Some people find beauty in the view from mountain tops; for others
nothing can outmatch a sunset. To a New York sports fan, nothing could
be more beautiful than seeing Isiah Thomas get the pink slip. But to
scholars and philosophers, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Thus,
to every New York Mets fan, beauty can be defined in two words: Johan
Santana.
Johan, as he will be called by New York fans, is everything the Mets
have dreamed for; he represents the ace pitcher for which they have
desperately been searching. Johan is unquestionably the best pitcher in
the game. He has the best fastball-changeup combination in the Majors,
as well as being an inning eater, strikeout master, and having the
intangible attitude that makes a certifiable winner.
These are all the qualities that the Mets saw in Pedro Martinez when
they signed him just three winters ago. Yet when general manager Omar
Minaya made that offer, it was to an older, aged and worn down Pedro,
instead of the relatively young ace in his prime that is Johan.
Unlike Pedro, Johan is not past his prime and has not gone through the
rigors of postseason battle as often, but he has been there before and
knows what it takes to make it deep into the playoffs.
After the most notorious collapse in regular season baseball history
last fall, the Mets needed to change the mindset that had captured most
of Queens, and bringing in Johan was the best way to do that. Just a
week before the trade was announced, the Mets were considered to be the
second best team in the National League East, and to some, the third
best, behind both Philadelphia and Atlanta.
However, adding Johan to the Mets rotation has now boosted them past
both teams and has left them sitting atop the entire NL as the team to
beat. There are few players that can affect the face of a team so
strongly, but Johan is able to with his masterful control on the mound.
What most Mets fans do not even know about Johan is that he is a
tremendous athlete and is a superb hitter as well; so great that even
Peter Gammons, an esteemed baseball analyst, can claim that Johan will
be the best hitting pitcher in the NL next year, no questions asked.
Granted, that is not one of the reasons the Mets pursued him, but it is
an added bonus considering the Wilpon family decided to pony up and
spend the dough on him.
The Mets did pay a price to get Johan, dishing out nearly $150 million
over the next seven years, but his value to the organization is worth
far more than that. Not only will he help sales, but he is also the
rock on which the organization can build upon. Centerpieces like him
are, as the MasterCard commercial says, priceless.
Before Johan, the Mets were a beautiful 1965 Camero, all shined up and
ready to win the car show, but they did not have the engine. Now, they
have their turbo high horsepower machine that will be running for a
long time, and are ready to drive away with the prize.
Over the last four years in Minnesota, Johan has started a minimum of
33 games, pitched 200+ innings, had more strikeouts than innings
pitched and has had a WHIP of .99. However, transitioning to the NL
should bolster all his statistics as it is known to be a weaker hitting
league due to the absence of designated hitters.
In a few years, analysts might need to use a microscope to see Johan’s
stats. But what is most impressive about Johan’s career is that in an
age clouded by steroids and astronomical hitting statistics, Johan has
found a way to master America’s Pastime from the mound. And that is
what the Mets faithful hope for him to continue to do as he puts on the
orange and blue and toes the rubber every five days.
Other than Johan’s pitching prowess, he has added depth to the Mets’
pitching rotation as now everyone can slide down a slot. Instead of
forcing Pedro to be the ace, there can be less pressure on him as the
number two starter, and consequently less pressure on on John Maine and
Oliver Perez, who will be occupying the third and fourth slots in the
rotation.
In fact, Maine and Perez were the only combination of two pitchers
under the age of 26 to each have 15 wins last season, which bodes well
for the Mets organization; the sky is the limit for those two,
especially under the tutelage of pitching guru Rick Peterson. So after
all the offseason question marks regarding the Mets’ pitching rotation,
Johan has taken a page out of Allen Iverson’s playbook and answered
them all.
For now, Johan will head to spring training, the first step in the
ultimate goal of the franchise, as the monumental savior of the team.
He will be asked to carry a significant amount of the burden the Mets
placed upon their fans after last fall, but he will shrug it all off
with his cool demeanor.
There are some players whose mentality can be questioned in the New
York environment, but Johan will be loved from day one, and the amoré
will only grow after each start.
But after winter, spring, summer and fall, when it is all said and
done, will the Mets and their fans see Johan standing on the hill, in
late October, as he pitches his team to the glorious title of World
Champions?
Ya gotta believe!
Santana Our Savior
A long-suffering Mets fan hopes the most expensive pitcher in baseball history can erase last season's epic collapse. From The Wesleyan Argus.