Ike Davis
As many may have forgotten at this point, Ike collided with David Wright when both players went for
the same infield pop-up on May 10th of last year in Colorado.
Doctors originally told Davis that his ankle would be healed by the time he was
eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list. In those two weeks the presumed
sprained ankle had been in a boot, however it turned out to have
cartilage damage. Inevitably, Ike’s conditioned worsened--enough to currently
leave speculation as to whether he’ll make it through spring training.
Ike has said that he feels great and is completely ready to
go, but some aren’t satisfied. Adam
Rubin of ESPN deemed Ike’s treatment one more medical gaffe in a long
string dating back at least the Mets days of Billy Wagner and Brian
Schneider.
Johan Santana
By far the largest player on the Mets’
payroll (due for $24 million this year), the ace missed all of last season recovering
from left shoulder surgery. Johan is already in Port St. Lucie, the spring
training home of the Mets, and has been throwing successfully. Pitchers and
catchers aren’t due to report for spring training until February 13th,
but Santana has been testing his shoulder strength and working it back to full
pitching form.
He's been long tossing and is preparing to being
pitching very soon; Terry Collins
(Mets manager) will soon join him and assess his progress. Johan insists he’s
ready, but similar to Davis, many question his ability to have a fully healthy
spring.
For
both players only time will tell of their readiness. Of the two Davis is
definitely in better condition, but both clearly have their obstacles to
overcome this spring.