Posts tagged Johan Santana at FanHouse

The Minnesota Twins may have come up a run short of winning the AL Central this year, but it was still a pretty successful season for the team. After all, nobody expected them to be competitive this season after losing both Torii Hunter and Johan Santana, yet there they were challenging for another division title.

Another reason that the Twins were a surprise this year is that they played the majority of the season without right fielder Michael Cuddyer, and though Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau get most of the attention in the Twins lineup, Cuddyer has always been a dangerous presence. His absence turned out to be a bit of a blessing though as it allowed Denard Span to get playing time, and Span took advantage of it to emerge as the team's lead-off hitter of the future. Which is why it's entirely possible that Delmon Young will be traded this winter after only one season in Minnesota.

The Twins won't talk about it, but it's expected that Delmon Young, the left fielder they obtained from Tampa Bay before this past season, will be made available on the trade market.

Seeing as how Cuddyer signed a three-year $23 million extension before the season, it's unlikely the Twins will want to move him, so Young seems to be the most logical choice, Delmon didn't really produce as much as the Twins would have liked when they sent Jason Bartlett and Matt Garza to the Rays for him, yet he still has enough value to bring back a third baseman or shortstop for next season.

In the Playoff Pulse series, our MLB editor takes on a hot October topic.

Considering how I raked Vladimir Guerrero over the coals for being a playoff choker yesterday, it'd be easy to do the same to CC Sabathia after his lousy Game 2 performance. Sabathia couldn't escape the fourth inning in a loss to the Phillies.

He surrendered a grand slam to the light-hitting Shane Victorino, walked pitcher Brett Myers (and three others) and put the Brewers in a 2-0 hole that they are unlikely to climb out of. More importantly to Sabathia's legacy, it extended a rough run of performances in the postseason that extends back to last year.

The burly left-hander has just two wins in the playoffs -- one of which came back in 2001 -- and a career postseason ERA of 7.92.

But it's hard to blame Sabathia or anyone else really for what happened Thursday night in Philadelphia.

Though the Mets became the first team in major league history to fail to make the playoffs despite holding a 3 1/2-game lead in the standings in September, they appear to have no problem with the people running the team.

Less than a week after GM Omar Minaya moved toward a four-year contract extension, sources in New York are indicating that interim manager Jerry Manuel will have that tag lifted and return to the Mets dugout next year.

From the New York Post:

A formal announcement is expected by GM Omar Minaya no later than Tuesday. "Jerry did a very good job in a tough situation, overcoming injuries to [John] Maine and Billy [Wagner]," Minaya said after today's 4-2 loss to the Marlins ended the Mets' season. "I just talked to Jerry and told him I will sit down with ownership tomorrow and give my recommendation. But I was very pleased with the job he did." Owner Fred Wilpon also strongly endorsed Manuel while talking with reporters during today's game.

Minaya might not have deserved his extension, especially when you look through the prism of back-to-back September swoons, but it's hard to say the same for Manuel. He guided the Mets to a 55-38 record down the stretch after taking over for Willie Randolph in mid-June. Considering the hand he was dealt -- a very, very bad bullpen -- Manuel performed admirably as skipper

Indeed, had Billy Wagner not gotten injured, this would probably all be a moot point, and New York might be celebrating an NL East title. Here's to a few more years of Manuel describing Johan Santana as "gangsta" and threatening to "cut" Jose Reyes.

Now that baseball season is almost over, it's time to completely forget about baseball and focus on awards season! My original idea for tonight's Dugout was the AL Cy Young Award 2008 Chatroom, but that ended up being Cliff Lee bouncing a rubber ball against a wall for 35 panels, so here is that Dugout's hotly-contested National League equivalent. On second thought, they should just give that to Cliff Lee too.

Tonight's Dugout, with all the speculation and obsessive statistical analysis you come to the Internet for, is after the jump.

After 161 games this year, the Mets and Brewers are both 89-72. That means that six long months of baseball is going to be boiled down to one game for each team tomorrow afternoon to decide the final playoff spot in the National League. The Mets will play the Marlins again, while the Brewers play the Cubs. Each team has split the first two games of their series with their opponent.

The Mets kicked things off today with a gem from Johan Santana. On three days rest, he spun a complete-game three-hit shutout of the Marlins, striking out nine and leading the Mets to a 2-0 win. The decision to start him on short rest was made after their loss yesterday afternoon put them a game behind Milwaukee, and Jerry Manual certainly pushed the right button today, even if the mercurial Oliver Perez has to start tomorrow with the season on the line. With the Phillies win over the Nationals today, the wild card is all they have to play for.

The Brewers could've clinched at least a tie with a win today, but Ben Sheets got rocked in his return from elbow problems and the Brewers never entirely dug back from the 4-0 hole he dug them. Tomorrow they turn to CC Sabathia, who's pitching on short rest for the third time in a week. Of course, if both teams win that means there's one more game on Monday at Shea Stadium. I wouldn't really mind that, though Mets and Brewers fans would likely disagree.

With the playoff chase coming down to the wire, our MLB editor rounds up the five biggest pennant race stories in Eye Toward October.

- Not Ready for Primetime: Someone has to win the AL Central. Next Thursday either the Twins or White Sox will take the field at Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay with a shot at winning the World Series. But after a bullpen meltdown in Chicago and terrible Francisco Liriano start in Minneapolis, it doesn't seem like either team wants it very much.

Roughly a week ago, I wrote about how the Central race was the only one with any real drama, about how the NL wild-card race had lost its appeal because the Mets and Brewers seemed so fragile. Now, the opposite seems true. While the Mets and Brewers run their aces out on three days of rest and scrape and claw for every run, the Twins and White Sox seem determined to back into the playoff picture.

Of course anything can happen once a team gets into the postseason, but the Rays would be an exceptionally tough opponent even if the Twins or White Sox were playing well right now. With both teams playing poorly, it doesn't seem like the winner of the division will matter too much. Either way, it could be a quick first-round exit.

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups.

Florida Marlins (83-76) at New York Mets (88-72) - 1:10 PM ET

They couldn't possibly do this again, could they?

Of course they could. You know they could. And your New York Mets know gosh darn well they could choke away another season ... especially after another lifeless late season loss to the Florida Marlins (who are now basing the success of their season on knocking the Mets out of the playoffs ... mature) and a Brewers victory which puts the Mets one game behind the wild card lead, and one game closer to another disastrous ending. So in response, the Mets are bringing back Johan Santana on three days rest to try to extend the season to Sunday. Of course, if they get to Sunday still alive, who will pitch then? Jon Niese? Brandon Knight? Frank Viola? Jesus?

That's silly. Everyone knows that Jesus would be in the bullpen because the Mets pen is so horrible. (And, you know ... Jesus saves.)

With the playoff chase coming down to the wire, our MLB editor rounds up the five biggest pennant race stories in Eye Toward October.

- Pressure on Brewers: With a pair of dramatic walk-off wins Thursday night, the Mets and Brewers earned a little less than 24 hours of breathing room -- a momentary respite from the words choker and collapse. They enter the final weekend of the regular season tied for the wild-card lead, and, in another bit of symmetry, both teams must wait until Sunday for their aces -- Johan Santana and CC Sabathia -- to start.

The pressure is always on in the Big Apple, but make no mistake, Milwaukee is facing a tougher road to the postseason. The Brewers must deal with the best team in the National League, the Cubs, as they claw and scratch for a playoff spot.

Lou Piniella rested Aramis Ramirez, Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano and Geovany Soto in Chicago's final game against the Mets Thursday, but it's unlikely he will sit them all weekend against Milwaukee, especially with a chance to knock out a Brewers team that presents a real threat in October. And Piniella will also send his best two starters of late -- Ryan Dempster and Ted Lilly -- to the mound in the first two games of the series. The Brewers will start the shaky Jeff Suppan and Ben Sheets coming off injury before turning to Sabathia in the finale.

Of course, the Mets won't have it easy this weekend. The Marlins are a dangerous team and New York is using a spot starter on Saturday. The Phillies will have to take care of business against the Nationals too. But as good as the vibes have been for the Brewers this week against the Pirates, the Cubs present a major obstacle to Milwaukee's playoff hopes.

With the playoff chase coming down to the wire, our MLB editor rounds up the five biggest pennant race stories in Eye Toward October.

- Second City Collapse: With every loss in September, the Mets are painted as chokers -- victims of another September swoon. That depiction was fair in 2007. They had a seven-game lead in the standings on Sept. 12 and wound up out of contention. It is not fair this year. The largest lead they have had this September was 3 1/2 games.

No, the Mets are just a flawed team that loses very ugly and carries the stigma from a year ago. Shift your focus from Queens to the South Side of Chicago if you want to see a team on the verge of a "collapse." The White Sox have dropped the first two games of a three-game series with the Twins this week.

If Minnesota finishes the sweep tomorrow, Chicago will find itself in unfamiliar territory -- second place in the AL Central. It will also be staring down a harrowing final weekend, needing to pick up a game in the win column against the Indians while the Twins play host to the Royals.

Oh, if the White Sox collapse it won't be in the same realm as the Mets' historic freefall in 2007. But it will be nearly as frustrating. Since May 17, Chicago has occupied first place for all but a dozen days. For the vast majority of the season, Ozzie Guillen's bunch has been demonstrably better than the Twins. They have a more polished and experienced starting rotation, a slightly better bullpen and a superior collection of offensive talent.

All Minnesota has is a good defense to prop up a very pedestrian starting rotation and a surreal .310 batting average with runners in scoring position. The Twins have had one other thing, a decided edge in a vital year-end head-to-head matchup. With it, they've pushed the White Sox to the edge of a cliff. Mark it down: Chicago needs a win Thursday much more than Minnesota.

With the playoff chase coming down to the wire, our MLB editor rounds up the five biggest pennant race stories in Eye Toward October.

Reyes Rises to Occasion: Life isn't easy for baseball players in New York. Just ask Jose Reyes. The shortstop has taken more blame than anyone this side of Willie Randolph and his teammates in the bullpen for the Mets' collapse last season.

Some of the criticism has been fair. Reyes hit .205 last September and his mental lapses always seem to occur at the worst time. But much of it hasn't been fair. He's been slammed for being unprofessional, for being carefree -- his elaborate handshakes and big smile the sign of someone who didn't care enough to stop New York's free-fall.

The truth? Reyes is a terrific player who went cold at the wrong time last year, but the Mets wouldn't have gotten as far as they did without him in the lineup. Tuesday night's win over the Cubs must have felt especially good to Reyes. His bases-clearing triple gave the Mets a bullpen-proof lead.

Johan Santana was the hero, but Reyes got the big hit. He ensured that the Mets would get a reprieve from all the collapse talk, kept them atop the wild-card race and helped them pick up a game on the Phillies. Has Reyes been vindicated? Not yet. But if the Mets do grab a playoff berth, Reyes' bases-clearing triple will be a big part of it.