Just Another Ho Hum Mets Day

Yawn...

Mets get swept by the Marlins.

The Mets brass flies down from NY to meet with the Manager and coaches.

Ollie in the bullpen.

Jonathan Niese out for a bit.

Takahashi and Dickey are now 40% of the starting rotation.

Francoeur remains on the bench to start the game.

Pelf pitches a beauty.

Chris Carter continues to hit...until Jerry pulls him.

David Wright strikes out in his 14th consecutive game.

Jason Bay extends his hitting streak to 11 games.

Luis Castillo bunts and helps plate Jose Reyes with a big run.

Barajas with two hits and two RBIs.

KRod gives us a mini heart attack in the 9th.

Mets win.

Mets now out of the cellar.

Goodnight everybody!

What will tomorrow bring?

	Final		1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		R		H		E
	NY Mets	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	5	0
	Atlanta	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	8	0
WP: M. Pelfrey (5-1) S: F. Rodriguez (6) LP: D. Lowe (5-4)

Remember When the Mets Were Old?

I was just looking at the average age of some of the other teams, and the Mets sure do look young right now, or at least "not old", especially compared to past seasons.  In fact, I'd say the Mets have it about right.

The Mets are the "8th oldest" team in baseball, with an average age of  29.8, but that compares favorably to year's past when the team was easily the oldest in baseball at around 32 years of age on average.

The current oldest team is the Phillies, at 31.7 on average.  Of course having Jamie Moyer on the team skews that stat a bit.

The oldest Met is Henry Blanco at 38, and the youngest, of course, is Jenrry Mejia at age 20.

Most importantly, the core of David Wright, Jose Reyes, Mike Pelfrey, Frankie Rodriguez is young, as are Jonathan Niese, Jeff Francoeur, Ike Davis, and other key players.

FUN FACT:  The Mets are the lightest team in all of MLB with an average weight of 202 lbs.  The heaviest are the Chicago White sox at a whopping 216.

MLB Roster Analysis
RK	TEAM	RHB	LHB	SH	RHP	LHP	HT	WT	AGE	YNG	OLD
1	Philadelphia	6	6	1	8	4	6-1	208	31.7	24	47
2	Boston	7	4	2	9	3	6-1	205	30.9	23	43
3	Houston	8	2	3	10	2	6-1	213	30.6	25	38
4	Milwaukee	6	6	1	8	4	6-1	209	30.5	23	42
5	Chicago Sox	8	4	1	8	4	6-2	216	30.2	23	42
6	NY Yankees	4	4	5	8	4	6-2	212	30.2	23	40
7	NY Mets	6	3	4	6	6	6-1	202	29.8	20	38
8	LA Dodgers	8	4	1	9	3	6-0	214	29.8	22	37
9	LA Angels	7	2	4	9	3	6-1	206	29.6	25	36
10	Atlanta	6	4	3	9	3	6-1	205	29.5	20	40
11	Colorado	6	6	1	7	5	6-2	203	29.4	24	39
12	Toronto	9	4	0	8	5	6-1	214	29.3	22	35
13	Cincinnati	9	4	0	10	2	6-1	215	29.2	22	40
14	Chicago Cubs	8	4	1	8	5	6-2	214	29.1	24	34
15	Washington	8	4	1	8	4	6-1	213	29.0	24	39
16	Kansas City	5	5	2	11	2	6-1	206	28.9	24	35
17	San Francisco	6	4	3	8	4	6-1	210	28.9	23	36
18	Minnesota	5	5	3	9	3	6-2	215	28.8	22	39
19	Seattle	8	3	2	10	2	6-1	209	28.7	23	40
20	Baltimore	9	2	2	8	4	6-2	209	28.6	23	35
21	St. Louis	9	3	1	9	3	6-2	214	28.6	23	37
22	Pittsburgh	7	4	3	7	4	6-1	211	28.4	23	38
23	Detroit	8	3	2	8	4	6-2	207	28.4	21	36
24	San Diego	7	4	2	9	3	6-1	208	28.1	22	42
25	Arizona	7	4	2	12	0	6-1	205	28.1	22	36
26	Texas	8	4	1	9	3	6-2	215	28.0	21	39
27	Tampa Bay	6	4	3	10	2	6-2	209	28.0	24	34
28	Cleveland	7	5	1	8	4	6-1	207	27.9	23	39
29	Florida	10	3	0	9	3	6-2	215	27.7	23	34
30	Oakland	6	5	2	7	5	6-1	206	27.2	22	32

Let the Battles Begin!

Lots of great developments already in Mets camp.

Ike Davis served notice with a bomb, but realistically he has no shot to take first base out of camp...or does he?

Today the Mets have a split squad, with Fernando Nieve to face the Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla. Young lefty Jon Niese, who threw two strong innings in Monday's intrasquad scrimmage, will remain at Tradition Field to face the Fish.

This will be the first we've seen of Nieve. Though everything I'm hearing pegs Nieve for the bullpen, he could surprise and is still seen as a possibility for the SP5.

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Aroldis Chapman has Agreed to a $30MM Offer from NL Team

according to a tweet from Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.

The question now is, "which team?"

Last we heard on Chapman, the main suitors were American League teams (the Angels and Blue Jays) and the largest offer he'd received was around $23MM, so this would qualify as a major surprise.

Passan reports:

Cuban left-handed pitcher Aroldis Chapman, whose defection sparked a bidding war among major league teams that coveted his 100-mph fastball, agreed Sunday morning to sign for $30 million with a National League team, according to a source close the negotiations.

The 22-year-old Chapman’s value has steadily climbed since a Dec. 15 workout in Houston in which he wasn’t throwing at full speed and still hit 97 mph. His potential as a front-of-the-line starter intrigued teams from coast to coast, as the Los Angeles Angels, Florida Marlins and Toronto Blue Jays were reportedly strong suitors.

The bidding increased from an initial $15.5 million offer from the Boston Red Sox in early December when Chapman to the highest reported proposal of $23 million from Toronto. In recent days, the unidentified National League team trumped them all with an offer still far short of the $50 million Chapman initially sought.

Few NL teams beyond the Marlins have been linked to Chapman. The Houston Astros and Washington Nationals sent their general managers to the workout. The New York Mets are an intriguing possibility as well, fulfilling Chapman’s desire to play in a big city. The Cincinnati Reds were “going after him like crazy,” according to a source, but were skeptical about landing him.

The increased interest around baseball coincided with Chapman firing Edwin Mejia, a fledgling agent who helped him establish residency in Andorra after he defected from the Cuban national team over the summer. His new agents, Randy and Alan Hendricks, are well-respected around baseball, and officials said they appreciated the transparency the Hendrickses applied to Chapman.

More to follow.

UPDATE: There is no definitive word, but it looks like the Reds are the team.

Omar is Wilpon's Guy

Bart Hubbach reported the following from Fred Wilpon in response to a question from The Post's Mike Puma: "Am I going to bring Omar [Minaya] back next year? Absolutely. That's a fact."

Oh boy.

Let's look at some of Omar's memorable moves, both good and bad...as you look through the list you will see some real doozies, including the trade for Bartolo Colon in exchange for Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips and Cliff Lee that might be, in my opinion, the worst trade of all time!

As GM of the Expos

• March 25, 2002: Traded outfield Jason Bay and Jim Serrano to the New York Mets for infielder Lou Collier
• April 5, 2002: Traded pitcher Scott Strickland and others to the New York Mets for pitcher Bruce Chen and others.
• July 11, 2002: Traded pitchers Carl Pavano, Graeme Lloyd, infielder Mike Mordecai, and minor leaguers Justin Wayne and Donald Levinski to the Florida Marlins for outfielder Cliff Floyd, utility player Wilton Guerrero, and pitcher Claudio Vargas.
• July 28, 2002: Traded first baseman Lee Stevens, SS Brandon Phillips, pitcher Cliff Lee, and outfielder Grady Sizemore to the Cleveland Indians for pitchers Bartolo Colon and Tim Drew.
• March 24, 2003: Traded pitcher Jim Brower to the San Francisco Giants for pitcher Livan Hernandez and catcher Edward Guzman
• December 4, 2003: Traded pitcher Javier Vazquez to the New York Yankees for first baseman Nick Johnson, outfielder Juan Rivera, and pitcher Randy Choate.
• January 5, 2004: Traded pitcher Scott Stewart to the Cleveland Indians for infielder Maicer Izturis and outfielder Ryan Church
• March 25, 2004: Traded Randy Choate to the Arizona Diamondbacks for John Patterson
• July 18, 2004: Traded Carl Everett and cash to the Chicago White Sox for pitchers Jon Rauch and Gary Majewski
• July 21, 2004: In a four-team deal, acquired shortstop Alex Gonzalez, Brendan Harris, and minor league pitcher Francis Beltran from the Chicago Cubs, while sending shortstop Orlando Cabrera to the Boston Red Sox. Also involved were the Minnesota Twins.

As GM of the Mets

• November 30, 2004: Re-signed Kris Benson to a three year, $22.5 million deal, plus $7.5 million club option
• December 3, 2004: In his first trade as Mets GM, Minaya traded pitcher Mike Stanton and cash to the New York Yankees for Felix Heredia
• December 13, 2004: Selected Henry Owens from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Minor League Rule V Draft
• December 15, 2004: Signed free agent catcher Ramon Castro
• December 17, 2004: Signed free agent pitcher Pedro Martinez to a four year, $53 million deal
• January 6, 2005: Traded catcher Vance Wilson to the Detroit Tigers for infielder Anderson Hernandez
• January 13, 2005: Signed free agent centerfielder Carlos Beltran to a seven year, $119 million deal
• January 17, 2005: Signed free agent pitcher Roberto Hernandez
• January 27, 2005: Traded minor league first baseman Ian Bladergroen to the Boston Red Sox for Doug Mientkiewicz
• June 7, 2005: Selected Mike Pelfrey with the 9th overall pick in the amateur free agent draft
• November 18, 2005: Traded outfielder Mike Cameron to the San Diego Padres for outfielder Xavier Nady
• November 24, 2005: Traded first baseman Mike Jacobs and pitchers Yusmeiro Petit and Grant Psomas to the Florida Marlins for Carlos Delgado and cash.
• November 29, 2005: Signed free agent pitcher Billy Wagner to a four year, $43 million deal, plus an $8 clup option
• December 27, 2005: Signed free agent pitcher Chad Bradford to a one year, $1.4 million contract
• January 4, 2006: Traded pitchers Jae Weong Seo and Tim Hamulack to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Duaner Sanchez and Steve Schmoll
• January 22, 2006: Traded pitcher Kris Benson to the Baltimore Orioles for pitchers Jorge Julio and John Maine
• May 24, 2006: Traded pitcher Jorge Julio to the Arizona Diamondbacks for pitcher Orlando Hernandez
• July 19, 2006: Traded infielder Jeff Keppinger to the Kansas City Royals for infielder Ruben Gotay
• July 31, 2006: Traded outfielder for Xavier Nady to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitchers Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez
• August 22, 2006: Traded Evan MacLane to the Arizona Diamondbacks for outfielder Shawn Green and cash.
• November 15, 2006: Traded pitchers Heath Bell and Royce Ring to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Jon Adkins and Ben Johnson
• November 20, 2006: Traded pitchers Henry Owens and Matt Lindstrom to the Florida Marlins for Adam Bostick and Jason Vargas
• November 21, 2006: Signed free agent outfielder Moises Alou
• December 6, 2006: Traded pitcher Brian Bannister to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher Ambiorix Burgos
• December 7, 2006: Re-signed pitcher Guillermo Mota to a two year, $5 million deal.
• January 16, 2007: Signed free agent pitcher Scott Schoeneweis three year, $10.8 million contract
• July 30, 2007: Traded minor leaguers Drew Butera and Dustin Martin to the Minnesota Twins for Luis Castillo
• November 30, 2007: Traded outfielder Lastings Milledge to the Washington Nationals for outfielder Ryan Church and catcher Brian Schneider
• January 29, 2008: Traded outfielder Carlos Gomez, pitchers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra to the Minnesota Twins for pitcher Johan Santana.

The noise Omar made in 2009 was primarily to throw some money around--he did this to acquire Frankie Rodriguez and to re-sign Ollie Perez. He also went cheap on the 5th starter, signing Tim Redding and Livan Hernandez. I liked the pickup of Alex Cora for the bench and the trade of Scott Shoeneweis.

The "big trade" of 2009 was an Omar creation--and I did like the trade at the time though I wish we had managed to hold on to Mike Carp, long a favorite of mine--The New York Mets sent Aaron Heilman, Endy Chavez, and Mike Carp to the Mariners and Joe Smith to the Indians in return for JJ Putz(closer), Sean Green(RP), and Jeremy Reed(OF). The Mets also dealt 3 other minor leaguers, including Jason Vargas.

The trade itself has actually failed for each team--Jason Vargas is 3-6 with a high ERA for Seattle--Endy Chavez went down for the season with an ACL--Joe Smith had a poor first half, and he is pitching well now--Aaron Heilman's been a huge disappointment. Franklin Gutierrez has been the best value of the whole deal--he's having a very good season for Seattle.

For the Mets the trade was supposed to be addition by subtraction, but it really hasn't worked out at all.

JJ Putz cost money for very little return, and his future is in doubt following surgery. Jeremy Reed is a dime a dozen player. Sean Green has flashed hot and cold.

The in-season trade of note was swapping Ryan Church for Jeff Francoeur--by all accounts this looks like a good move for both teams.

Bottom line is that Omar is from a GM school that is somewhat old fashioned--he likes to spend money--he likes older veterans--I believe he undervalues prospects and needs to learn to draft out of slot. I also think he fails when it comes to measuring players using newer, more advanced stats--something that is so commonplace these days.

The thing with Omar is it's not just the moves he makes--and again, he has made some good ones--but he has drafted poorly.

Remember, this is the guy who, in 2002, passed over Cole Hamels, Prince Fielder, Zach Grienke, James Loney, Jeremy Guthrie, Nick Swisher, Jeff Francoeur, Matt Cain, Joe Blanton and Scott Kazmir in order to take Clint Everts 5th overall.

So if we're to believe the Wilpon's it looks like the Mets will have Minaya at the helm for a few more years--that's unfortunate.

Johan Can You Hear Me?

Can you shake off that 2-4 June in which you posted the 6.19 ERA?

The team needs you to get them a win.

3.0 games back of the Phils now, tied with the Braves, and also looking up at the Marlins.

Today marks the unofficial halfway point of the season--game 81.

The Mets will officially finish the unofficial first half below .500.

The Mets need you Johan, if there's any hope of getting to the All Star break at or above .500.

We're all tired of reading about the injuries, the fielding miscues, the lack of depth in the minors, and the black cloud that's hanging over the team.

Can you hear me Johan?

Go out and pitch a gem.

Momentum Night Ahead for the Mets

The Mets, winners of 3 of their last 4 games, have some momentum now, and the opportunity for a lot more if Livan Hernandez can beat the Marlins tonight.

The Mets will be minus 2 starters, Luis Castillo and Carlos Delgado, both of whom are nursing minor injuries they suffered in recent games.

Tonight's lineup is as follows:

Reyes, ss
Cora, 2b
Beltran, cf
Sheffield, lf
Wright, 3b
Church, rf
Tatis, 1b
Santos, c
Hernandez, rhp

Of interest is the fact that Daniel Murphy is sitting out his second consecutive game.

Sheffield, who hit the ball hard yesterday, certainly deserves another start, but the Mets are facing off against a righthander in Ricky Nolasco, so the move is something of a gamble for manager Jerry Manuel.

Nolasco, who pitched his way to a 15-8 record with a 3.52 ERA in 2008, is off to a very rough 2009. He is currently 1-2 with a 6.86 ERA.

Tonight could very well tell the tale of the Mets April on into May:

• Win, keep the momentum going, see Johan Santana tomorrow, and have a chance to finish the month strong against a division rival.
• Lose, and face the prospects of a very difficult weekend on the road in Philly.

NL East Bullpens: Just the Stats

As an update to our earlier piece, "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse", that featured Bobby Parnell, Sean Green, JJ Putz, and Frankie Rodriguez, here are the current NL East bullpen stats.

Team	W	L	ERA	G	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HBP	BB	SO
Mets	1	2	1.80	11	3	3	35	30	10	7	1	1	12	33
Marlins	4	0	2.39	10	2	3	37.2	34	14	10	2	1	16	35
Nationals	0	4	5.97	10	0	2	37.2	42	27	25	7	4	17	37
Phillies	2	2	6.29	10	3	5	34.1	28	24	24	8	1	15	35
Braves	1	2	7.75	11	2	4	33.2	48	31	29	2	4	21	35

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Round one of the 5th starter panic sweepstakes clearly went to Livan Hernandez. The veteran was ultra-cool, calm and collected in picking up his 148th big league win against a tough Florida Marlins club.

Livan's best pitches were his off-speed stuff--in fact, one of the very best pitches of the night was a 60 mph "curve-changeup" that he used to strike out Cameron Maybin. Another one, this time in at 62 mph, twisted Hanley Ramirez into a pretzel as he violently swung and missed.

All told the crafty veteran gave up six hits and two runs in 6 2/3rds innings of work. It was the longest outing so far by a Mets starter, and it gave the bullpen a much needed break.

"When you have a veteran like Livan who commands his pitches and can put a little on and take a little off, he can be tough for a young, aggressive-swinging team like that," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "He was able to throttle back and forth, which made him very effective."

The hitting star of the night was none other than Luis Castillo, who almost had a five hit night, but settled for four (and a sacrifice) and a Mets win. Castillo also scored three runs. Prior to the game Casillo took 100 swings of extra batting practice, and it paid results immediately.

"I feel better," Castillo said. "I don't want to think so much, and that's what I've been doing. I get frustrated sometimes, but I know what kind of player I am."

In addition to Castillo, several Mets had big games as part of a 15-hit attack.

Jose Reyes had his first three RBI of the season, including a two-run homer. Carlos Delgado finished 3-for-4 with two RBI.

Ryan Church had two more hits and is now hitting a ridiculous .526 to go along with his excellent rightfield defense.

All in all a great game for the Mets. Today we get to see Johan Santana against Josh Johnson in what should be a fantastic pitching duel.

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
N.Y. Mets (3-2) «	0	0	1	0	3	1	0	3	0	8	15	1
Florida (4-1)	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	4	11	2

Player of the Game

New York L. Hernandez IP 6.2 H 6 ER 2 BB 3 K 4

New York Mets
Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO	LOB	AVG
Jose Reyes, SS	5	1	2	3	0	1	2	.286
Daniel Murphy, LF	4	2	1	0	1	0	1	.348
Darren O'Day, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Francisco Rodriguez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
David Wright, 3B	5	0	1	1	0	2	1	.316
Carlos Delgado, 1B	4	0	3	2	1	0	0	.421
Carlos Beltran, CF	5	0	1	0	0	1	4	.381
Ryan Church, RF	4	1	2	0	1	0	2	.526
Brian Schneider, C	5	1	1	0	0	1	4	.200
Luis Castillo, 2B	4	3	4	1	0	0	0	.357
Livan Hernandez, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Brian Stokes, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Pedro Feliciano, P	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
a- Alex Cora, PH	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	.000
Jeremy Reed, LF	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	.333
Totals	38	8	15	8	3	6
a-grounded out for Feliciano in the 8th
Batting
2B - Jose Reyes (1, Nolasco), Carlos Delgado (1, Nolasco), Carlos Beltran (1, Miller), Ryan Church 2 (5, Nolasco, Miller)
HR - Jose Reyes (1, Nolasco)
SH - Luis Castillo (1), Livan Hernandez 3 (3)
RBI - Jose Reyes 3 (3), David Wright (1), Carlos Delgado 2 (8), Luis Castillo (1), Alex Cora (2)
2-OUT RBI - David Wright (1), Carlos Delgado 2 (4)
Team LOB - 10
Fielding
DP - Wright, Hernandez-Reyes-Delgado
E - David Wright (1, Throwing)

New York Mets
Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Livan Hernandez (W,1-0)	6.2	6	2	2	3	4	0	2.70
Brian Stokes	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0.00
Pedro Feliciano (H,1)	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	11.57
Darren O'Day	1.1	3	2	0	0	1	0	0.00
Francisco Rodriguez	0.2	1	0	0	0	1	0	0.00
Pitches-Strikes - Livan Hernandez 99-62, Brian Stokes 4-3, Pedro Feliciano 1-1, Darren O'Day 33-21, Francisco Rodriguez 13-8
Ground Balls-Fly Balls - Livan Hernandez 5-9, Pedro Feliciano 1-0, Darren O'Day 2-2
Batters Faced - Livan Hernandez 27, Brian Stokes 1, Pedro Feliciano 1, Darren O'Day 8, Francisco Rodriguez 3

Beginning the Love-Hate Relationship with Redding

Since we're now officially into Day 2 of the Tim Redding era with the NY Mets, let's start our love-hate relationship with him on the right foot.

Reasons to love him:

• Zero chance you'll have to buy your kid a Tim Redding jersey...he is saving you money
  
• He is a New Yorker. Tim Redding was born and raised in Rochester
• One of his kids is named Shea
• Has four pitches: change, curve, fastball, slider
• 7-3, 3.85 ERA, .258 BAA before the all-star break
• 182 innings last year, and the Mets need innings
• Relatively inexpensive, could shift to the bullpen as a long man
• 176 innings with a 119 ERA+ in 2003
• Doesn't walk a lot of batters
• 3-1, 3.41 ERA vs Phils in 2008
• First athlete to have his jersey retired by Monroe Community College

Reasons to hate him:

• He pitched for the Yankees
• Has four pitches--all of them are average
• 3-8, 6.82 ERA, .303 BAA after the all-star break
• He wasn't good enough to make the Washington Nationals out of spring training in 2007
• 0-6 with a 10.57 ERA in 2005
• Gives up a staggering amount of HRs (13 in his last 51 innings)
• Pitched 7 or more innings twice in 32 starts in 2008
• 1-4, 7.76 ERA vs Marlins in 2008
• Not really a bargain at $2.25M with incentives

So all in all we have a few more reasons to love Tim Redding than to hate him.

Sure he's no Pedro, he's not really good, he's never had a plus pitch, or pitched in the postseason, but he's a Met....sort of.

So let's bottom line this thing:

The Mets are not winning a championship trotting Tim Redding out there every 5th day. We have a pretty big sample size out of him in 7 big league seasons, and the vast majority of his career, including the second half of 2008, has been marginal to awful (and I'm being kind), but he could help...at least Omar thinks so.

My hope? That he loses the 5th starter spot, but still helps the team...Omar Minaya has stated that he plans on having 7-8 candidates for the 5 starting spots and he wants it to be a competition.

Given that Redding pretty much has a roster spot guaranteed at that money, he could surprise us as the long man/spot starter....that's the hope anyway.

Don't you wish you had your jersey retired from Monroe Community College?

I need coffee....Tim Redding is a Met....holy crap......Love, Hate.....

Good Morning Mets Fans!

Shea was his studio.

The glove of Ramon Castro--his canvas.

The fastball, slider and changeup--the colors on his palette.

His arm, hands and fingers--his brushes.

These were the artist's tools, and he painted a masterpiece.

His name is Johan Santana.

For the millions of Mets fans who watched him craft his uber-work, there was a satisfaction, a joy, a knowledge that you were witnessing something very special, perhaps even historic.

A game for the ages that you will discuss with your kids, and their kids, and your buddies at the bar and the office, and Mets fans everywhere. You know, without question, that this was really what the season and our love for the Mets is all about.

You know and you are happy. It was game 161, and the season was on the line. You saw him pitch a complete game shutout on 3 days rest against a hot hitting team hell bent on sending the Mets to their ultimate demise. But today Johan stood against them like the gladiator, the warrior, the master of the ship at the head of the battle--"bring it on, bring them on, show me what you are made of, and I will show you what I've got--may the best man win."

You saw him lower his ERA to a major league best 2.53, and up his record to 16-7. You know there are a half dozen victories missing from that total, but it doesn't matter, not today.

You know he came here for this moment in time--this game--this time of the season where the immortals shine brightest and perform acts that seperate them from mere baseball Gods.

You know, and so do his GM, manager and teammates.

"Obviously, for the hype and stuff that he came with, and the price and all that type of stuff, to come in and demand and say, 'This is why you got me,'" Manuel said. "He went out and did it. He went out and backed it up."

"You definitely envisioned a day like today when you make a deal, when you sign for a player like that," Minaya said. "But I'll be honest with you, I never envisioned this day with three days' rest. I never envisioned this day with the pressure that the whole event has. I envisioned him pitching big games with four days' rest, but I never envisioned him pitching big games with three days' rest -- the way he pitched."

"It's the best pitching performance I've ever seen in person, under the circumstances," said Mets third baseman David Wright.

"Using the word 'best' is hard, but I have to put it at the top," said Minaya.

Mets manager Jerry Manuel simply said, "Wow, wow, wow." He added, "If I have to describe that, I'd say it was gangsta."

"Did I think he'd throw a complete game shutout?" asked Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado with a smile. "No, but I hoped he would."

"That's the greatest performance I've ever seen on a baseball field," left fielder Daniel Murphy said. "This was a game that we had to have, and he dominated from start to finish. That's something that I'll remember forever."

"It's the best thing I've ever seen, given the situation," Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez praised.

"I think we should all buy him dinner tonight," Ryan Church said.

"We knew we had the best pitcher on the mound," Jose Reyes agreed. "Santana, he was unbelievable today."

"I told him good job," Ramon Castro said. "We needed that. He was outstanding. Unbelievable. I don't have any other words to say about it."

Johan himself knew what he had to do--he was a man on a mission.

"There's no tomorrow," Santana said. "I've got to do it today. That's the way you take care of business. I knew the situation we were in was a tough situation and there might be no tomorrow. That's why I was up to the challenge and ready to roll."

This win capped an incredible run for the Mets ace. Santana's record since July 4th is a stunning 9-0 with a 2.09 ERA in 17 starts. He's even better at home. At Shea, Santana is 6-0 with a 1.47 ERA in his last nine starts, including Saturday's masterpiece.

So yes Mets fans, there is a tomorrow. Ollie Perez, also going on 3 days rest, has the task--win, win and win. He's been very good against the Marlins this year, but not great in his last few outings.

It's time for the other fighters to get up out of the bunker and charge the hill--hit hard, run fast, and score. Punch them in the gut early and do not let up the attack until the very end. Will yourself and your teammates to new heights of excellence and win at all costs--give everything you have--leave it all on the field.

The Brewers counter with CC Sabathia going on 3 days rest for the 3rd consecutive start.

It just doesn't get much better than this...the final day at Shea...or is it?

Enjoy your coffee!

Scoreboard
Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Florida (83-77)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
N.Y. Mets (89-72) «	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	x	2	6	0

Player of the Game

New York

J. Santana	IP	9.0
	H	3
	ER	0
	BB	3
	K	9