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.

Situational swinging

I guess Luis Castillo was the only Metropolitan who graduated from Jerry Manual’s 80-pitch, situational-hitting, come out of the cage feeling three pounds lighter spring-training bonanza.

In case you missed it, Castillo contributed a pair of two-out, run-scoring infield hits – one in the first and a walk-off version of eerily similar variety in the ninth – in last night’s 5-4 Mets win over the Brew Crew.

Now he needs to sprinkle some of that magical situational hitting dust on his teammates.

Citi Field

My two cents on the Mets new $800 million ballpark.

There are some sight line issues. Tracking the ball in the right-field corner ain’t easy and, depending on where you’re sitting, it can be a nightmare. Deep right field is completely hidden if you’re sitting in most of the seats that aren't the first row in the Pepsi Porch, but I anticipate most people are gonna like the freedom of being able to stroll atop the Porch, and elsewhere in the park, on warm summer days.

The bottom line is there are a lot of great seats at Citi Field. Don’t let all the hand wringing about poor site lines you may have heard on certain radio stations affect your opinion of the ball park without checking it out for yourself. I guess I would feel differently if I’d plopped down a couple of G’s for season tickets and had to peer over and around people making their way to and from concessions all game. That’s the other issue. Somehow the architects built a stadium in which (on the Promenade level) the first rows offer worse vantage points, or more opportunities for human or object impediments, than the rows behind them.

The lack of “Mets” signage and regalia is noticeable inside the park, but the exterior of Citi Field is decorated with banners of past heroes, like Doc and Lenny and Gary Carter and Seaver, and current Mets, like Wright, Reyes, and Santana. Not sure why people are down on the rotunda, which is pretty freakin’ awesome in my opinion. Definitely check out the park for yourself before passing judgment.

Obviously the food is an improvement. But I'm one of these old-school people who cares only about the product on the field, not so much about what I'm being overcharged for to eat. I probably won't ever go to Citi Field to eat or to be entertained in between innings with mindless scoreboard shenanigans. I'm there instead to do baseball things, like debate who has a better overhand curveball Darling or Gooden, who should be hitting 3rd Beltran or Wright (clearly it's Beltran), and, most of all, to watch the Mets, who suck (so far) in case you haven't noticed.

A lot of the negativity about the ballpark I attribute to the overall uneasiness a lot Mets fans have about this team. Deep down, I think we think of these guys (and the organization generally) as un-clutch losers, or maybe that’s just how I see them today. But the park is gorgeous and at some point this summer I'm sure we'll be very grateful the Wilpons built Citi Field. I just wish that day would get here…soon.

Fine Change of Pace

Remember when your grammar school teacher gave out gold stars to the students who did all of their homework or did exceptionally well on a test. Then at the end of the year, or the term, the kid with the most stars was given a prize, like a He-Man lunch box -- something that didn’t have any real monetary value, but that seemed like a big deal when you were six or seven.

Well, maybe Jerry Manuel should implement a similar system to motivate the Mets' bullpen to pitch better.

If that were that case, he’d be giving two gold stars to Aaron Heilman, who threw two gorgeous innings in Miami tonight. Yes, Carlos Delgado’s ridiculous July continued, but Heilman, who entered the game in the seventh, delivered two scoreless innings -- with a lead to boot -- which has proven to be so elusive for the Mets’ bullpen since the All-Star break.

Interesting, isn’t it, with all the talk about whether or not the Mets have a good enough bullpen to close out games down the stretch, that the game should come down to precisely that?

Heilman’s outing, which helped to secure a 4-1 Mets win, doesn’t annul Omar from his duty to pursue a possible upgrade in the Mets’ bridge to their closer, Billy Wagner. But it does change the all-too-often discouraging bullpen story, at least for a day.

Nice job by Wagner, too, who was been nearly flawless since blowing the All-Star Game. Wags is on an 11-inning scoreless streak since July 10. Over the course of those 11-innings he has surrendered only one hit and one walk.

The Mets continue to bounce back after losses. They have now won four games in a row immediately following a loss, which is a very good thing.

Race Tightened

Just when you thought it was safe to party like it's the summer of '06 all over again, the Mets' bullpen, asked to get more outs than fallen starter John Maine, blows one, reminding you of the very forgettable summer of '07.

Hey Omar, the bullpen sure does look like it could use reinforcements. What's your move?

Meanwhile, the pesky Fish, with their pesky brand of baseball and pesky players, keep winning.

8-4

I’m sure Jerry Manuel would prefer if Jose Reyes didn’t swing for the fences, but where’s the fun in that?

Big hit, Jose! Very big hit.

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.