Friday Terry Collins told reporters that he was not a fan of Johan Santana going out to pitch for Venezuela in the WBC. But that he would have no problem with it if Santana honestly felt that it would help him prepare for the most important goal. April 1. Opening Day. Johan is expected to be the Opening Day starting pitcher at Citi Field as it stands right now; and Collins wants nothing to be more paramount than that, and remaining healthy for the year. He said, “This is a big year for us, and we need you to give us what you can.”
Personally i would rather see Santana building up his strength in Port St. Lucie rather than in competitive baseball games than in the long run mean absolutely nothing. It is extremely important for pitchers to pitch just enough during Spring Training and hopefully go through a little bit of a dead arm period, so it doesn’t occur during the beginning of the season. I feel that pitchers that are involved in the WBC do not throw enough before the season starts and start behind the 8 ball.
Mets Obsession 