Mets Morning News: Byrdak Extended, Old Habits Die Hard, SantanaPitches Without Issue

The Mets and Tim Byrdak agreed to a one-year contract extension yesterday. The left-hander has appeared in 68 games so far this season, and is 1-0 with a 2.95 ERA.

Manager Terry Collins believes Dillon Gee fell into old habits during his outing on Sunday.

"He stayed in that fastball/change-up mode," Collins said. "I looked up (at one point) and he had 65 pitches, and about half were for balls and half were strikes. That’s the difference. He’s the kind of guy where you look up and he ought to be pounding that strike zone. When he does that, that’s when he’s successful.

"Today, he was a lot of deep counts and behind a lot of hitters. That’s not normal for him."

Johan Santana pitched three innings in a simulated game against instructional league players. General manager Sandy Alderson said Santana "felt good," after his outing where he allowed one hit and struck out four.