I’ve been very encouraged with the performance of Johan Santana this spring. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been able to have watched a couple of his outings and in my opinion he looks pretty darn good.

Check out his stats thus far and see for yourself;

 

I’ve been particularly encouraged by the fact that he has been able to sustain a normal work program; meaning he hasn’t missed any scheduled bullpen sessions. That is a very good sign.

Should Mets fans be optimistic for the return of the “old” Santana in 2012? If you mean the Cy Young Award winning Santana then I don’t think its fair to expect that sort of performance from him. Even if he had not missed over a year due to injury it’s doubtful that he will ever have those types of seasons again.

So, what can we expect or should we expect from Santana this season? My hope is that first and foremost he remains healthy and if he’s able to do so than we should be happy if he gives the Mets 160-180 innings, wins between 12-15 ballgames and demonstrates by example for an erratic starting five how a big league pitcher takes care of business.

So far so good.