Gasp! I agree will Wallace Matthews

In my life long love/hate relationship with Wallace Matthews, I usually find myself shaking my head and pounding my fist when I finish up reading his columns. Only once in a blue moon do I sit here and nod "Why yes, Wally...you're actually right!"

Well today is one of those days (it's also Square Root Day, which only happens nine times a century -- coincidence? I think not).

Matthews column today focuses on Johan Santana's elbow and how the Mets magically declared him fit as a fiddle after zero medical tests and 31 pitches on a mound.

Yet based on one bullpen session, in which Warthen acknowledged Santana threw at about 80 percent velocity, not only did the Mets proclaim him recovered from whatever elbow woe caused him to be scratched from starts Friday and today, but they canceled plans to fly him back to New York for an MRI.

I'll concede them the weather yesterday, which made flying home iffy at best, but how can they possibly declare Santana healed when no one more qualified than a pitching coach has even looked at him? One with glasses, no less?

He's so right it hurts.

The Mets better be taking the utmost caution with their prized possession. He is the single most valuable person to the franchise, both monetarily and talent wise.

My train of thought here is that he will hang around in Florida a little while longer before heading back to New York for tests once the weather is a bit nicer. There is no reason not to heed caution and get him tested no matter what. Haven't they heard "Better Safe Than Sorry"?

Santana is a gamer. He pitched through the pain of a torn meniscus last year -- what makes them think he's going to proclaim himself injured now?

I would also like to know why he has to go to New York. The Mets have been hosting spring training in Florida from their inception, first in St. Petersburg and now in Port St. Lucie. Could it have occurred to them in that time that maybe the better thing to do is to find a doctor in Florida whom they trust instead of shipping every injury back to New York for "tests."

I'm sure there are plenty of MRI machines in the state of Florida with all the old people escaping to warmer weather. They break their hips a lot, if you hadn't heard.

The Mets need to get Santana tested, be it in Florida, New York or Kalamazoo. He's too important to the team and there is no need to make assumptions about his arm without taking a good, hard look at it.

Because you know what they say about assumptions...