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Jayson Stark of ESPN.com gives his take on Johan Santana’s opening day start by calling him the ‘the perfect cure for the 6-month-old nightmare that won’t go away.’ 
According to Stark:
“With every astonishing pitch that came out of Santana’s hand Monday, those messy September headlines seemed to gravitate a little closer to the nearest recycling bin — because when Johan Santana is pitching, his new teammates dream only of what’s possible, not of what’s behind them”
…yes, can we please throw away 2007 and move on now…
…johan looked great and now onto a dominating performance by Pedro Martinez today…
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We can’t move past 2007 because the genius Mets PR/Marketing dept sent out that letter yesterday allegedly written by Willie Randolph.
The one that tried to put a spin on the collapse by saying they were the bestest team for 98% of the season….when the reality was for 67% of the season (from 6/1 on), they played sub .500 ball.
And continued record wise to be the best team in the National league until the last slide.
I am most pleased with yesterdays results for a bunch of reasons.
Here is my top 10 list of reasons;
1) We stomped the Marlins who took exceptional glee in ending our season last year before the 1st inning was even over.
2) Santana showed the national league east participants that even when he is just ok he is dominant
3) Han Ram did nothing
4) Wright hit the big blow that opened up the game at the right time with 2 outs
5) Reyes had 4 great at bats out of 5
6) Church hit nicely (off a lefty)
7) Heilman was closer level dominant
8) Willie used Shoeneweis the way he is supposed to
9) Beltran had a few knocks
10) Marlon picked up right where he left off….as the best ph in the game
Bring on Pedro and lets do it again
11) Delgado didn’t look completely hopeless
can you take your ball and go home, or at least over to Yankee Stadium, please?
The negativity of some fans is killing me.
who cares? i don’t know if you realised yesterday began the ‘08 season. catch up.
Umm, did you read what I wrote?
Off topic, but did anyone else see Gomez last night for his Twins debut? 2 for 3, 2 runs, 1BB, 1SO, 2 SB. Good for him, I hope he has a great season.
I did…it hurt a little. I liked this kid last year, he will be a fine addition to to the Twins, especially since he is being tutored by one of the greatest bunters of all time.
Good for him! I will be pulling for him all year.
I’m pulling for him too. I cheer a little extra for all of the guys we sent to the Twins because the mainstream media mocked all 4 of them with “Who are these guys?” and “These guys suck compared to the Red Sox and Yankee packages!” and all that.
We paid a hefty price for Johan and I wish all those guys the best.
Of course, I’m happy with our return too!
He was great. I loved Gomez but he was sort of redundant because we have Reyes and Beltran. F-Mart is a better fit for this club’s future.
But Gomez is a high quality player and I hope he succeeds with the Twins. The Santana trade will work out for both sides.
And it’s nice that Twins fans have warmed up to him nicely. At least most of them not still pining away for an over-hyped Ellsbury or an overrated Cabrera.
I felt really good for him. I’ll be rooting for him to succeed all season, because the better he does, the more willing other GM’s will be to do future trades with the Mets.
I think Twins fans have faith in their FO, since they’ve pulled off so many great trades before. I’ll definitely be pulling for him.
It was also nice to see ex-Mets Milledge and Nady torch the Phillies and Braves, respectively.
Agreed
Agreed. Go Gomez.
Milledge on the other hand….ehh…not so much…
Actually I think Gomez scored all three twinkie runs last night.
I just read ESPN’s article about Gomez’s game yesterday. I know we’re in win now mode, but I wonder how the Mets would have done by keeping Gomez and Milledge to flank Beltran and then next year brought up F-Mart to play some first.
With Pedro back and Maine developing into a #2, we could have picked up a Livan till next year where more SP Free Agents would have been available (possibly including Johan).
Anyway, Johan’s awesome. Can’t wait to see him pitch at Shea.
It is behind…but as everyone knows we had no problem winning in April and May last year. While the win was nice, I truly will not feel comfortable until we win when it counts.
Santana was huge, Pedro should be able to duplicate his effort today, and the Amazins should be off and running. We all have our concerns, and we have to take this one long day at a time!
Lets go Mets!
last i checked a win in April = a win in September.
yeah but if you don’t win in September, you typically do not get a chance to win in October…
That is true but honestly its the same thing.,……..I mean you gotta win in April and May otherwise September becomes pointless lol. I mean had we not gotten off the start we did, we would not have had the collapse but only because we wouldnt have even been in the race period lol.
I can’t find fault with your logic. I think they do need to get off to a good start.
But, I also feel that they will not truly shake the monkey off of their collective backs unless they finish strong. As a previous comment noted, they barely played .500 ball since June.
I do not mean to appear negative, I am thrilled at the win yesterday, I expected a solid performance and we got it.
I was just about to comment on the nice new menu links at the top of the front page until I clicked them and nothing happened…
I agree. I think we wont know until Sept if this team has truely put last year behind them
LOL, LOL LOL
IF WE HAD WON one more game in April of 2007 we woul dhave been in the playoffs. I cant stand that “its earlty crap”. When they say you won 98 games they dont seaparate April from October, IT ALL COUNTS THE SAME. We have to play every game like its game seven. We need to get hungry and stay hungry all season long, go for the throat and step on the necks of the weak teams. LETS GO METS !!!
actually there were a few of us last April who were very concerned about the lack of quality starts and the effect it would have on the pen long term. It got me banned from one blog in fact.
Bingo!! Five-inning Tommy was not doing the pen any favors. Adding Santana does so much for this team, and the effect adding a huge sack of quality starts has on the bullpen is among the most important. Now lets hope Pedro is his usual efficient self and can go 7 without taxing his arm.
I believe every game counts right now.
It’d be really great if the National media had any insight whatsoever into the mindset of Mets fans, who are beyond over the collapse.
Actually, kudos to SI in their baseball preview for noting that the Padres also did collapse quite significantly last September…we haven’t exactly corenered the market.
Maybve it’s me, but I fail to see the difference, in the big picture, between blowing a division lead and winning a division/getting dumped out of the playoffs. Was our season REALLY that much more disappointing than say, the Wild Card winning, one-and-done Yankees?
We’re over it, Starky. Get over it too. Johan’s outing was not a cure for 2007. 2007 is over. Johan’s outing was a great first step for the hope of 2008. That’s what opening day is all about.
Now stop worrying about our psyche and go worry about those world-class bullpens for your beloved Phillies and your champion-pick Braves.
I agree, I’m sick of hearing about the collapse and how Johan is the Met’s savior. I’m over 2007, its a new season, and getting Johan was a decision for the future of the franchise, not just to get over 2007.
Completely agree. Some even in the NY media are still illogically stuck on the collapse. Sure there are some Mets fans who can’t let it go, but I think they are few and far between.
Becasue the NY Media is mostly Yankee -biased, and the collapse accomplisehd all of the following for them:
1). Allowed them to point the finger away from the Yankees ALCS collapse, not that the two are remotely comparable
2). Diverted attention from another ALDS loss
3). Stopped the inevitable momentum of the Mets eventually taking over this town.
Plus, the national media knows that the Howard Stern effect is in play. More people listen/read/watch when they are offended/upset than when they agree, and NY is rather populous so…ratings!
‘The Collapse’ by the 2007 Mets was of historical proportions in the context of baseball history. It’s actually quite simple. Come September, if the Mets are close, either leading the division or within striking distance of the title, they will have the opportunity to prove that the 2008 NYM’s are a different team from the 2007 NY Mets. Then, and only then, will they and us have the right to say it is behind us. Even then, ‘The Collapse’ will always be a part of Mets history. Mets fans have to accept that fact, not dismiss or ignore it, and then they will be ‘over it.’
But the Phillies ‘04 collapse was as bad if not worse, and the Yankee’s collapse to the Red Sox in ‘04 was much worse. Yet I don’t think Yankee fans were reminded of it every minute the following year.
And I don’t think the NY Yankees have ever proved they are a “different team” from the 2004 breed. In fact, they’ve yet to even get to the division championship series since then.
So how come they are allowed to put a much worse collapse behind them while Mets fans aren’t allowed to???
Makes no sense. Double standard?
:?:
That should be “Phillies ‘64 collapse”
I like this spin on the situation..
Also, yesterday I realized, this team is one of the few things that truly make me happy. Man, I’m pathetic…
Amen to that…I live and die with this team!
When it is good, it is great!
Watching road games in HD doesn’t hurt either! Nice work SNY…
Keep in mind, however, I believe that this is the same guy that picked the Braves to win the division.
Hey, I’m sure a number of you caught the Phils and Braves yesterday. Obviously one game is not a barometer of 162, but you had to like what you saw, eh? Especially Glavine, who got bailed out of a big inning with a play at the plate, and his dancing around the strike zone (good to see he wasn’t getting the wide strikes just because he’s back in a Braves uniform) got him through 5 innings.
His lack of ability to go deep at this point in his career is really going to haunt the Braves, to my mind. That bullpen is much, much more suspect than ours, and their 3,4, and 5 starters are very likely to expose that pen regularly.
And, as we expected, the Phillies are going to have to score LOTS and LOTS of runs. Boy, that Utley’s a hell of a player, though.
You never know what’s going to happen, but now that they really count, I’m actually feeling a lot more confident in our chances then just a few days ago. Frankly, if the Nats actually had any starting pitching, they might worry me more than others. That’s a young, deep, talented lineup with a solid pen (though I don’t think Cordero will be their closer by mid-season).
yesterday’s braves game is a strong indicator as to why i’m not afraid of that team. their middle relief is beyond horrible coupled with glavine AND hampton (who most likely will not be able to go long in games either) is going to be taxed all year. their bullpen has already blown two games. i know it’s early but it’s something to watch for.
Not only did their bullpen blow games, but they did it against the (allegedly) inferior lineups of the Nats and Pirates. Imagine that bullpen against more stacked lineups.
Yikes!
I can’t wait till the Phillies and Braves play each other and beat up on the others’ bullpen. Can you imagine, 3 games, 6 blown saves anyone?
I’m not sure how to interpret “…yes, can we please throw away 2007 and move on now…” when the majority of Metsblogger’s believe anything less than a World Series appearance in 2008 is a failed season. For myself, signing Santana won’t mean anything unless Beltran, Delgado and Reyes perform as advertised and lead this team to the World Series. Furthermore, how juiced I am supposed to get when the Mets beat a team with 1/6 the payroll? Sure I’m glad they won, but one win doesn’t prove anything for 2008 and certainly does not erase 2007. Just to be clear I really did enjoy Opening Day – juiced to see Gomez and Milledge rock the house and for Torre to win his Opener! Brooklyn FTMFW!
Look, we have to beat these sub 500 teams or 2008 will end like 2007. We lost 7 in a row to the Phillies, but, when we cant beat teams like the Marlins and Nats we are doomes. We should take every series from these two teams. And Santans was on fire, it was awsome to see a guy like him work on the mound for the Mets. It was like watching Dr.K or Seaver in the day. LETS GO METS!!!
Absolutely agree, the Mets should, make that must, beat up on the Marlins and Nationals. I’m just not going to get as excited as I will be when they take it to Atlanta, Philly, the Cubs, Diamondbacks, Padres, Rockies and the AL. And no, watching Santana yesterday was not like Dr. K or Seaver in the day. Not even close. Viola or Sid, maybe.
He doesn’t have the same heater as Doc or Seaver … but in some respects, he’s a more accomplished pitcher than Doc ever was.
And the big thing is, he might be as dominating against the competition as they ever were … or have the same impact on the Mets as they did.
I think it does a big injustice to Santana to group him with Sid and Viola.
OT: just saw that the braves signed Scott Speizio to a minor league deal. Wonder if he’ll be able to play from jail.
Did they also sign his tool goatee?
he’s re-shaping it into a Tomahawk as we speak.
What a great time I had yesterday. Left work early, went home and put on my brand new snow white Santana jersey and enjoyed the game solo.
Call me a sissy but my eyes were full of tears during that SNY intro piece. Matt was correct, it was not to be missed. That piece put it’s finger on excactly why I’m so excited about this season,”REDEMPTION”! I think I saw it in many of the players eyes as well.
I also have to formally appologize to every Met fan as well as Johan as I am personally responsible for that 2-run jack. My wife called from the other room to get something that fell behind the washing machine. Not wanting to get my new jersey dirty, I took it off and BANG! 2-run blast. My bad, I jinxed us, please forgive me. It was funny how fast I put it back on.
Also funny was my wife(the philly fan) coming in and saying, “that is the longest game I ever heard of”. I simply agreed and didn’t see the point in telling her I was watching it for the second time.
mettsie1 fear not, I agree, this team is one of the more exciting parts of my life as well.
I did not get to see the intro on SNY. I hope Matt throws it up…
An interesting note, (not including disabled list guys) we have 12 different players on our opening day 25 man roster than last years. That contributes to our moving on…
In my eyes, 2007 is in the rearview mirror. It is gone, but not forgotten. The players (and afterall, it is the players who need to draw from the disappointment of last year… whether or not we choose to get over it is really inconsequential in the grand scheme of things). I hope that the sting is still there for them. Negative motivation can be a strong driving force.
The team looked great yesterday. Johan gave us what we thought we were going to get. Plenty of offense (albeit against a sub-par team), but you can only play the teams on your schedule. They beat up on a weak-sister of the league. They did what they were supposed to do.
Let’s hope Pedro shuts them down too.
I fully agree with your negitive motivation point. The team looked determined and fierce out of the gate. I don’t think you will see this team let up this season.
Redemption! This is their driving force and a powerful one at that.
In some ways, pro athletes are like teenagers. They think they are invincible, and will always get what they want.
The old “you’ll shoot your eye out” concept. You can tell them it will happen, but until it really does, they don’t believe it.
Hopefully last September reminds them that yes, if you aren’t careful, you really can shoot your eye out!
altthough I don’t know what that has to do with tired SP and a short handed and burnt BP, but hey, maybe that’s why I am not a sportswriter?
Maybe they can replace “Sweet Caroline” as the 7th inning song with “Redemption Song.”
Yes!
The nightmare that won’t go away?…These idiot writers that most of which aren’t even met fans don’t know anything about this team…i am very over 2007…at this point my goal is just winning a ws anyway so while it was awful at the time not making the playoffs and ofcourse i do want to make the playoffs every year…looking back i just think of it as another year where we did not win or make the ws and i am way more dissapointed when i think back to 06 than 07 these days…Time for everyone to get over this…including the writers…talking ab the collapse is just stupid and very boring at this point and i really don’t think it matters at all…half of the starting lineup was different yesterday anyway.
the players are playing the 2008 season. They aren’t thinking about last September.
Frankly, most of them probably forgot about it a few days later anyway, when they sent home to relax in their multi million dollar houses. I;m sure they weren’t happy to miss the post season, but I highly doubt they spent many sleepless nights agonizing over it.
and of course 1/2 the roster is different.
The only people who can’t get past September 2007 are the talking head idiots on ESPN. They can’t get through an inning w/out talking about it. I love that the Mets are picked by most behind both the Phillies and the Braves. Those teams have much bigger holes than the Mets have. I’ll take our bullpen w/ a question mark on the 5th starter any day over their problems.
Interesting how quickly the weaknesses of the Phils and the Braves have already been exploited.
Also happy to see Milledge, LaDuca and Gomez having fine days yesterday.
Everyone should know the weakness of the Braves because it was the weakness of the Mets last year. Yesterday was the perfect example of the difference between these two teams. The Mets have innings eaters in Santana, Maine, Perez when he’s on, and Pedro at times – and then they have a superior and versatile bullpen. The Braves have a bunch of guys that will never see the 7th inning (Glavine, Smoltz, HAMPTON) and then a pretty pedestrian bullpen. The Braves are so excited to have 5-inning Tommy – WHY? They should get used to last night because its what they are going to get all season – 5 innings of decent pitching and a game decided three hours later when Glavine is already in street clothes. Enjoy.
As much as I agree that our staff is better, you do realize that Glavine and Smoltz pitched more innings last year than anyone on our staff not named Johan.
This year we have Johan, a HEALTHY Padro and a stronger Maine. Let’s hope Pelfrey proves effective and can pitch 7.
My wildly unlikely extension of your thought is this: if the Mets starters can consistently go deep into games, the Mets can then go to an 11 man bullpen, keep Casanova on the roster and free up Castro as a RH pinch hitter.
I mean 11 man pitching staff, 6 man pen, sorry!
Actually, if you base it on innings per start, Oliver Perez was the top guy.
1. O Perez 6.1 IP per start
2. Duque 6/start
3. Maine 5.95/start
4. Glavine 5.9/start
Pretty consistent across all of the starters. None of them were what I would call “spectacular”.
I would suspect that this season will play out much better for us. Johan is a 7 to 8 inning pitcher. Pedro should give us 6 and change. I hope Maine and Perez can bulk up to the high 6’s. And you take what you get from Pelfrey.
ft
Johan is a stud but for the most part is a 7 inning pitcher, he is not going to go into the 9th that often. Nor should he as long as the other starters are pulling their weight.
but the question beckons, what starters go into the 9th anymore? None. Santana will have a few complete games, but for the most part, you’re right, he’ll pitch 7, which is fine by me (and the Mets i’m sure).
You’re right. I went back and checked, Johan typically gets 7 a start. He had one CG last year (against us). I’m thinking that the lighter NL line-ups will mean that he can go a little longer than he could in the AL. Let’s say he’s good for 7, 7.1 innnings a start, with the occassional 8 and change.
On the top left, the confidence rating, how do you rate?
Pretty high, but I am more miffed about everyone buying into the Braves right now. I don’t like their bullpen at all and everyone on their staff (except for the Dutch rookie) is pretty well past their prime.
Matt periodically (once a week or so?) opens it up for votes, it’s not just open all the time. When he does it, it shows up just like one of his posts.
This season should be enjoyed one game at a time. There are no 2007 Mets anymore, just 2008 Mets. Read my words: there will never be a collapse like that again! Damn right, I said it, and don’t give me crap about jinxing–utter nonsense.
Champions or not, the 2008 Mets are going to be a team to savor. You will all see it in their work ethics, team unity, and consistency, even when there are losing streaks and games that get away, as there surely will be.
I have absolutely no fear of 2007. Let’s focus on what will turn out to be a great NY Mets team from March 31 to September 30th.
Being critical is one thing, but being supportive is everything!
LET’S GO METS!
Looking forward to seeing Pedro tonite. I know its a long season but man I would really love to see his numbers if he’s healthy throughout and gets 30 starts.
It was like how last year’s season-opening sweep of the Cardinals “cured” the sting of the previous year’s NLCS loss to them, but did that matter in the end?
With that said, the outing was nice to see though. Good start so far. Keep it going.
been thinking a lot about that series… after that sweep, then Ollie’s dominance of the Braves, we were all on top of the world…we all know how that story ended. That said, this crew has pedro & johan and I feel they will keep the ship right. Last year everyone was looking for the leadership Pedro provided in ‘06, and by the time he came, it was too late because he hadn’t been there & he had no credibility. I also think we may underestimate how big it is to get rid of Lo Duca and his negative attitude, that guy was like an anchor, and not in the good way. Did you hear Darling last night talking about the upgrade to schneider and trying desperately not to say that Lo Duca was too dumb to get what Petersen tried to get across?
I know this is off topic and I dunno if it was mentioned yet, but how awesome was that back up of first base on the errant throw by Castillo? Schneider looked like a goalie saving that ball from going into the dugout. All I know is that guys on second if Castro’s behind the plate (I know I know, Castro would’ve knocked in a couple runs). Good Day all around.
i know everyone was super psyched for opening day, especially seeing Santana pitch and all, and it was great, but man, I think i’m even more psyched to see Pedro pitch tonight, i feel giddy with anticipation. Maybe it’s because Pedro is my favorite, but this will be a big start, and against these young Marlins, it should be a nice way to get started for him. Imagine what those young Marlin hitters are thinking, “ok, at least we don’t have to deal with Santana anymore, who’s next? ugh…Pedro, another nasty change up, this time from the right side…great!” After getting fooled with last night, I bet they come out swinging, which will probably get them in more trouble then they’re already in for.
I was at the game last night and will be there tonight to see Pedro.
What did the SNY gun show his pitches at? The Marlins’ scoreboard showed a high of only 90, with his change at around 80, but he seemed faster than that at times.
His fastball hit 92 and 93 a few times on SNY.
he was mostly throwing 2 seamers, according to his post-game, a pitch that is usually a bit slower than the conventional 4 seamer. fwiw
Thanks for the info. You miss a lot by being at the game itself vs. watching on TV. Of course you miss the excitement when you watch at home.
fyi I got that info from the nymets audio podcast that WFAN supplies .. I get my interview fix each morning from there.. they usually do Willie and the hero (or goat) of the game.
I watched on MLB.tv … Johan was throwing 90-91 consistently from the 1st to the 7th according to FSN Florida.
I’m ready for tonight’s game…been ready since about 730 last night when our last one ended.
7:10PM where arrrreee youuu?