Johan Santana at Shea

As a die-hard Mets fan that metaphorically bleeds orange and blue, I cannot refrain from expressing my excitement over the Santana deal. Although it remains pending; Santana has to pass a physical as well as reach an agreement with the organization on a contract extension, it is more likely than not that the 28 year old will start at the pitcher's mound for Shea Stadium's encore season.

How did this deal come about? Last week one of my friends told me about a rumor that in order to obtain Santana, the Mets were going to include outfielder Ryan Church in the trade, a new arrival from the Nationals. Fortunately this was not the case, as great things are expected with Church's bat this season. To pique the interest of the Twins, all the Mets needed for Santana were Carlos Gomez, a young outfielder yearning for more experience, and pitchers Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey. All four players traded are considered prospects, which means that they are young and have yet to reach their full potential. The Mets need players with full potential now.

Anyone who has seen the Mets in action over the past two seasons knows that the starting pitchers tended to get worn down and the bullpen was called to the rescue. Many games were blown by the bullpen, who were fatigued and overworked because the starting pitchers couldn't get the job done. All a Mets fan has to do is think back to September 30, 2007 when Tom Glavine epitomized the fallout of a starting pitcher who gave up seven runs in less than an inning and broke the hearts of thousands. It's a vicious cycle that will hopefully not repeat itself this season, especially with Johan Santana. Speaking about the past flaws in the Mets' pitching, Mike Bauman of Mlb.com insists that "if his usual form is followed, the innings he will pitch will take some of the burden off of the Mets' bullpen." His numbers are impressive: 93-44 career wins and losses, 3.22 ERA and has a .258 batting average, not bad for an American League pitcher since they usually only go to the plate for Interleague games.

This trade also means that the Mets will not need to pursue free agent Livan Hernandez, half brother of Mets pitcher Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez, and solidifies the Mets pitching rotation of Santana, Pedro Martinez, John Maine, Oliver Perez and either/or Mike Pelfrey and Orlando Hernandez. This team could take it all the way to the World Series. As a Mets fan would say "Ya Gotta Believe!"

"Mets Pay Reasonable Price to Land Star"- http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article_perspectives.jsp?ymd=20080129&content_id=2359341&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp