Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest » Blog Archive » Santana Admits to Burkhardt His Struggles

Santana Admits to Burkhardt His Struggles


By Mike Silva ~ June 19th, 2010. Filed under: Mike Silva, New York Mets.

I was surprised very little was talked about regarding the in game interview between Johan Santana and Kevin Burkhardt since Johan basically admitted he’s been struggling coming back from elbow surgery.

He said he’s still a work in progress and there are times he can’t finish his pitches. He also said he couldn’t extend his arm a year ago due to the bone chips, but no longer has that issue. Essentially he is screwed up mechanically and needs to stand taller so he can throw downhill and prevent his pitches from flattening out.

The good news from this segment is it appears that Santana is healthy and just having issues mechanically. There doesn’t appear to be any health issues (not that he would tell Kevin anyway) which is what concerned everyone. So far this year he has a career low in strikeouts and the highest walk rate since he became a starter in 2003.

Tomorrow afternoon at Yankee Stadium should be a great test for Johan: American League lineup, hitter friendly park, and the big stage of the Subway Series. He will compete, as he always does, but if he can get mechanically sound that should return him to his old form.



Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com
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2 Responses to Santana Admits to Burkhardt His Struggles

  1. TT
    June 19th, 2010 at 7:11 pm

    He’s not the same pitcher. Not an ace anymore

  2. MetsPubRec
    June 19th, 2010 at 7:52 pm

    I was also surprised that Santana’s comments on Friday were taken lightly…as Mets fans, we all had our suspicions that Santana was a little off his game, however, it sounds to me that it may be something more serious…let’s hope that it is a mechanical issue and not some botched surgery on his elbow…fingers crossed, Let’s Go Mets!

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