Even though there were plenty of fireworks on the field, there were plenty of developments off the field today as well.
Allaying a lot of Mets fans’ fears, Johan Santana told SNY’s Kevin Burkhardt that he’s not looking for a trade, despite some rumors that he was unhappy in New York. He said he’s a Met for years to come and that he’s happy to be in the city, being the ace of the team. Even after he answered the question and Burkhardt seemed to be done with the interview, Santana reiterated again that he wasn’t looking for a trade.
In other pitcher news, Billy Wagner threw a 30-plus pitch bullpen session. He said Francisco Rodriguez is the team closer, that he earned that right and that he’ll do whatever it takes to help him get 40 saves, even if it means in a setup role. However, he said he wants to be a closer next season, which means he would have to do it elsewhere.
Finally, Jerry Manuel semi-apologized for calling Ryan Church a “different kind of player” than David Wright. Both suffered concussions but Church took much longer to recover than Wright apparently is. Church even called Wright the same night Wright was beaned to offer advice. Church initially took offense at Manuel’s statements, saying it sounded like a dig against him, but he quickly moved past it.
There was a lot of speculation this season and last that Manuel and Church had a tenuous relationship. That seems even more evident now that Church is with the Braves. The animosity seems more on Manuel’s side than Church’s, though. We might never know why. Hopefully, this will be the last of it.