Santana still finding his groove - Pitcher inactive all winter due to strike at home

minnesota.twins.mlb.com By Mark Sheldon / MLB.com

Johan Santana is behind his normal spring schedule because he was not able to pitch in winter ball. (Jim Mone/AP) FORT MYERS, Fla. -- If Twins pitcher Johan Santana had a normal offseason, he would have arrived to Spring Training with 80 innings of work under his belt already from pitching in winter ball.

But like everyone else living in Santana's homeland of Venezuela, nothing was normal this winter. The nation remains paralyzed by a national strike and a continuing political crisis. Santana was ready to begin playing winter ball Dec. 4, but the strike started Dec. 2 and cancelled the rest of the Venezuelan league season.

"I had to shut down everything," Santana said.

The Twins have already tapped Santana to join their starting rotation after veteran Eric Milton reinjured his left knee and had surgery. The young left-hander still displayed some of the rust during his second spring start, walking four batters in two innings in a 5-0 loss to the Phillies.

Santana still doesn't have the feel for his best pitches -- the changeup and slider. On Wednesday, he struggled to locate his fastball because he was trying too hard, according to manager Ron Gardenhire.

"If you throw the ball 89 mph, don't try throwing it 92," Gardenhire said. "That's what he was doing out there. He was overthrowing the baseball."

In the first inning, Santana allowed a hit and walked three batters, including slugger Jim Thome with the bases loaded. He said he was not comfortable working from the stretch position, possibly another bi-product of his inactivity.

"I have to start all over again," said Santana, who is 1-1 this spring. "I'm in the process of putting everything back together. The good thing is I feel good. It's going to take a little while. That's what Spring Training is for."

  Johan Santana   /   P Height: 6'0" Weight: 195 Bats/Throws: L/L More info: Player page Stats Splits twinsbaseball.com

"He's just not there," pitching coach Rick Anderson said. "It takes ballgames and time. He has to work his way up like the rest of (the pitchers) for a change."

Complicating matters for Santana is that he had to recover from a pulled hamstring suffered in Venezuela, while practicing before the crisis. He was unable to seek proper treatment for the injury because a gasoline shortage prevented most citizens from driving.

Instead of pitching or recuperating, Santana spent much of his time waiting to fill his car with gasoline. The nation's rich petroleum business was also affected by the strike.

"I was in the line for eight days," he explained.

Santana didn't have to spend all of the time waiting in the car. Family and friends from his small town of Tovar Merida would take turns waiting too. Fellow Venezuelan pitcher Juan Rincon could sympathize about getting fuel and not throwing. He only had to wait three days in his town, but he had to do it alone. He passed the time playing dominoes with friends in other cars or sleeping.

"I'm the only one in my family who could do that," Rincon said. "My dad couldn't and my mom can't drive. I wasn't going to make my sister do it. I was the one who had to take the car."

When it came time to go to the embassy for a visa to report to Spring Training, Santana's athlete status came in handy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------"I have to start all over again. I'm in the process of putting everything back together. The good thing is I feel good. It's going to take a little while. That's what Spring Training is for." -- Johan Santana ------------------------------------------------------------------------"I talked to those people (at the embassy) and the National Guard took me to the gas station and they took my car and filled it up," Santana said. "Because I was a ballplayer, they said 'OK.' They allowed me to get some gas."

Imagine his delight when he was filling his car back in the United States. He wasn't quite sure what to do.

"The first time I drove from Miami to here, the first thing that came to my mind was Venezuela," Santana said. "When I got to the gas station, there was nobody there and I thought maybe they ran out of gas."

The inactivity before Spring Training may have actually done Santana's shoulder some good. Innings not used up in December and January should provide him plenty of gas in his arm come September.

"Last year I was tired at the end," Santana said. "The last month of the season, I was feeling tired. But you get in a situation where you don't think about it." "I think it was the best thing to happen, that I didn't play in winter ball, because I was able to recover."

In 2002, Santana filled a jack-of-all-trades role for Minnesota's pitching staff. He worked well as a starter and in middle or situational relief. He led the club with 137 strikeouts in only 108 1/3 innings.

Because of the stability of working in a rotation, starting is Santana's favorite role. Although he would prefer not getting the job by default because of an injury to another pitcher, he's ready to run with it.

"I want to earn my spot the right way," Santana. "If they give me the chance, I don't want to waste any time or opportunity. I want to show I can start games."

Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. This report was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.