Johan Santana is 7-6. I've heard too many questions about his talent compared to other National League pitchers. Is he as good as Tim Lincecum? Is he as good as Edinson Volquez? Is he as good as Felix Hernandez, who he faced off against on Monday night? The answer to every single one of those questions is yes. Mets' fans, who seem to have harbored the same traits in recent years as Yankees' fans, clearly have forgotten the virtue of patience. It's obvious that the Santana skeptics haven't taken a look at the lefty's second half prowess in his career. Santana, who is notoriously known as a stellar second half pitcher, is 45-11 after the All-Star break since the 2003 season. Keep in mind that he was 5-7 in the second half last year, which was clearly a fluke season. From 2003-2006, he was 40-4 in the second half.
Santana seems to have already started a monster second half, as he has compiled a 1.87 ERA in June to this point. However, he has managed to go only 1-3 as the Mets' offense has averaged a mere 1.8 runs in support of him during those starts.
Last year's National League Cy Young winner, Jake Peavy, struck out 240 batters. 35 of those were pitchers. Santana has averaged 245.75 strikeouts per year over the past four years in an offensively superior league with a designated hitter. Two of the past five years. he's had a second-half ERA under 1.60 and four of the past five years, he's had a second-half ERA under 3.20.
So Mets' fans, calm down about Johan. He'll finish with the lowest ERA of his career. He'll finish with his highest strikeout total. The real question is: will that be good enough for the Mets to make the playoffs?
- D. Spell
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