The Happy Recap: Mets 7, Marlins 2

2008 record: 1-0 (first place)

Yeah, we can get used to that.

Johan Santana pitched as advertised in Monday's season opener against the Marlins, allowing just three hits over seven innings, walking two while striking out eight. ESPN's Jayson Stark, in his analysis of the opener, noted that in the Mets' history -- one that included some pretty high-quality starting pitchers -- only one pitched as many as seven innings with that few hits, and that was a complete-game, four-hit shutout by Dwight Gooden in 1993.

Santana retired the first nine men to face him and might have gone 12 up, 12 down had he not walked Hanley Ramirez to lead off the fourth, but Ramirez should have been called out on strikes. Instead, three batters later, Josh Willingham hit a two-out, two-run homer on Santana's only mistake.

Were Mets fans thinking about the franchise's first-ever no-hitter in Santana's first-ever start as a Met? You betcha. THAT'S how good he is.

Of course, it was great to see the offense post a six-spot in the top of the fourth, with a three-run double by David Wright and key hits by Angel Pagan and Ryan Church, whose production will be key with Moises Alou out for a while. Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran also had two hits each. About the only negative was the fact that Reyes and Wright were both caught stealing (although Reyes was clearly safe).

Giddy doesn't begin to describe what Mets fans are feeling right now, and if Pedro can come up big in Tuesday's night's start... look out.

Opening Day!

Hard to believe but Opening Day is finally here - the Mets will take on the Florida Marlins today at 4:30 p.m., and Johan Santana will be on the mound in his Mets debut. Sure, he's been with the team throughout spring training, but now it's for real, and seeing him on the hill in a regular-season game will be amazing.

Here's hoping the Mets put a hurting on Florida and get the season off on the right foot. No Tom Glavine around to give up eight runs in the first inning.

Here's the starting lineup:
Jose Reyes, ss
Luis Castillo, 2b
David Wright, 3b
Carlos Beltran, cf
Carlos Delgado, 1b
Angel Pagan, lf
Ryan Church, rf
Brian Schneider, c
Johan Santana, p

So the switch-hitting Pagan will bat in between Delgado and Church to break up the lefty brigade against the Marlins' lefty starter Mark Hendrickson.

The Mets finalized their roster, not surprisingly, by putting El Duque and Duaner Sanchez on the DL. Both will likely be back, unless Mike Pelfrey and Joe Smith pitch lights-out and force the team to make a tough call. It isn't likely with Pelfrey, who should spend the season in AAA trying to figure out how to pitch after a brutal spring.

A little surprising to see Brady Clark make the cut, but he's the last guy on a pretty experienced bench, so not that big a deal.

An interesting post on Metsblog.com, referring to a Jayson Stark interview where he claimed to have overheard someone on the Phillies assuring that at some point this season, there will be a brawl between the Mets and Phillies. Check it out here, particularly Pedro's reaction. I say - bring it ON!

More Jayson Stark -- even though he picked the Braves to win the World Series -- can be found here with a terrific story about the Mets' former spring training home, Al Lang field. Outstanding story and a real must-read. It's a shame that baseball is leaving that truly historic site.

Going, going, Gotay

A few days ago I commented to a friend that Ruben Gotay was the new Endy Chavez.

I said so because it seemed more and more fans (at least the ones who call in to radio programs) and certain radio show hosts themselves have been squawking more and more about what a good hitter Gotay was, and that he wasn't horrible defensively, and he should start ahead of Luis Castillo, who is aging and breaking down. WFAN's Evan Roberts went so far as to say Gotay reminded him of Melvin Mora.

Well, Gotay has been placed on waivers and his spot on the roster could well go to Fernando Tatis, who had a great year for the Cardinals in 1999 but hasn't done anything since about 2002. But Tatis has shown some power and can play every position and does bat righthanded -- and he's apparently healthy.

Gotay's departure shouldn't surprise anyone. Willie apparently never liked him, as evidenced by his appearance on Mike and the Mad Dog the day Johan Santana was introduced as a Met. Mike referred to Gotay as (and I'm paraphrasing now) "that second baseman who's a pretty good hitter" -- of course, neither he or Mad Dog could remember Gotay's name.

Willie says, "Castillo?"

"No, the other guy, the second baseman."

"Anderson?"

"No, you know, the other guy, he's a good hitter."

"Castillo?"

Finally, someone said Gotay. Willie must have rolled his eyes or something because Francesa said, "You don't like his defense." Willie then went on to talk about how he has to work on his defense and how important it is, blah, blah, blah.

At that point, I knew. If your manager can't remember your name, you're in trouble.

Does anyone want this job?

One would think, with a better bullpen behind you and the chance to pitch on a rotation that already includes Johan Santana, Pedro Martinez, John Maine and Oliver Perez, that one would be supremely motivated to land the fifth starter's spot for the Mets.

Apparently not.

Orlando Hernandez is still coming back from injury and has a new windup and showed that he is not ready for prime time, getting hammered by the Cardinals in a 14-4 Mets loss Sunday. But Mike Pelfrey did El Duque one better (or is that worse) by pitching flat awful in relief, throwing gasoline on the fire and inflating his spring ERA to an ungodly 8.31.

Does anyone want this job?

So now the plan looks like El Duque starts the season on the DL so he can tune up some more, while Pelfrey gets the fifth spot by default, with the pressure of knowing his leash is shorter than Doug Christie's. Pelfrey has been a profound disappointment so far and you figure the Mets are looking at their overpopulated bullpen and wondering if Jorge Sosa wouldn't be better off becoming a starter again in AAA, because if Pelfrey is going to continue to suck and El Duque is going to be hurt (and he will be), they're going to need someone else ready to come up and pitch.

Otherwise, things are A-OK again as the walking wounded finally get healthy. Brian Schneider and Ramon Castro are just about back from hamstring injuries and Carlos Beltran is most of the way back -- if you want a percentage, ask him.

Opening day is just one week away. And with the way the Islanders have been playing, all we can say is Thank God.

Pedro sharp, so is a broken bat

If there's one thing that could really give the Mets an advantage this season, it would be a return to form for Pedro Martinez. Pitching in the last year of his contract behind newly anointed ace Johan Santana, and in his first full season after shoulder surgery, Pedro has ample incentive to become a dominant starter again, and having a formidable 1-2 punch of Pedro and Santana ahead of quality starters like John Maine and Oliver Perez would go a long way toward the Mets' goal of winning the division and making the World Series.

Martinez looked like the Pedro of old in his first live-game action of the spring on Sunday, throwing four innings and allowing four hits and a walk, while striking out four. He pitched out of a couple of jams and hit 91 on the radar gun, so you couldn't have asked for a better performance.

You could have asked for less injuries, but they keep on coming. Carlos Delgado, who has been showing signs of awakening at the plate, was cut by a shattered bat while standing on third base. He left the game and took four stitches.

Ramon Castro, meanwhile, took himself out of the game against the Tigers with a hamstring injury. He said it was precautionary, although it was the same right hamstring that had kept him out of action since March 9. That's two catchers down with hurt hammys, as Brian Schneider has had only 5 at-bats because of his sore leg.

This is getting ridiculous

We love Carlos Beltran, really. And we hate it when idiots like Fatso and Fruit Loops, who never watch him play (and Joe Benigno, who apparently does) claim that Beltran is just a good centerfielder and not one of the league's best, when everything from statistics to scouts to my own two eyes say otherwise.

Beltran not only is good, he will run through walls to get to balls that other fielders won't even make an attempt on. And he's willing to play through pain, to a point.

But Beltran is a complainer. Not a whiner, per se, but he's maybe a bit too honest with the media when it comes to assessing his physical condition, and when's he's not 100 percent, he's not afraid to let everyone know about it. And for fans and the media, that means you're a whiner. Or worse - a wuss.

So when Beltran alerted anyone within earshot of his physical status, I cringed, and wondered -- is he kidding?

Was he in a body cast for three months? Is that how his legs apparently atrophied to the point where "Beltran's legs, and specifically his quadriceps, were so weakened by the matching pair of operations that he's had to build them up again from practically zero." His knees were scoped. I had arthroscopic surgery and was carrying my daughter up and down the stairs the next day. Beltran had the surgery well before spring training and has access to the best physical therapy, and he STILL can't stop and go?

You wonder if he's just putting this out there to cushion the blows he'd receive if he gets off to a slow start. But seriously, Carlos, here's what you should do: Even if you're not 100 percent, or if you're physically not where you think you should be, just say, "The surgery went well, I'm still working my way back but I'll be good to go on opening day." We don't need all the gory details and the hand wringing, especially when everyone else is hurt.

It reminded me of Robin Ventura, who played through significant pain and never said a word about it. It's somewhat admirable, and he was treated like a warrior. But you know what? When you're hurt and your performance is greatly affected (like it was with Ventura) then you're doing a disservice to the team and should just sit down and get treated. It's not a crime to admit you're hurt. But sometimes, like with Beltran, you get TMI. Just shut up and play -- or don't.

And what are the odds that this hernia represents Moises Alou's annual injury? Slim and none. He'll get hurt again, no question, and with Ryan Church on the shelf that means a starting outfield of Beltran (maybe), Endy Chavez and Angel Pagan on Opening Day?

Or do the Mets pick up Kenny Lofton? Just what we need - another 40-year-old outfielder. Sure, he's experienced and can still run, but he's a lefty. For the two-month stopgap, why not sign Reggie Sanders or Preston Wilson? Both are righties who can hit and would be solid veterans on the bench. Sammy Sosa? You know what? I can see him hitting for a couple of months, too, baggage or not.

In any case, it's not fun having to even consider these names, but the way things are going, all options are in play. Let's just hope the pitching stays healthy (knock on wood).

What a day, and not in a good way

If you believe in omens, files this one under "bad." Saturday's collision between Ryan Church and Marlon Anderson resulted in a concussion for Church and a bruised chest for Anderson. Church apparently tried to call off Anderson to no avail, and now Church will be out for "several days" while Anderson should be OK.

Not a good start for Church, who is being counted on as an everyday player. Maybe the jolt will magically help him figure out how to hit lefties.

Meanwhile, Carlos Delgado is out of the lineup with a hip impingement. He had an MRI in New York, which was negative. This is the same hip that bothered him last year. Great, another nagging injury for a veteran player who's looking more and more on the down side.

So the two players that are considered key for the Mets' success, at least at the plate -- Church and Delgado -- are both out with injuries that could have long-term effects. Lovely.

In other news, the Mets beat the Dodgers 1-0 on a walkoff HBP. Hot lefthanded prospect Jon Niese threw two shutout innings and Willie referred to him as "the future." Nice to see not ALL the best pitching prospects were traded for Santana.

Also, Fernando Martinez has looked great so far, and everything we've seen and read about him points to "future all-star." Have a look for yourself -- this was taken on Feb. 21:



And regarding Juan Gonzalez homering off Johan Santana? Let's see... Former slugging star who has been conspicuously absent from the league during the steroids scandal and is desperate for a job, against the best pitcher in baseball just trying to hit his spots in his first couple of innings of the spring. Yes, advantage Juan Gone. Good luck, pal.