APPOINTMENT VIEWING

If I lived in New York, I would be at Citi Field tonight. Matter of fact, every time Johan Santana pitched at Citi Field, I'd want to go.

I think anytime he steps on the rubber at that field, he's capable of throwing a no-hitter.

I especially thought that tonight, going against the Nationals, but he's already given up two hits as I write this.

Instead of a no-hitter, though, he's struck out 8 batters through 4 innings.

I'm telling you, something special every time he steps on that Citi Field mound. (Not that he's been too shabby on the road, either.)

It's one constant in this year that might be inconsistent with the Mets - at least we know what we're getting once every five days.

So if I'm in New York, and Johan Santana is scheduled to throw, I'm going. And if I can only watch on TV, I'll be watching.

It's going to be that kind of year for Santana.

EARLY RETURNS PROMISING

Without making too big of a deal out of one game, I'll just say that this was exactly the type of game the Mets didn't win last year.

Five and two-thirds from Johan Santana with just a one-run lead...you might as well carve in stone the No Decision.

Especially with the Mets having trouble scratching out runs.

But the bullpen was the star of the show, and the Mets were confidence-inspiring in the final innings.

Now, there's a difference between Cincinnati in April and Philadelphia in September, and Santana starts aren't really a question (we need to see what the Mets look like the other four nights)...but I'll take it.

Because come September every little win adds up, and every loss gets magnified. And a year ago, this would have turned into a loss that would have haunted the Mets all season. Right now, it's a good win.

SURPRISES:

-I'm following Pittsburgh this week closer than I otherwise would have because of the New Baseball Pool (no, I didn't pick them, but I'm rooting for them to take out a lot of people), and that was an impressive comeback in the 9th inning. Moreso, it was a terrible outing by this guy Motte for the Cardinals.

-I think the new Twins uniforms are nice. Didn't expect to see new unis in that game. That's always fun.

-For what it's worth after one game, the Yankees looked terrible. Whoa. That was a stinker.

OPENING DAY REFLECTIONS: So I don't know if I have seasonal depression or what. But I can tell you that I'm 100% happier right now that I have baseball to watch than I was without it. I love my family, love spending time with my daughters and wife, but I missed baseball terribly. And I'm ecstatic that it's back.

I STILL CARE

This is just a note to say that the blog isn't meeting its end or anything. I still care about it. And I still care about the Mets, despite their efforts to crush me at the end of every season.

It's just that situations like this whole Johan Santana ordeal right now are hard for me to handle. When it first happened, Santana said that he didn't think he'd miss Opening Day...and then it turned into a story about how he was going to most likely miss Opening Day.

This is a manufactured story. It's one I didn't want to write about because each time I would have written something, it would have changed and I would have had to write something again. It's certainly a serious situation - if Johan Santana is hurt, the Mets' season is finished. And if that happened right now, it would be over before it even began.

But I won't believe Johan Santana will miss Opening Day until I see the Mets play on Opening Day without him. And that's still a month away. This is nothing more than a media needing something to write about from camp, with all of the other star players playing in the World Baseball Classic. Nothing more. Talk to me again in a month.

SPEAKING OF THE WBC: It was nice to see David Wright in prime late-season form, popping out in a clutch spot (with the bases loaded in the seventh) against Canada on Saturday. And J.J. Putz will fit right in with his new teammates, walking a tightrope and turning a two-run lead into a one-run win-and-almost-loss in the 9th inning. It's like he was born to be in the Mets bullpen.

I immediately regret this decision

There is a great scene in Anchorman where Ron Burgandy - while trying to save the lovely Veronica Corningstone - jumps into the bear pit attempting to be the hero. His bravery turns to fear rather quickly as he declares, "I immediately regret this decision."

Great movie, but a scary parallel this morning - sounds a lot like the Mets. The Citi Field'ers went with what they thought was a great idea, only to regret it just a short time later.

This offseason, the Mets decided not to sign Derek Lowe, he instead went to the Braves, and the Mets said their pitching staff was good enough the way it was and elected not to make a move for another starter.

Obviously that was a bit of a gamble, but with Johan Santana anchoring the pitching staff things still had a solid chance to work out.

Now - Santana is hurting. Early reports have him questionable for Opening Day with elbow problems. And with the Mets having not signed another top pitcher, they're stuck with what they got.

Think the Mets - like Ron Burgandy - regret that decision?

Maybe Santana will only miss opening day, but the words "pitcher" and "elbow problems" don't usually go well together. What if he misses more? What if he's out a few weeks? A month? two months?

If he's out - safe to say - the Mets are done.

A look at the depth chart - without Santana - does not paint a pretty picture for the Mets. A rotation of Mike Pelfrey, Oliver Perez, John Maine, Freddy Garcia, and Tim Redding will not win the NL East. That rotation might struggle to finish 500.

So why didn't the Mets address their starting rotation this offseason? All the attention was focused on the bullpen woes, but maybe Omar Manaya slept on their true big need.

-SB

TOP TEN STORIES OF 2008

All around the blogging world this time of year you see the rundown of the top stories of the year. Only rarely do the stories that have an impact on my life come up. So, my space, my place to put my stories - here are the top 10 stories (in reverse order) of 2008 from '200 Miles From the Citi', with a link to my initial reaction, and some reasoning:

(#11 - Just missed the countdown - Mets Fire Willie Randolph. The way they did it was really the story, not so much that they did it. Meanwhile, that whole thing seems like a lifetime ago, let alone that it happened this past year.)

#10 - GARY CARTER
A year ago I dubbed 2008 ('08) the year of Gary Carter, who wore number 8. He certainly kept himself in the news. On January 2nd I wrote about his appointment as manager of the Orange County Flyers - a return to his hometown (or close to it). He proceeded to win a championship with Orange County, then he took a job managing the Long Island Ducks, returning to my hometown (or close to it). I suspect we'll be hearing some more from the Hall of Famer in 2009.

#9 - PHILLIES WIN WORLD SERIES
This is probably on a number of year-end highlight countdowns, but it probably doesn't sting as bad on some of the other ones. I actually ended up wanting the Phillies to win (kind of), though I picked against them. I certainly didn't enjoy it when they ended up winning.

#8 - GIANTS END PATRIOTS' UNBEATEN SEASON
The 2008 playoffs were weird for a Jets fan - the Giants got hot, and the Patriots were riding their perfect season...two teams Jets fans don't necessarily love to see be successful. But I've never had a hard time rooting for the Giants, and I like Eli Manning. I picked the Giants to win, which put me in a minority...and I probably did so more with heart than head. When they won, I wasn't as shocked as most, but I was relieved. I haven't written about this much, but it's funny that when the Jets were good this year, the Giants were still much better. The teams I root for always have trouble getting the whole city behind them.

#7 - HELLO, JOHAN SANTANA
You might think I'm ranking this pretty low, but I think it belongs at number 7. Santana could only pitch once every five days, and clearly the move didn't bring about a championship. Still, it was a huge deal - and I was taken by surprise when it happened. Santana had a great season individually, and was fun to watch, but the Mets fell short, so this ended up being kind of bittersweet.

#6 - GOOD-BYE, CHAD
Had you asked me a year ago at this time, I would have told you that I didn't expect Chad Pennington to be back with the Jets for the 2008 season....thought it became more and more likely that he would as the off-season progressed. It wasn't until early August that things fell into place with Brett Favre and Pennington was let go. Of course, the disappointing thing about this story was that he had to go to the Dolphins, and I was forced to root for Miami in a season in which they were right behind the Jets in the standings all season long...until the final week, when they were atop the standings. In retrospect, this might have been the first time since Gary Carter that a favorite athlete of mine left my favorite team with some years left in the tank and I had to root for them in another uniform.

#5 - SHEA'S FINAL DAYS
Early in the season it seemed like the Mets would make the final year at Shea Stadium a waste of everyone's time, a disappointment. Then they made their run and it looked like some of the old magic was back, until the ghosts of 2007 came out. And in the end, Shea closed its doors to a disappointing season. But 2008 still allowed for a year of reflections and memories of a place that I'll miss.

#4 - THE JETS' 2008 SEASON
It's still not over, but the off-season moves, and the cherry on top - Brett Favre - came together to make 2008 a mostly successful season. Something I saw coming just as the 2007 season was coming to its conclusion, I might add. Of course, that NFC West thing didn't work out quite as well as I had hoped....but let's remember - the Jets "backed in" to the playoffs in 2004 when they lost to St. Louis on the final day of the season, but got the help they needed. Maybe they'll get the repeat situation in 2008 - they need to win, coupled with either a Patriots loss or a Ravens loss (I'm not necessarily rooting for them...but I will root for them if they end up in the playoffs).

#3 - JETS ACQUIRE BRETT FAVRE
One of my all-time favorite football players comes to my favorite team. There were mixed feelings about how everything went down, and the fact that it meant saying goodbye to Pennington, but it was a very exciting time, turning around my otherwise lackluster feelings toward the start of the football season.

#2 - THE LAST PLAY AT SHEA
Had it not been for the birth of my second child, this would have easily been the highlight of 2008 for me. My brother got the tickets, and my last visit to Shea was a memorable one. Not only was it a special moment as a fan of both the Mets and Billy Joel, it was the best concert I've been to, capped off by a dramatic appearance by Paul McCartney. I guess, all told, I'd rather have my last event at Shea have been a playoff game, but this was a tremendous night, great memories, and it far exceeded my expectations. A playoff game could have ended with disappointment.

#1 - METS MISS PLAYOFFS (AGAIN)
I hate to end on a down note, but this was definitely the defining moment of 2008 at '200 Miles From the Citi'. I don't spend my summer writing about the Mets expecting them to fall short come September. But that's what's happened two years running now. And I don't think my expectations for 2009 are going to get too high. A year ago, on New Year's, I wrote this:

I'm not here to offer predictions for the baseball season - it's too early for that. I will say that 2008 is looking to me like a must-win season for the Mets. If they don't win this year, I think it might be a while. If they do win this year, I think they might be able to defend a title in their new park.

They didn't win in 2008. I don't think I'm going to argue with myself. I'm afraid I may have been right.

FINAL FOUR

Remember this? It's time to readjust the expectations, with four games remaining in the regular season.

Here's the story right now (record; standings; then games remaining):

Mets: 87-71 - 1.5 back of PHI in East, tied with MIL for WC (1 vs. CHC, 3 vs. FLA)
Phillies: 89-70 - first place in East (3 vs. WSH)
Brewers: 87-71 - tied with Mets for WC (1 vs. PIT, 3 vs. CHC)

When I called for the Mets to go 46-28 the rest of the way (they were 44-44 at the time) in July, I said 90 wins would win the division. (I'll save you the math - so far it's been 43-27 - not bad, but it might not be enough.) It looks like it will take 91...at least, in my mind, the Mets need to get to 91 wins right now to assure themselves of a playoff spot (or at the very least, a one-game playoff with the Brewers or Phillies).

Last night the Mets created a difficult situation for themselves. Instead of playing tonight with a chance to move into a tie with Philadelphia, the Mets need a win to stay a game back (instead of dropping to two back). Like last year, the Phillies close out the season against Washington, so the Mets can't rely on help - they have to win their four remaining games - and Florida won't make it easy. Milwaukee has Pittsburgh for one more tonight, but then they have to deal with the Cubs, who hopefully will play them as tough as they played the Mets.

I hate to make it sound like I'm writing an obituary with four games left, but I want to get this out there - the Mets have had a good season. It's been tremendously frustrating, and the past few days have been microcosmic of that season-long frustration (the Jason Marquis grand slam, the bullpen blowing the game to the Braves on Sunday, the 4-run lead the Mets gave back last night to lose in extra innings, leaving the bases loaded in the ninth, etc.), but overall the Mets are in a position right now that I didn't think they would be in early on.

This year doesn't qualify as a choke job. The Phillies have played very well, and the Mets have battled. Last September colors this September a little differently, but the Mets aren't good enough this year to be considered chokers. They have pretty much no bullpen, and they have themselves in a position where they still control their fate. All they have to do is win.

It starts tonight with Pedro Martinez*, in the type of big game we've been waiting four years to see him pitch in. Hopefully the 2005 version of Pedro* shows up one more time....and then a few more times in the post-season.

JOHAN: I know I called for Johan Santana to go deeper into games, and to throw more pitches. I remember it well. Both times. I keep thinking about it each time he now goes deep and deeper into games. The one thing, though, is that I didn't want him throwing career-high type numbers of pitches (125 the other night) to get through these games. Bottom line: I hope the Mets don't just have one great season from Johan Santana and then six with a damaged arm. I hope he's not pushing himself beyond his capabilities to get the Mets into the playoffs in 2008 - because if he is, that doesn't bode well for the coming years.

CAUSE FOR CONCERN

The Mets put John Maine on the 15-day DL Monday with the bone spurs and sore shoulder that have been bothering him for a while now. He might be out for the season - if he makes it back this year, I wouldn't be surprised if he pitches in relief.

So there's a couple of problems here for the Mets - not the least of which is that their rotation is weakened without Maine. I know he hasn't been great this year - but when healthy he's solid. And he showed in 2006 that he is a clutch pitcher in the post-season.

There are legitimate worries about the rest of the rotation. Oliver Perez is still way too inconsistent. He's been pitching well lately, but you never know when that will end. Pedro Martinez* isn't the Pedro Martinez of old...every time he starts it looks like he's working too hard to get out six innings with only three runs allowed. Whoever replaces Maine will be young and inexperienced - most likely right now Jon Niese - but the Mets will finagle things so they won't need that rotation spot for a week or so. Mike Pelfrey has been great - I'm actually least worried about him.

Johan Santana, though, I'm a little worried about. I know I was among those calling for him to go deeper into games. But I'm not sure he's that type of pitcher. I just worry that he's throwing too many, against his will, because he's succumbing to the media pressure of New York City. And I worry that he's going to hurt his arm, and the Mets will be left with no one come playoff time. Maybe I'm worrying too much. But Santana has never been the type to go deep into games...and this great stretch of games that he has pitched seems out of the norm for him (innings pitched-wise). As great as it has been, I hope he's doing it because he can...not because he feels he has to because of the bullpen.

Finally, this is actually the opposite of a 'cause for concern' - more of a cause for celebration. I've been meaning to write it for a while, but haven't had the right forum. So I'll just throw it out here now:

Carlos Delgado has been on fire for about two months now. And the key, it seems to me, is his willingness to go the other way. Every time he has a multiple-hit game, it seems like a couple are going to left field. Monday night he hit an opposite-field homer. I'm not saying all of his homers are going that way - but enough have that it makes you think that's the key. I wonder if it is the work of hitting coach Howard Johnson, or if he figured it out for himself. Either way, he's been the most valuable Met since early July.

NOT OFF THE HOOK

I'm glad Johan Santana pitched a complete game Sunday.

I'm glad he showed that he could stretch it out, throwing 118 pitches.

And, yes, it came at a time when the Mets needed it - the bullpen was worked to the max in Saturday night's 14-inning game, and the Mets get right back to work Monday in Florida.

But it's not the same as his last two complete game opportunities.

Santana showed us on Sunday that he's capable of going 9 innings, and throwing more than 100 pitches.

The Mets (and Mets fans) now need him to be able to do that in games where the score is not 9-1 and there's more on the line.

ALL TOO FAMILIAR

The optimist in me wants to just say, "It's only one game. There's two more against the Phillies, the Mets can take two out of three and be back in first place." But the reality is, this is just what happened last year - late comebacks by the Phillies finished the Mets, and they still really haven't recovered.

The pessimist in me, the one who realizes this is one of the most frustrating seasons in recent Mets history, and the one who feels like it might end in disappointment, says Tuesday night's game was the one the Mets needed to have, because it was their ace on the mound, and it was supposed to set the tone against the Phillies.

"But wait," says the optimist. "Remember the fourth of July? The first of four in Philadelphia? The Mets were supposed to win that one, too, and set the tone. They lost that Santana start, and all that did was spur them on to a 10-game winning streak...and that loss was a game the Phillies also won in their final at-bat. And the Mets are still 7-4 against Philly this year."

So I guess all is not lost - but it certainly puts the Mets in a bad spot tonight losing in the fashion they did last night. Especially since it's unknown whether Billy Wagner will be available again, and no one showed the ability to slam the door at the end of last night's game.

In part, I blame Johan Santana. Earlier this year, I wrote how it was part of what a smart pitcher Santana is that he knows his limitations as a pitcher, and isn't always pushing himself to the point of bodily harm to go that extra inning. Well, I'm starting to realize that maybe he could push himself once in a while, especially in what he called his "biggest game with the Mets", and on a night when the Mets knew they didn't have their closer (as unreliable as he is). (In this, I agree with what Tim Smith wrote in the New York Daily News - you can check it out here.)

OK, so Santana threw 105 pitches. He threw 75 of them for strikes - he probably wouldn't have thrown a ton more in the ninth, the way he was throwing, and if he got into trouble, then you turn to the bullpen.

You can also blame the defense - Jose Reyes made a bad play trying to get a force at second on a slow grounder with the bases loaded. In that situation you have to get the sure out - that's the benefit of a 3-run lead. Instead, the Phillies kept the bases loaded, and had no one out forever in the ninth inning. And of course the bullpen gets its share of the blame. (I'm not sure why Aaron Heilman wasn't the choice to start the inning, or Joe Smith - both do well against righties and lefties. Maybe because Duaner Sanchez had closed before....but I didn't like that Smith only faced one batter.)

But for a change, you couldn't blame the offense in a Johan Santana start. 5 runs isn't a ton, but it was enough last night. And they could have added more if it weren't for some good defensive plays by the Phillies, where you just have to tip your cap. Chase Utley laid out for a liner to end an inning with the bases loaded, and Endy Chavez was nailed at the plate twice - once from left, once from right - you have to take your chances with his speed on the basepaths, so I don't blame him at all.

The pressure is on John Maine tonight. The last time he faced this situation, he pitched well, and then left the game with that arm cramp. What the Mets need is a win in game two against Philadelphia. Then, and only then, will Tuesday night's game become "only one game".

METS KILLERS: It dawned on me last night that the Phillies have definitely built their team a bit around players who do well against the Mets. They have Pat Burrell, who has been killing the Mets on a Chipper Jones-like pace his whole career. Then they traded for Joe Blanton, partly because of his career record against the Mets (in limited starts, granted) - in two previous starts he hadn't allowed a run to New York. And then there's So Taguchi, who was one of the reasons the Mets lost to St. Louis in 2006, and he had a huge pinch-hit in the 9th inning last night. Perhaps this was common knowledge to others, but I just realized it last night watching Blanton and later Saguchi.

TRADE UPDATE: Great move for Arizona picking up Jon Rauch. I'm not sure what their setup situation has been, but if they move Rauch in to the setup position for Brandon Lyon, that's where he's most comfortable. And if they need him to close, for whatever reason, he's proven he's more than capable of doing that. Now that they're back to .500 the Diamondbacks might as well be the team to come out of the NL West...and Rauch will certainly help. (Although this young second baseman they traded away seems like a good pickup for Washington - apparently he's very fast, with a good batting average and on-base percentage. Seems like he'll be a good leadoff hitter, and could be a big part of their future...worth keeping an eye on. He was sent to Triple-A.)

THE WAY I SEE IT

The Mets did what I wanted them to do - they got back to .500 at 44-44 (actually winning 3 out of 4 from Philly, when I thought they might just split), and they're tied with the Marlins for second place, just a game-and-a-half behind Philadelphia. They're still not playing the best baseball I've ever seen, but they're winning, and they look the best they've looked all season - which isn't saying much for the first half of the year.

Right now, the Mets are 46-44, and there are 5 games left before the All Star break. It seems like they'll go into that break better than .500.

Here's the way I look at the rest of this 2008 season.

When the Mets resume after the All Star break, they'll have 67 games left in the season (not quite the mid-way point). Using the 44-44 point as the re-start for the Mets, what I hope will have been the turning point, here's what needs to happen. I think 90 wins (sadly, it will probably be less), will win the division. That means from 44-44 the Mets need to go 46-28 in their remaining 74 games from Sunday. (They're off to a 2-0 start.)

At the beginning of the year, I would have told you the Mets could go 46-28 with their eyes closed. But obviously, that hasn't been true in practice. Here's why it's possible right now:

1) They have one of the best pitchers in baseball. Lost in this miserable start to the season has been Johan Santana's first season as a Met. There have been adjustments for sure, but he has been very good - the Mets just haven't been supporting him. Overall, Santana is 7-7 with a 2.96 ERA. He has struck out 109 in 121 innings, and walked just 32. The Mets have lost his last six starts. I expect a huge second half, just because they can't keep losing when he's out there.

2) Pedro Martinez* has found his rhythm? I can't say this for sure, but his Monday start in Philadelphia was very encouraging. It was a big game for the Mets, and he came through big. He's still not going more than five or six innings, but if he can keep the Mets in games (and get enough run support, which was probably huge for him), that will be enough. Martinez* is a battler, and wants to go out and be great - that can only be good for the Mets.

3) The offense is playing like it has been expected to. The Mets current four-game winning streak has seen them put up 30 runs (9, 4, 10, 7) and 59 hits (14, 14, 17, 14) - including Tuesday night against one of the best pitchers in baseball, Tim Lincecum - and all of the key players are getting hot - most notably Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran. Let's not forget the lesson we've talked about with Carlos Beltran the past couple of years - he's a very good second-half player.

The past couple of years, the best team has not represented the National League in the World Series. It's been the team that has gotten hot at the right time. So maybe it's not important that the Mets got off to such a rocky start. Sure, it cost Willie Randolph his job, and it made a lot of people unhappy, but if all continues to go well, the Mets could become that hot team in October. And in that case, it may just prove what we thought at the beginning of the year - that they've been the best team in the National League all along.

A WEEKEND AWAY: Beginning with Thursday afternoon's game at Shea, I'll be in New York for the weekend. If anything major happens, I'm sure the Southern Bureau or Dave in Brighton will keep us posted in the comments, so you can keep checking back. I'll definitely have something to help you pass the three days (and for some teams, four) of the All Star break, so you'll get a baseball fix.

ALL STAR FINAL VOTE: I've talked about this before - but the Milwaukee Brewers have a surprisingly active fan base. I saw it when we saw the Brewers play the Reds in person in Cincinnati, I saw it when we saw them in person against the Nationals in Washington.

They turned out to vote Ryan Braun into the All Star Game, and Corey Hart is leading David Wright in the Final Vote. This is despite my best efforts - I wish mlb.com would limit how many times you can vote - I just keep doing it, and I don't know when to call it quits. I'm like one of those teenage girls holding up a "David Wright, will you marry me?" sign. But now I'm going away, and I've done all I can do for Wright.

I would like nothing better than for the announcement to come while I'm at Thursday's Mets game that the fans voted in David Wright. (I'm pretty sure I was at a Red Sox game the day they announced Johnny Damon got the final vote - I might have been working for a TV station that day...anyway, two different cities, two final vote announcements. That would be cool.) So please help. Click here to vote 100 times, like me, for David Wright.

SEASON OVER

I know it's only the end of June. I know there's still plenty of time to turn it around.

I also know that I may be late in realizing this - but the Mets are not winners. They're going nowhere this season.

They have the wrong people making the decisions, they're making the wrong decisions, and the way they are currently constituted, they are going nowhere this season.

The exclamation point on this realization came Monday night when the Mets got their hats handed to them by the Seattle Mariners - the worst team in baseball - on their home field.

The Mariners coming to town should be an automatic sweep. They're 3,000 miles from home. They're awful. If anyone has gone through more turmoil than the Mets this year, it's the Mariners, who lost both their manager and general manager in a matter of weeks. If you're the Mets, you're thinking, "Jeez, we have it pretty bad, but here comes Seattle. Those poor Mariners. We're low, but they're lower." But then you have to go out there and murder them. Kick them while they're down.

What do the Mets do? With their best pitcher on the mound, they lose. Their best player makes a key error, extending the second inning, with the bases loaded, for the opposing pitcher. Who proceeds to hit a grand slam. And then that pitcher (the Mariners' best) gets hurt in the fifth inning, meaning the Mets have four innings to get to the bullpen of the worst team in baseball, and they can't score more than a run.

That's a disaster.

You want to fire people? You don't wait until the middle of the night after a win across the country. You wait until you lose two straight to the worst team in baseball on your own field. Then you start firing people. Break up the team....I'm sick of these guys.

NOTES FROM A PHONE CONVERSATION WITH STEVE IN NYC

With the Rangers just having tied their playoff game with the Pittsburgh Penguins at 1, I called Steve in NYC to talk hockey. Soon after, the Rangers were down, 3-1, and the conversation turned decidedly sour. Some lowlights:

WHAT IS WRONG WITH METS FANS?
I didn't really know about this until I saw an article on-line today - apparently, the Mets fans got pretty pumped after Carlos Delgado hit his second home run of the day on Sunday, and cheered louder and louder, but he didn't come out for a curtain call. And I guess, with the rainout on Monday, and nothing else to talk about, Mets fans took Delgado to task for "snubbing" them.

Steve and I are 100% on Delgado's side here. "There are moments, and there are moments," said Delgado. "A solo homer in the 7th inning is not a moment." He's right. It wasn't a game-changing home run. Meanwhile, it was one of three on the year for Delgado. Mets fans need to get a clue. Or I need to get to Shea to show people what to cheer for and how to do it.

One other cheering thing that we talked about - the fact that Mets fans booed Johan Santana during his first start. Don't boo him in his first home game. Idiots. I'm sensing some restlessness tonight, too - Santana just gave up a homer to Jason Bay - following up a leadoff homer by Nate McLouth (having an awesome start to the year, by the way) - and if he gives up anything else, I'm sensing some boos. Get a grip Mets fans - Santana gives up homers. If the offense would get it in gear, two solo homers wouldn't be the end of the world. Boo some of the offensive players until they get it going.

WILLIE RANDOLPH'S JOB SECURITY
This was another topic of conversation - and I've been meaning to bring this up. Steve said Mets fans should save their boos for Randolph, because he's doing a terrible job. I can't disagree. It's occurred to me for a while that if things keep going this way for the Mets, they need to shake things up. Maybe it's the manager's job that goes. I'm going out on this limb - if the Mets are not in first place by the end of May, they should fire Willie Randolph. That might get things going.

LET'S GO *YAWN* METS
Steve is upset about the Mets - even more upset about the way the Mets are playing than maybe the Rangers possibly going down 3 games to none. I said I wish I was that upset about the Mets. The problem for me is that they're uninspiring, and they look uninspired. It's just not getting me excited. Maybe that's Randolph's fault - maybe they need someone to fire them up. But we expected great things this year. Great things haven't started happening yet. I feel like I should be more upset about that than I am. They're not making me stand up and give a care.

ARTICLE REVIEW

The Mets are 2-3, after a disappointing weekend in Atlanta. Too early to draw any conclusions. We'll re-evaluate after the Mets take on the Phillies and the Braves at Shea this week.

In the meantime, I read an article in New York Magazine this week about the Mets. I actually read it Sunday night, and I think it was a week old. I wouldn't go searching the internet for it.

The part about it that bothers me is that on the cover, it advertises an article on the "Post-Choke Mets". That makes you think the article will be about the Mets' approach to the season, no? Well, the article is another story, literally. The first sentence talks about last September's collapse, and the rest of the article is about the pitching rotation, with Rick Peterson as the central figure, shedding light on the Johan Santana acquisition.

The picture here is probably the best part of the whole article - not sure why I like it so much, but I do like it.

The article is all about the pitchers' personalities, and how they might do in the coming season. So just two games in, it was already dated, after Pedro Martinez's* injury.
There's nothing in there you didn't already know. Some of Peterson's approach to coaching pitching is interesting - there's a bit about the psychology of a pitcher.

Overall, I say skip it - which is a good thing, because I guess the new one is already out, and this one is old news.

INTERESTING...

For what it's worth - I got the media guide and a pocket Mets schedule today from my Mom. (She's in for the weekend...and I probably won't write again until Sunday.)

So this is the pocket schedule at left. No surprise that it's David Wright and Jose Reyes on the cover - they are the young stars. And then there's Shea Stadium, in its last year.

But the big acquisition was Johan Santana. Is it surprising that he's not there? And how about this - are the Mets being artistic?

What's Santana's number? 57. With Wright on the left, and Reyes on the right, aren't they forming a 5-7? Just something to think about for the weekend while you're not reading my blog.

NOT BAD FOR STARTERS

As far as the Mets are concerned, I don't think Opening Day could have gone any better. And on a personal note, all it took was for the games to count for me to be into the season. I was on board just about after President Bush threw out the first pitch at Nationals Park.

First of all, one of my favorite stats that gets brought up every year at this time (nationally, too - not just on the Mets games) is the Mets' success on Opening Day. In their history, the Mets are 30-17 on Opening Day. That ranks among the best, percentage-wise. So the Mets improved upon that with their win over the Marlins.

Johan Santana, obviously, is the other extremely good news. You couldn't have gotten a better start (OK, a no-hitter would have been better. Here's how desperate I am for one - it's always on my mind. I convinced myself on my ride home from work that it would be ultra-dramatic if Santana's Mets debut was a no-hitter. And then he got through the first 1-2-3, and I was convinced it was going to happen. It didn't. 161 more tries for the Mets this year.) - 2 runs in 7 innings - with 8 strikeouts. This is going to be a fun year.

How about this, too - David Wright - 2 doubles!!! I love it. The first was also pretty clutch - with the bases loaded, he broke the game open.

A few other thoughts from around the league's Opening Day:

-The Brewers-Cubs game was ridiculous. Scoreless into the 9th, then Kerry Wood gives up 3 runs in the top half. Eric Gagne counters by blowing the save and giving up 3 in the bottom half (a 3-run homer by Fukodome, just to make it more interesting). Then the Brewers won in the tenth, giving Gagne a so-undeserved win. Gagne and Wood - both reclamation projects off to a rocky start.

-Exciting news from the world of DirecTV - I think (I haven't proven this, but I'm pretty sure) I now get both telecasts on the baseball package. For instance - today's Mets game, since it was on SNY and FSN Florida, would have been given to me on FSN Florida, because the Marlins were home. But I had both feeds. And there were two channels dedicated to most of the games. So I think if the games are available on both feeds this year, they'll be offered on both. Woo-hoo!

-Early returns on the Wireless Scoreboard are positive - a few flaws, but overall good.

-The game on Sunday night at Nationals Park reminded me that Washington, D.C. is the ballpark trip for the year. Again, The Wife's idea. And she's pregnant, but she'll go for a 6-hour car ride. She's a special one. After seeing the park on TV, I'm excited for that. We'll be going Memorial Day Weekend.

-Seems to me that C.C. Sabathia is notorious for being handed big leads and then blowing them. I think he loses concentration. I think he needs to pitch in tight games.

-I love that the Mets have Mike Pelfrey starting this weekend in Atlanta. I think he'll have a good season, and he's pitched well against Atlanta recently. So he'll get off on the right foot. Plus, it's against Tom Glavine. I hope the Mets destroy him.

A very exciting day. I'm just so happy I came around in the excitement category.

MEET THE METS - JOHAN SANTANA

A preview of the 2008 Mets, presented in the expected batting order, followed by pitching rotation, followed by impact bullpen/bench players. Today we focus on starting pitcher Johan Santana.

2007: 15-13, 3.33 ERA, 235 K's, 52 walks, 219 IP

"I can breathe. It's like a big glass of cold water when you're thirsty. That's how bad we wanted Johan. I'm glad he's on our side. He's somebody who, now, everybody can rely on. Actually, he's somebody I'll love to be around. He's a great person. I'm really proud to have him here. I can't wait to give him a big hug and say, 'Hey, we're together now.' One from the left side, the other from the right side."

Pedro Martinez*, like many Mets fans, is very excited about the Mets' acquisition of Johan Santana, speaking the above words almost immediately upon his arrival in Port St. Lucie.

Johan Santana makes the Mets pitching staff deeper, allowing everyone else to move down a slot, and instead of pitching ahead of where they belong in the rotation, the Mets pitchers are now among the best in the league where they are slotted. (In other words, John Maine is not a number two starter...but he's better than most teams' number threes. Same with Pedro Martinez* at number two, and Oliver Perez at four. Even El Duque at five.)

Santana also gives the Mets a threat - someone who could very well go out and win every start he makes. He won't, though. As much as I love this acquisition, this is going to be a tough year for Santana. He'll pitch great...but he won't get the wins to show for it. He will leave a lot of games tied 0-0 or 1-1 in the sixth or seventh innings...and the Mets might win those games, but they'll have trouble getting on the board early against the Cole Hamels, John Smoltz, Roy Oswalt, etc. of the National League. That's my prediction for Santana - his strikeout numbers and ERA will be out of this world, but he'll suffer in the wins department.

I'm looking at Johan Santana's numbers, and I didn't realize that he was a reliever for the first three and a half years of his career. But that just helps prove my point further. The point I want to make is that the Mets could be getting quite possibly the best pitcher at age 29 in history. Here's why - the Twins take care of their pitchers. They probably eased Santana into his role as a starter - that's why he was a reliever so early on (speculation here - I really don't know this as a fact). His innings increased each year until they dipped last year (last year was a bad season, statistically and relatively speaking, for Santana). So his arm is probably in good shape entering this six-year deal.

And here's my big point - some people are pointing to a 17-strikeout performance by Santana last year as a negative, because he left the game after 8 innings and didn't try for 20 K's. I ask these people - how many times does someone go out there, looking for a personal record, and end up blowing a game for their team because they were looking for individual gain? And how many times do we rip that person? I think it's a great thing that Santana didn't go out there for the ninth, because he had already thrown 112 pitches. If he goes out there and hurts his arm in the ninth, or loses the game, he gets bashed. He knew he was handing the game over to his closer, and was willing to set personal glory aside in order for the team to pick up a 'W'.

Sounds to me like Johan Santana has sound judgment about his body, is a good teammate, and bottom line - he wants to win. Doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with that to me.

NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Johan Santana is on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated (thanks to the Southern Bureau, a loyal SI subscriber, for the heads-up). Hopefully there will be no SI jinx. The article was decent - I read it online, though SI doesn't make it easy to find their magazine articles on their website. The article is about how Santana helped shift the mentality of everyone in the Mets organization. Nothing really new in there, except that along with landing the best pitcher in the game, the fact that he acquired Santana also landed Omar Minaya a new pair of expensive shoes in a bet he made with Mets owner Jeff Wilpon.

A BIG WEEK AT SHEA

If I were to rank the biggest off-season week in the history of Shea Stadium, this past week would be number one.

I expected the Mets would try to steal some headlines from the Giants by introducing Johan Santana on Monday, but in reality, we all know you can't compete with a Super Bowl championship. So Monday and Tuesday were out, as far as the Mets were concerned.

But the Mets made the most out of the short week.

On Wednesday, it was cliche-o-rama, with Johan Santana, as the Mets introduced their new ace, who will wear number 57, and who knows the team will take it "one game at a time", and they're going out there "to have fun". You've heard it all before - everything he said had been said many, many times before.

As much as Johan was an unexpected surprise these past few weeks, the Mets made the big announcement I've been expecting for a long time -
Billy Joel will perform the last concert at Shea Stadium. It's not when I thought it would be - "Last Play at Shea" will be held on Wednesday, July 16th, which is the day after the All Star Game, which I keep forgetting will also be in New York (at Yankee Stadium). Tickets go on sale in a week - I have to be there. Everyone in my family will be on some sort of phone trying to get tickets....I guarantee it. I also guarantee that during the concert, Billy Joel will make some sort of reference to the previous acts who performed at Shea, including the Beatles, and will probably pay them homage by covering a number of different groups' songs.

The only thing that will make this year at Shea better is closing it down with a World Series championship. How great would it be if the National League is able to pull out the All Star Game win in Yankee Stadium, granting the Mets home field advantage in the World Series, against whoever, allowing the Mets to win a World Series at home, in the last game at Shea, in Game 6 or 7 of the World Series? (I'll answer my own question: It would be awesome, but I'm not getting ahead of myself....the past two years the World Series was my expectation, and we all know both years fell well short. And I sure would love a World Series sweep - if it takes the Mets winning it on the road, I'll be OK with that.)

BEDARD TO SEATTLE: You probably remember that Erik Bedard is one of my favorite players in baseball these days. You might be shocked by what I'm about to say. First of all, it seems like Seattle gave up an awful lot for him - 5 players in exchange for Bedard. He's very good - but even the Mets got Santana for less. (I know nothing about the prospects - but 5 for 1 is a deal for a special type of player...and I'm not sure that's Bedard.) Now, I like Bedard a lot. But I get a bad feeling about him now going to the American League West. Don't get me wrong -I'll be rooting for him, and I'm actually excited that every fifth day I'll have a reason to watch the 10pm games....but I'm not sure he'll have as much success as he did in Baltimore.

COMING SOON: This e-mail has prompted me to lay out a schedule for the next few days (it also includes a clever play on words involving the name of the blog):

"Dear JohnnyMets,

Enough football and baseball. Where the heck is the five-part NASCAR preview to run under the headline 200 Miles (per hour) from the Citi?

Sincerely, Dave in Brighton"

First of all, it's just one part - but we're just two days away - it'll be posted Sunday night, a week ahead of the Daytona 500. Saturday will be a piece unrelated to any sport in particular, and then Monday night will begin about a month-long preview of the Mets. And pretty much all baseball all the time from there on out.

WITHOUT A HITCH

Wow. It's official. Johan Santana will be a member of the 2008 New York Mets. The contract was finalized Friday, a couple of hours past the deadline the Twins and Santana agreed to. The physical was passed on Saturday, and there was nothing else standing in the way.

The contract guarantees Santana will be with the Mets through 2013, with an option for 2014. He will be paid $137.5 million over the six guaranteed years. As ridiculous as those numbers are, I sure am glad the Mets are paying it, and not another team.

I don't think we can underestimate in this whole process the role Santana's desire to pitch in New York, as well as the National League, played. It's one of those "which one of these doesn't belong" things - it was Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets. Maybe he would only go to the Mets.

I think the only question that remains is whether or not Santana needs an asterisk. I'm going to go with no, because maybe Omar Minaya acquisitions are immune to that sort of bad luck that we are used to from previous Mets transactions.

I haven't heard anything about an introduction to New York City, but I wouldn't be surprised if a press conference was held on Monday, the day after the Super Bowl - steal some headlines from the Giants. In the meantime, you can go ahead and buy a Johan Santana jersey on mlb.com, which is what you see here.

THE SUPER PICK

The Super Bowl bye week is one of my least favorite events in all of sports. I despise it. Here are a couple of reasons why:

1) I overthink things. I actually prefer losing and being eliminated from my shares pool in the conference championship game weekend because otherwise I would have obsessed for these past two weeks over the Super Bowl bet.

2) There's not enough that goes on to keep me interested, and the media (not surprisingly) feels they have to cover every second of these two weeks. And we end up with a situation like Tom Brady's ankle - a non-story manufactured into a story. In other words, even though everyone and their brother knows it was a non-story, it was still everyone's top story.

3) I actually used the following words this week (the second week of the overblown coverage, which, I must stress, could cause damage to your sensibility): "Bill Belichick has actually been quite charming in all of these media availabilities."

It was actually this third thing, though, that (5 "th-" beginnings in a row!!) got me thinking (6 of 8!) the (7 of 9!) Giants had a chance. The Patriots seem awfully comfortable. I guess that would work in their favor...but when you reconsider that it might be confidence, or overconfidence...maybe the Giants can interpret it that way and use it to their advantage.

I suspect this will be a very tight game. I think the Giants have a real chance. And when it comes down to it, I need to stand by what I've been saying this entire season - I just don't see a team going 19-0. It just seems too hard. And I'll stand by that this one last week. If it happens, I will give the Patriots all of the credit they deserve. And if it doesn't happen, I'll be happy.

I worry about one thing with the Giants - Eli Manning. I'm as happy as anyone that he has come around this post-season. But I still think Eli has instances where he doesn't quite know what to do with the ball when protecting a lead, and for the Giants to win, he needs to figure that out. I have two times to cite where this happened: one was the playoff game against Dallas, where the Giants gave the Cowboys last opportunity after last opportunity with the ball because Eli couldn't run out the clock on offense (and he nearly turned it over). In that last regular season game, against New England, Eli threw one interception (the last time he turned the ball over, incidentally), and then failed to do anything effective in the fourth quarter as the Patriots came from behind to win the game. The Patriots could exploit that weakness again in this game.

I feel pretty strongly about one thing - if the Patriots score more than 30 points, I don't think the Giants can hang with them. I'm going to say it's the Giants' defense that is the key - hold the Patriots long enough, build a lead, then withstand a final push. That's the formula for a Giants win.

I think the most accurate thing I've heard during the two weeks between football games has been the comparisons between the Giants and the 2001 Patriots. No one was giving the Patriots a chance in that game, similar to many people with the Giants this year. These Patriots are like a bigger version of those Rams. I think the Giants do pull off a similar upset:
Another look, too, at the picks/standings through the conference championship games. For the Super Bowl, for the record, the Southern Bureau picks Patriots 32, Giants 21 (the pick has absolutely no bearing on his numbers in the Johnnymets Super Bowl squares pool), with Maroney scoring all of the touchdowns and winning the MVP. I guess I'll pick Eli as the MVP...I don't know who else would be that instrumental for the Giants.

THANK GOODNESS: I can't believe it took an extension of the deadline, but thank goodness the Mets have locked up Johan Santana. The numbers haven't been disclosed yet, but they'll be talked about next week. The topic shifts to baseball.....and NASCAR....next week.

FROM THE FANS - DAVE IN BRIGHTON

Well, the Super Bowl is drawing ever nearer, and the weirdest Super Bowl bye week I've experienced is drawing to a close. I'm getting inundated nonstop in New England with Patriots coverage, my family is getting Super Bowl coverage in New York for the Giants, and I'm stuck here having to hear all about it while not really caring.

We'll do a last "From the Fans" segment, though, this time from Dave in Brighton. Dave has been in New England for the same length of time I have, and as he explains, he had no prior loyalties preventing him from blending right in to a winning football culture:

I didn't even watch football at all until fall of 2001. My roommate at the time in Brighton was dismayed by this, so he told me that '01 would be the season I would start being a fan. His first instruction: "Pick a team." I figured all the Pats games would be on TV, so I went with the Patriots.

I will point out that at the time I made the decision, the Patriots had been to two Super Bowls but won none, and the team was still in the post-Pete Carroll doldrums.

Seven years hence, there have been six post-season appearances, three Super Bowl wins, and one undefeated season. In short, the Pats have made it easy to be a fan.

So what's it like? I may have come late to the party, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to enjoy it.

I think sports fans find a shared identity in the bad times, mainly because only one team wins each season. But now I find myself in a place that plans victory parades before the game is even played. It's been nice to only identify with the good times. I'm sure that bothers some people, but what do you want me to do? Stop rooting for a team because it's good? Heck no. I'll stop rooting when they're bad. Duh.

Safe to say Sunday's game will come down to a field goal. I'll go Pats 31, Giants 28.

Dave in Brighton is also a talented blogger. He has filled in on the rare occasion that he watches a Mets game that I am unable to see.

AN UNRELATED BASEBALL NOTE TO OMAR MINAYA: Omar, give the man what he wants. If Johan Santana wants 7 years, you give him 7 years. If he will take 6, but only for an extra $10 million, you shell out the money. Don't even let it get close to the Friday, 5pm deadline. Please.