These Mets are Amazing

Amazing in so many ways that you might not always consider. Last night's fall behind/comeback win that was capped off by, wait for it, a Luis Castillo walk off single was a great win for the team. They were able to defeat one of their arch nemesis pitchers in Josh Johnson. They were able to provide run support for one of their starting pitchers for a change. And they were able to get the big hit when they needed it.

Those are all positives. But that's only a fraction of what makes this team amazing.

It's amazing that Luis Castillo batted .300 and we all hate him so much that we don't complain about a guy who's batting below .180 being our starting second baseman.

It's amazing that Mets fans have more confidence in a win when R.A. Dickey takes the mound than Johan Santana.

It's amazing that Mike Pelfrey was mentioned as a Cy Young contender earlier this season.

It's amazing that the Mets can buy a run off of Zach Duke, but pound Josh Johnson who has an ERA of 0.79 over his last few starts.

It's amazing that Jeff Francoeur's average is around .250. It's amazing that he doesn't pop up or strike out every time.

It's amazing that Josh Thole has become a strikeout machine after batting over .400 for the better part of the season.

It's amazing that Rod Barajas carried this team through April and May, but is no longer here.

It's amazing that Bobby Parnell is throwing Vermont cheddar when all of a sudden KRod is no longer in the picture.

It's amazing that this team was 10 games over .500 a week before the All Star break and is now only a game over.

It's amazing that Oliver Perez is still in the major leagues and will make more than any other pitcher on the Mets not named Santana.

It's amazing that after the pain of the last 3 years and a horrid July/August, that I'm still watching every game.

Some things are beyond explanation.

The Johan Santana Disease

It's not just a disease. It's an epidemic.

When Johan Santana steps on the mound the Mets lineup is crippled by his mere presence. They are in such awe of the circle change that their own bats turn to rubber. Santana's fastball is so filthy that their gloves spontaneously grow holes in them and every fundamental fielding principle they ever learned flies right out the window.

That is the power of the Johan Santana disease and it plagues the Mets every time he steps on the mound.

Santana was masterful. He struck out 13 batters while only walking one, and the 2 runs scored against him were both unearned thanks the Mets fantastic play in the field.

In typical Mets fashion, they waited to the very last minute to make things interesting by scoring a run in the top of the ninth and getting the tying run on base. But it was not meant to be as Josh Johnson won the day in the end pitching the first complete game of the MLB season.

If I'm Johan Santana, I'm not talking to any of the Mets players for at least a week. It's not like this is the first time something like this has happened. It seems to happen every time he pitches. If Santana gets 2 runs of offensive support that's a lot.

The days Santana pitches should be almost automatic wins for the Mets, and today should have been one of those days. The disease continues.