Johana Santana threw four scoreless innings and struck out four against the Marlins today in spring training. Meanwhile, John Maine was tagged for five runs in two-thirds of an inning by the Marlins on Sunday. Maine allowed three hits and walked three before being pulled. He’s been limited to 2 2/3 innings this spring.

Yesterday Ollie P  and Hisanori Takahashi looked real good vs. the Tigers. Perez pitched four hitless innings Saturday in his start against the Tigers. Takahashi allowed one hit in three scoreless innings. Takahashi notched three more strikeouts, giving him nine in six scoreless innings.Keep in mind they were facing a Tigers lineup that included just two regulars and Perez didn’t strike out any of the 14 hitters he faced but it’s still very positive for Ollie.

Still very early so I’m not concerned good or bad with the starters, but you like to see Johan and Ollie doing well. I wonder if Takashashi will take a rotation spot over Maine or Niese.

Carlos Beltran told the Newark Star Ledger that by April, he believes he will be able to play in rehabilitation games. Then it would take about a week to 10 days before he could rejoin the club.

With Jose Reyes out as well, the opening day lineup could look like the following:

Angel Pagan CF, Luis Castillo 2b, David Wright 3b, Jason Bay LF, Dan Murphy 1B, Jeff Francoeur RF, Cora/Tejada SS, Barajas C and the pitcher.

The earlier we can get Beltran back the better, this team will need all the help it can get with Reyes out. Beltran added that he doesn’t want to rush back unless he’s right. He says he will not rush his recovery to compensate for the loss of Reyes. Besides, he requires time to build the strength in his legs. Because, he says, “shape-wise, I want to do great.”