Winning Formula

Maybe Johan Santana should ease up just a little bit on his pre-game ritual of sharing a personalized handshake with all of his teammates - bat boys, training staff, and bullpen catchers included. Don’t laugh. He might be wearing his hitters out before they even take the field, as evidenced by the grand total of four runs the Mets have managed in his three starts.

Of course, the reality is Santana doesn’t need all that much run support. He was brilliant again, as the Mets beat the Brew Crew 1-0 on a gorgeous sun-drenched Saturday, the first official day game in Citi Field history.

Santana should thank Ricky Weeks, who dropped a routine toss from Prince Fielder on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Alex Cora in the 7th inning. Weeks’ error helped the Mets push across a run off reliever Carlos Villanueva. A line drive off the bat of Jose Reyes, the next batter, literally knocked Villanueva’s glove off his hand and produced the game’s only run.

A scoreless inning each from Putz and K-Rod, the winning formula drawn up in the winter, sealed the deal.

I wonder if Mike Francesa still thinks it’s the Mets who have problems. Right now the Indians are up by 18, and they haven’t even attempted a three-point field goal.

Flabbergasted

Johan proves to us that he’s worth the millions. The Secret Weapon stays hot, hitting a huge two-out bomb. Ramon Castro, who drives in a run every time he's up, hits a homer. And the Mets’ bullpen, minus Wags, with first-place three outs away, blows it.

Disgusting.

I hate the Phillies.

Cool Your Jets

So here we are just a few hours away from the biggest series the Mets have played since a few forgettable ones that occurred last September. Meaningful baseball has come to Shea, in July.

The date is important because it means baseball hasn’t reached the crucial dog days. Which means, even though tonight the Mets will play their 100th game, it’s still early.

I don’t see why this series is being played up as such a crucial, do-or-die moment. Barring an injury to a major player, this series doesn’t make or break either the Phillies or the Mets. I’m sure this will be an unpopular position to take, but I’m taking anyway.

Do I want the Mets to kick the crap out of the Phillies, pay them back for how they dismantled the Mets down the stretch last year? Of course I do. But I realize that after this series both teams will have 60 games remaining, both teams will face plenty more crucial series and games, and that win or lose this series, both teams’ fates will be determined by how they finish the season, not charge out of the gates.

In spite of all that foresight, I still say tonight would be an ideal night for Johan to prove to us that he’s worth all those millions.