Johan Santana Not Back Until June

The silence has been broken on Johan Santana, and the sounds are not good. We won’t be seeing him anytime soon.

Manager Terry Collins said that he hopes to have Santana back by “midseason, somewhere in June.” That doesn’t sound particularly promising. My guess is Santana won’t take the mound until after the All-Star break. And without their ace, let’s pray that the season is not over by then.

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Let’s also pray that the Mets make smart decisions on Thursday, the deadline for tendering contracts to arbitration-eligible players. Mike Pelfrey, RA Dickey and Angel Pagan will surely be tendered. And then there is John Maine and Sean Green.

Most of the “expert” writers say it is “unlikely” Maine will be offered a contract. Of course he won’t. I can’t believe anyone thinks there is even a remote possibility that he would. The Mets would have to pay him around $3 million, and there is no way that will happen, especially with the Mets budget constraints.

As far as Green, the same experts expect him to be tendered. I am repulsed by the thought of having to watch Green come out of the bullpen again in 2011. This guy is one of the worst pitchers the Mets have ever had. He’s Rich Rodriguez bad, and that’s bad. Just cut him loose and be done with this stiff, please, Mr. Alderson. Please.