struggled with his command, throwing way to many pitches per inning and his k rate is way down. Anyone else think he's possibly hiding an injury, or is he just going through a dead arm period.
yea i agree he hasn't been himself lately at all.. but it also doesnt help that the Mets are the worst defensive team ever it seems... causing him to pitch a bunch more pitches each game /inning which definitely hurts him as well... i'm sure he'll get out of it
tmlfan4ever wrote:Even in the earlier part of the season he was really struggling to get deep into ballgames - Im a concerned owner, that's for sure.
From 2007-2008 Santana started 67 games and only went more then 7 IP in 14 of them or 21%, so he's not a guy you expect to throw a 8 or 9 innings very often. This year 8 of his 16 starts went 7 innings and one went 7 1/3 innings. In terms of IP per start here are the numbers: 2007 - 6.63 IP, 2008 - 6.89 IP, 2009 - 6.40 IP. The point is that at least in terms of IP Santana isn't really much different this year then he was the last 2 years. June hasn't really been any different then normal in terms of IP, with the game vs the Yankees being an exception. Obviously the results from those IP haven't been normal for him, but my point is he's not really struggling to pitch as many innings normal for him this year, which seems to be your basis for concern.
Last night's poor game was not entirely his fault. He got repeadedly squeezed by the home plate ump. So bad to the point that the Mets Pitching coach got ejected after the ump came out to break up a conference on the mound. Santana was not getting any calls on the inside corner, so he couldn't bust righties inside. Then the Mets crappy defense took over. The CF falls down trying to catch a routine flyball, but since he didn't touch it, no error was charged. Also the catcher dropped a throw on a play at the plate, Wright had a throwing error... and so it goes with the Mets.
As a Santana owner, I am more concerned about the mental toll from pitching for the Mets. Last year, they didn't score for him and the bullpen blew many games. I think the stat I read was that Santana lead all of baseball by receiving "no decisions" from 11 quality starts. Then this year, they fix up the bullpen but can't play defense. I wonder if he is regretting leaving the reliable "D" in Minnesota right about now. He is probably frustrated and pressing abit.
His velocity is down slightly, but he just isn't hitting his spots. That's what most of this is from...one bad pitch, and he usually pays for it. The Mets defense is awful, and Santana has had an annoying habit lately of walking opposing pitchers. But he is a 2nd half pitcher, and I expect a turn around soon enough. I'm slightly concerned, but I think he will be ok.
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by hett2333 » Tue Jun 30, 2009 10:46 pm 
