Sometimes there's a price to pay for making history. And that's just what the New York Mets and manager Terry Collins are finding out days after starting pitcher Johan Santana tossed 134 pitches Friday in his no-hitter, the first in franchise history.
The issue in question is the health of Santanta, who's still in recovery mode from having a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder, which kept him out for the entire 2011 season, and how well he will recover in just his 11th start back.
"My whole thing was my heart told me to take him out due to the fact that I’m playing with a huge part of the organization," Collins said. "If this guy goes down, it’d be pretty drastic."
Collins reported Santana told him yesterday, "I am fine. I will be fine."
Santana later told the media, "Today I feel fine." But he admitted, "Definitely the next couple days are going to be important to see how I recover."
Reports have the Mets giving Santana one and possible two extra days of rest, as Chris Young is being called up from Triple-A to start Tuesday and veteran Miguel Batista could start Wednesday if necessary.
The move by Collins to keep Santana in the 8-0 contest is being supported by the Mets' front office and other baseball minds. However, the repercussions for that decision have yet to be seen.
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