GAIN AFTER PAIN
VIERA, Fla. — The Mets will get another look at Johan Santana today as they cautiously try to bring back him back from shoulder surgery.
“Johan looks great,” manager Terry Collins said. “He’s on pace to be where we want him to be and hopefully [today] is step two in that process.”
Yesterday, the Mets were reminded again how long a process that can be, when they faced Washington’s Chien-ming Wang, who missed almost exactly two years after the same surgery Santana underwent in September 2010.
Collins said the reminder was unnecessary.
“We’re aware it takes a long time,” Collins said. “Everybody heals and approaches it differently.”
One scout who watched Wang yesterday agreed.
“You can’t tell much from one guy to another when it comes to this kind of injury,” the scout said yesterday after Wang gave up a pair of runs over two innings in his first start of the spring in the Nationals’ 8-2 win over the Mets yesterday at Space Coast Stadium.
“Basically, the only thing you know for sure is that it’s going to take a long time,” the scout said. “Beyond that, they’re all unique. It’s not like some other injuries where there’s a set pattern.”
Santana looked good in his spring training debut last week and just as importantly, said he recovered well from the outing. The Mets hope he has similar success today in Port St. Lucie against the Marlins.
Collins expects Santana to throw the standard amount for a pitcher making his second start of the spring, throwing three innings and “probably 45-50 pitches.”
The Mets simply are hoping he doesn’t have any more setbacks, something Wang knows all about.
The former Yankee admitted he still is not completely over the injury, at least in his head.
“You want to stay healthy first, then do more and more,” Wang said.
He also has some idea what Santana is in for, whenever he does make his 2012 regular season debut for the Mets.
“The first time on the mound, you’re a little bit afraid,” Wang said. “Your confidence gets better.” But it’s a lengthy process. “The injury is big,’’ Wang said. “It takes [a lot of] time.”
Wang said he still is getting his timing and motion back to where it was before he got hurt.
Santana is in the middle of that process.
In his previous start, Santana hit 90 mph, but largely stayed in the high-80s. The Mets will continue to monitor his velocity, since a 10-12 mph difference from the fastball to the changeup would help him regain his form.
Even after Wang came back last July, in a start against the Mets, he wasn’t the same pitcher he was when he looked like a future ace for the Yankees. He went 4-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 11 starts for the Nationals.
The Mets could use consider- ably more from Santana, especially since they have virtually no pitching depth.
“They’re definitely different pitchers, too,” the scout said, adding to the difficulty in comparing the two comebacks. “But it’s hard not to do it. It’s so hard to come back from anything when you’ve missed as much time as these guys have. But you still see glimpses.”
The Mets would like to see more than that.
Wright just wants to avoid a season like the one he had a year ago, and would rather take it slow now than risk missing time during the season.
“There was nobody to blame but me last year,” Wright said. “There’s a difference from playing in pain and playing when you’re injured, and hopefully this is the start of me being a little more intelligent about things.”
R.A. Dickey gave up eight hits and five runs in three innings of an 8-2 loss to the Nationals yesterday.
“Certainly, you’d like to see a little bit better results,” Dickey said. “It’s about gathering information, and I got a lot of information from the Nationals. Hopefully I can put that to use.”
He added the amount he pitches against Washington plays a role in his approach.
“They’ve got a pretty good idea of what they need to do to have success and I need to identify what that is,” Dickey said. “I felt like I took a step in that direction.”
Collins said Lucas Duda (stiff lower back) could have played yesterday, but he wanted to give him another day off.
Bobby Parnell and D.J. Carrasco, both pitching for spots in the bullpen, both tossed scoreless innings. ... Kevin Mulvey, a secondround pick whom the Mets traded for Johan Santana, is back with the organization. The 26-year-old righthander signed a minor-league contract with the Mets yesterday.
Mulvey was the Mets’ second round pick in 2006 and was released by the Diamondbacks last month. He last appeared in the majors with Arizona in 2010 and is 0-3 in his career.