Johan Santana's Big Moment

Tonight was made for Johan Santana. Surely, Omar Minaya hoped the Mets would coast to their second division title in three years, well positioned for a run to the World Series. But, in the back of his mind, Minaya had to be thinking: if only I had Santana taking the ball every fifth day last season.

Perhaps then, the Mets would not have squandered a seven-game N.L. East lead with 17 games remaining. Perhaps then, the Mets would not be suffering from yet another team-wide malaise that threatens to end their season before October once again.

As Wally Matthews put it this morning in Newsday, “If last year was the Collapse, this year is the Relapse.”

Like last season, the new version of the Mets’ late-season woes began with a shoddy, makeshift bullpen. From there, the poison ‘pen spread like a malignant tumor, until it has so damaged the psyche of the team that the starting pitching collapsed under the weight of having to carry the team, the offense did the same, and the defense crumbled.

Rookie starter Jonathan Niese failed to finish the fourth inning last night in a 9-5 Mets loss, getting the hook after surrendering a grand slam to Cubs starting pitcher Jason Marquis. Step one. The Mets now sit two-and-a-half games behind Philadelphia in the division, and more disconcertingly, only a game ahead of Milwaukee for the N.L. Wild Card.

Niese was tentatively scheduled to start the penultimate game of the season on Saturday, but, according to the (White Plains, N.Y.) Journal News’ Josh Thomson, the name “Staffinator” is currently listed as Saturday’s probable starter, likely a humorous way of saying “All hands on deck.”

Rather than the blind public optimism displayed last year by Willie Randolph—who could forget “The Champagne’s going to taste sweet?”—interim manager Jerry Manuel has embraced this role.

“That’s part of who we are. When you sign on with the Mets, you sign on with what happened last year, regardless,” Manuel told the New York Daily News. “As a manager of the team, my job is to separate that and to focus on what's going on this season. … But we have to exorcise those demons at some point, there’s no question about that. Some big ones, too.”

The schedule does not work in the Mets’ favor. Milwaukee opens a three-game series with Pittsburgh tonight at home, and while the Brewers have dropped 15 of their last 20 games, they have dominated the Pirates this season, going 10-1 against them. The Cubs leave Queens on Thursday and head to face the Brewers, but Lou Piniella is likely to take his foot off the pedal just a bit in those games to prepare for the playoffs.

After facing Sean Marshall tonight, the Mets will face Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden for the Cubs. On Friday, weather-permitting, they welcome in the Marlins—who will likely be eliminated from contention by then—for the last series of the season. How did that work out last year?

“We have six games left, and I feel somewhat like a broken record, but everything we want to accomplish is right out there for the grabbing and right out there in front of us,” third baseman David Wright told the Daily News. “We have a week left, six games, and we’re in the driver’s seat.

“We knew it was going to be a tough road, but we need to play well for six games. Last year is over with, done with. It was a failed opportunity, but this year we have a golden opportunity.”

The Mets are counting on Santana being their stopper tonight. Since the All-Star Break, he is 6-0 with a 2.38 earned-run average. A win tonight puts the pressure back on the Brewers, who have been floundering worse than the Mets this season. A loss tells Milwaukee that despite their poor play, which resulted last week in the shocking firing of manager Ned Yost, the door is wide-open.

“As an organization you may think, here we go, blah, blah, blah, we’re going down this road again,” Manuel said. “But there has to be something good at the end of that road. If we keep pressing and pressing, something good’s going to happen.”

It helps to have a pitcher like Santana.