Johan Santana Is in a Rare Position

Johan Santana will take the mound tonight and be in a position he hasn't found himself in for a long time. He's fighting to stay above .500. He's trying to stay relevant. He for the first time in ages needs to prove he's the best pitcher in the rotation.

All of these questions and more are on the line tonight. Man, do I sound melodramatic or what? But in all honesty the drama is warranted. Santana has lost his mojo. It was bound to happen sooner or later, but it's disappointing to find that it's been sooner rather than later. Santana needs a dominant start if for nothing else than to shut everyone up.

I'm dying for Santana to go out there and just dominate. I don't want to hear about lack of run support. I want him to leave no question in our minds that Santana has still got it, and is able to be the #1 starter this team needs him to be.

So what happens if Santana goes out there and gives up another grand slam or has one of his infamous implosion innings? The sad answer is pretty much nothing. It's business as usual. We've come to not be surprised when Santana crumbles.

That's not the way it's supposed to be. Tonight is the night for Santana to change our minds. If not now, then when?

Mets Have Biggest Lead in Baseball

Go ahead and read the title of this post again. I actually chuckled a bit when I wrote it.

Can this actually be true? The Mets with a 5 game lead over the Phillies and Braves have the largest lead in all of baseball. Better than the Red Sox. Better than the Angels. Better than the Tigers/Indians. It's unreal.

I mean wasn't it just yesterday that the Mets were struggling their way through a horrid June and July? Hasn't half our team been on the disabled list? Do you realize that we're actually starting Mike DiFelice? And can you believe we're winning without a solid 5th starter for the past two months?

But let's not celebrate yet. September is packed with games against the NL East and unless we sweep the Braves the next time we see them, they're not going away quietly.

It starts tonight (if the rain ever stops). Let's build this lead.

Hardly Amazing

The Amazing Mets have been anything but this season. In fact, the only thing that has been amazing is that they’re still in first place, although that mirage will soon be exposed and the Mets will be the chasers rather than the leaders. And I guess I’m starting to welcome that notion because it appears that nothing else will motivate this team to win ball games. This season has been so remarkably boring that I, as a beaten down die-hard fan, would welcome that kind of adversity just to see how this team will respond.

Will they actually be able to pick themselves off the mat and rise to the occasion? Will Carlos Delagado find his once-fearsome stroke? Will Carlos Beltran finally be the elite player we all assumed he would be? Will the young stars, Reyes and Wright, carry this team into the Promised Land or will they fold under the enormous pressure of what would be a monumental collapse?

This team has been so uninspiring all year long that it just might take a shocking role reversal into second or third place in order to wake them up. How else can you explain two straight inexcusable losses to the lowly Florida Marlins at a time when you can make up ground on your nearest pursuers? Rather than grabbing some breathing room, they’re flat out sucking wind.

So be prepared Met Lifers. Be prepared to relinquish first place. And when it happens, embrace it. And then finally, we will get to see if this 2007 Mets team has the courage and heart, the drive, the determination, and the will to rise up and take what should be theirs; the NL East crown.