March 12, 2009: New York Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana, from Venezuela, throws during a spring training baseball game against the Florida Marlins in Port St. Lucie, Fla. (AP)
PORT ST. LUCIE--Mets pitcher Johan Santana still isn't in top-notch shape, but he denies that his rehabilitation efforts have moved backward.
A Sunday report in the Bergen Record quoted an unnamed Mets source saying that Santana's throwing program might be shut down as he handles the soreness from his surgically-repaired left shoulder, a move that would end prospects for his 2011 season.
"We're on the right track and where we're supposed to be," Santana told the New York Post. "Whoever says I'm not ready is lying."
Santana is scheduled for two days of rest before resuming his throwing on Tuesday and Wednesday, and claims he's "taken a step forward" since the start of training. But Santana has no answer for when he might take the mound.
"We are keeping track of everything and every time I throw, after I'm done working, I'm fine," Santana, 32, told the Post. "It's just that it takes time. I still have to go slow, because whatever you want to do, regardless, your arm is going to tell you something else. That's why this process is real slow."
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