Johan Santana

I made it to Opening Day.

This year, Opening Day meant more than most years, since I was the one that almost went on the DL. Instead, I stood on the field Monday in Milwaukee, looking at the steel roof above the green grass and loving that it was once again baseball season. It was an amazing feeling, talking with so many media friends and having everyone from Doug Melvin to Ryan Braun pausing to ask how I was feeling. 

Have we seen the last of Johan Santana?

After not pitching in the 2009 World Baseball Classic while recovering from a knee injury, Johan Santana has apparently expressed interest in pitching for Team Venezuela in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, which will begin this March.

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN, Santana will try to participate in the event once gets past a few obstacles he will have to go through, due to the time he spent on the disabled list at the end of the 2012 season.

Last weekend, I went to Citi Field and saw Johan Santana pitch a masterpiece. Santana dominated the San Diego Padres over nine innings. The Mets won 9-0 and Santana had his first shutout since 2010. The lefty struck out eight batters, walked none and threw 74 of his 96 total pitches for strikes.

After 51 years, two months, and one day, the wait ended for the New York Mets. Johan Santana gave Mets fans what they so desperately craved: a no-hitter. 

It's time to place your Mets (bets).

The New York Mets finally have their first no-hitter in franchise history. And it only took 51 years, 8,020 games and three ballparks to do it.

Happiness. It's a word that's been hard to come by as a New York Mets fan the past twenty or so years. Thank you, Johan Santana. 

After 50 years and a grand total of 8,019 games before it, the New York Mets have finally tossed a no-hitter, and I am proud to say that I was in attendance.  

The scene was electric at Citi Field as Johan Santana dazzled for nine straight innings in front of a crowd that was 27,069 strong.

Too often in baseball drafts, I see guys coming off injuries from the previous season being forgot about. And from what I've seen so far, Johan Santana has fallen victim to this phenomena.

I realize that Santana is coming off major surgery and hasn't played a regular season inning since 2010, but he's still a great talent and the unquestioned ace pitcher for the New York Mets.

Injuries are a part of any game, and we know that some injuries mean more to a team than others.  A star first baseman means a lot more to a team than a bench player who might get 20 at bats as a pinch hitter per year if he’s lucky.

An injury means more to a team if a player is a big part of their pitching or hitting games too.  If a team is like the 2010 San Diego Padres and does not have a very good offense, they would be more at risk if their start hitter, Adrian Gonzalez (now with the Boston Red Sox) was injured.