He's baaack! It cannot be a fluke at this point. Oliver Perez has worked something out and has become the most dominant pitcher in the Mets rotation.

Second day running, and the bullpen have succeeded in making it nigh on impossible to catch a slender lead. Jorge Sosa last night was a disaster - a 30 pitch inning? Why didn't Willie pull him before the Kelly Johnson at-bat - he was obviously thinking it, after the meeting on the mound with Rick Peterson. That ended that game... and here I am watching live as Aaron Heilman blows it again, after we had kept it tight. I know there 3 outs left, but let's face it, there is no run support today anyway, so a difficult pull back has just become impossible. Santana pitches well, leaves just 6 outs to go and watches the bullpen blow it. Is the reminding us of anything? Have the lessons of last year not been learned?

According to Kevin Burkhardt of SNY, Pedro Martinez "heard a pop" before leaving the game tonight with a hamstring injury. Pedro will be returning to New York for an MRI.

All I can say is this. Let the candlelight vigils begin.

Allen Barra of The Village Voice thinks so.

The Mets and Yankees Seek an Armed Revolution

How Joba Chamberlain and Johan Santana will make us forget last year's miserable baseball legacy.

Money Quote...

"Santana's six-year, $137.5 million contract, the richest ever for a pitcher, will be cheap at the price if the Mets win the pennant and—here's your late-season homemade sign at Shea—erase the disgrace. The money the Mets save from Verizon alone in those calls to the bullpen should take the sting out of his paycheck."

http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0813,armed-revolution,389214,1.html/ful...

After a rough first couple of weeks in spring training things are finally looking up for the Mets. John Maine threw four no-hit innings a couple of days ago. Johan Santana blanked the Red Sox yesterday. The Carloses, Delgado and Beltran, returned to action yesterday.

Chalk one up for Omar Minaya. He as made the deal that many teams wanted to make in acquiring Johan Santana.

From The New York Times report:

"In exchange for Santana, the Mets are surrendering four young players: outfielder Carlos Gómez and pitchers Philip Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey. Each is considered a solid prospect but none are judged to be outright can’t-miss players."

I can live with that. There are a couple of more hurdles before the deal is finalized according to the Times' report.

"The trade hinges on Santana’s passing a physical exam and agreeing to a contract extension before a 72-hour window expires at 5 p.m. Friday."

Word is that Mr. Johan is looking to get $20-25 million per for 6 to 7 years. Ouch! No doubt Omar will have his work cut out for him in those negotiations.

Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reports:

"They get a pitcher who immediately becomes the best left-hander in their history (sorry, Kooz, El Sid, it's not even close), who'll go back-to-back opening days at Shea Stadium and Citi Field, who'll stand on a mound in late September and stop dead the most horrifying losing streak they'd ever worn."

Santana turns 29 in March so he has at least six more prime seasons left. All in all its a very good move. Sorry to see Humber and Gomez go but the Mets needed someone to at least replace Tom Glavine. The Mets have done that and then some with this trade.

From MLB.com:

"A person with firsthand knowledge of the club's dealings with the Twins acknowledged Tuesday that the Mets have received a "best offer" request of the American League club, an indication perhaps that the Santana trade scenario has moved into its final stage."

From The NY Daily News:

"Mets seem poised to grab Santana - I'm pretty optimistic about the Mets' chances of landing Johan Santana soon, so I figured I'd share this quote I collected at the end of last season from Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira about the ace."

We're getting close to spring training folks. And the Twins know its a risk to have to wait til mid-season to trade Santana. What if he gets hurt? What if he's not pitching so hot? It wouldn't surprise me if the Twins hadn't re-evaluated their requirements for making this trade.

Would you give up Mike Pelfrey for Santana? You have to think that this would cost at least a young pitcher, a position player and a prospect.

It's a question that has been going round in my head since I heard that the he was coming back earlier today. This is a guy who missed all of last season and half of 2006.

He needs to be in the physical shape to compete. He needs to have the right mindset, which he didn't have last year in Spring Training. And he needs to have a healthy shoulder.

Duaner was a key guy before that fateful injury but I'm not that optimistic about what the future holds for him. Hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised.

Mets reliever Duaner Sanchez agrees to 1-year contract at $850,000 - Reliever Duaner Sanchez, sidelined by a shoulder injury since a July 2006 taxi accident, agreed Monday to an $850,000, one-year contract with the New York Mets.

Sanchez, who earned the same amount last year, was the primary setup man for closer Billy Wagner before separating his right shoulder in the cab accident. He had surgery, then went to spring training and was disciplined for repeated tardiness. [Fox Sports]

While I share the frustration of watching the 7 game lead over the Phillies slip to 3, as wise man named Tug McGraw said "Ya Gotta Believe".

While belief isn't blind faith in your team, i still believe that the Mets will hold off the Phillies and Braves and clinch the National League East. Do I think that they'll win the NL Pennant? Not so confident on that one.

Message to Willie Randolph. Enough with Guillermo Mota. I said it on my last podcast and I'll say it again. This guy is the wrong prescription coming out of the bullpen in the late innings.

Omar Minaya made a mistake signing a steroid user to a contract extension. Why do you think he was so effective last year during the regular season? He was on steroids.

Mota was a bum in the playoffs last year. He killed us in the series against the Cardinals. I don't care how much they are paying him. Mota should only be used as a last resort at this point.