Tweet Cap: Santana long tosses, speaks to reporters

This afternoon at the New York Mets spring training complex in Port St. Lucie, starter Johan Santana — who missed the 2011 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder — long tossed on flat ground. After his brief work out, the former Cy Young Award winner held a conference call with the teams beat writers and according to those that were on the line, here is what he had to say:

#bbpBox_157532660409962496 a { text-decoration:none; color:#0084B4; }#bbpBox_157532660409962496 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; }Johan Santana said he's throwing up to 90 feet on flat ground, about 25 throws. Hopes for 110 feet tomorrow.about 9 hours ago via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite@AdamRubinESPNAdam Rubin #bbpBox_157533001155227648 a { text-decoration:none; color:#0084B4; }#bbpBox_157533001155227648 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; }Santana has been throwing for 3 weeks on flat ground. He said he has not spoken to any other pitchers who have had anterior capsule surgery.about 9 hours ago via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite@AdamRubinESPNAdam Rubin #bbpBox_157533476814471168 a { text-decoration:none; color:#0084B4; }#bbpBox_157533476814471168 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; }Santana on spring training: "We'll see how it feels. I cannot tell you what happens five or six weeks from now. I'd be lying to you."about 9 hours ago via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite@AdamRubinESPNAdam Rubin #bbpBox_157533590131978241 a { text-decoration:none; color:#0084B4; }#bbpBox_157533590131978241 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; }Santana hopes to throw bullpen session on schedule at beginning of spring training, but makes no assurances.about 9 hours ago via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite@SurfingTheMetsAndy Martino #bbpBox_157533685330096128 a { text-decoration:none; color:#0084B4; }#bbpBox_157533685330096128 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; }Opening day: "I don't want to guess anything...I'm going to go one day at a time."about 9 hours ago via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite@SurfingTheMetsAndy Martino #bbpBox_157534122598862848 a { text-decoration:none; color:#0084B4; }#bbpBox_157534122598862848 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; }Johan: "I'm getting ready for when Spring Training starts. I'm going to go one day at a time. Everyday I'm going to do my best to be ready."about 9 hours ago via webReplyRetweetFavorite@MetsNew York Mets #bbpBox_157534717602832386 a { text-decoration:none; color:#0084B4; }#bbpBox_157534717602832386 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; }Johan on his shoulder - "It feels fine. Everything feels fine."about 9 hours ago via webReplyRetweetFavorite@MetsNew York Mets

According to Dan Martin of the New York Post, here is what Santana had to say about being ready for Opening Day:

I don’t want to set any timeframe because we won’t know until we get there. I think this is the first time I’ve started throwing so early in the year to get ready for spring training.

I don’t want to take any guess right now. If that’s the case, it would be great, but I don’t know how I’m gonna feel in two months.”

As I said the other day, I am still very skeptical on Santana. In the 2011 MetsZilla predictions post, I predicted Johan would miss the entire season; and although it sucked, I was right. And so, I refuse to put much hope into a healthy return for 2012.

Besides hoping for his health, we still have to wonder what Johan we will be getting.  Will he be able to return to the dominate pitcher he once was? Or, will he become the crafty veteran Pedro Martinez was with the Mets? With a steady decrease in his fastball velocity and coming off major shoulder surgery, we can only hope for the latter.

To watch video of Santan long tossing in Port St. Lucie, check out this post over at MetsBlog.