The Mets' had an opportunity to win a World Series thanks to Johan Santana, instead they wasted it. |
When's the last time you heard about Johan Santana? Probably in 2010, when he went down with a torn rotator cuff, forcing him to miss the entire 2011 season. Or how about back in 2008 when he almost carried the Mets to a playoff appearance thanks to a 16-7 record and a phenomenal 2.53 ERA. Since then it's been nothing but bad news for Mets' fans and Johan Santana. For a guy who has become so oft-injured as a Met, the team and organization wasted a perfect opportunity to capitalize on his phenomenal talent.
In the 2008 offseason the Mets acquired Santana in a must-make deal that included sending a bunch of overrated prospects to the Twins. The Mets literally stole Santana right from Minnesota, who had watched him amass silly stats along with two Cy Young Awards over his 5 year career in the twin cities. Obviously, the big market Mets were going to pry Santana away from the small time Twins, there simply was no denying it. The Mets had just suffered an epic collapse in 2007 on the heels of horrendous pitching, making acquiring Santana their biggest offseason need. Once the Mets had acquired the two-time Cy Young winner they signed him to an absurd six year/137.5 million dollar contract. The Mets were forced give add a few "post-prime" years on the contract just to ensure he was theirs, but no one doubted the move.
For Mets fans, 2008 was theirs. The stars were aligned, literally. Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado headlined a monster offense and Santana led a promising rotation that included veteran Pedro Martinez and rising stars Oliver Perez and Mike Pelfrey. The Mets didn't turn it on until and epic July and August stretch in which they built another divisional lead over their rival the Philadelphia Phillies. Yet 2008 turned out similar to 2007 thanks to bullpen blowups outing after outing. The Mets wasted a scorching hot second half by Carlos Delgado and a sensational season by Santana who finished third in the Cy Young voting. 2008 was to many as big of a bust as 2007, even though this time they only blew a 3.5 game lead.
From 2008 on, Santana's stint with the Mets went downhill. His '09 was subpar, for Santana's standard, as he finished 13-9 with a 3.13 ERA. Unfortunately he injured his elbow, forcing him to miss all of September. Santana was rushed back for the 2010 season after the Mets saw their 2009 win total decrease by 19 games from 2008. 2010 actually wasn't a bad year for the Metropolitan ace, who finished 11-9 with an 2.98 ERA, including a 5 start stretch with a untouchable 0.79 ERA. But once again Santana's September was cut short thanks to a much more serious shoulder injury that made it necessary for him get offseason rotator cuff surgery; he missed the entire 2011 season.
Injuries are an inevitable part of pitching, especially when a guy throws heat like Santana did. But the Mets wasted Santana. 2008 and 2010(if literally anyone could have stepped up) were the seasons the Mets were going to go deep in the playoffs thanks to their ace. But instead, thanks to bullpen catastrophes and serious underperformance by Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes, Santana's contract turned into a huge disaster. But the Mets had to get him. They were one of the most talented teams heading into the 2008 season and thanks to the addition of a front-of-the-line ace named Johan Santana, they were poised to lift the World Series trophy. Yet instead, like only the Mets can do, they let September eat them alive, one more time.
He's poised to return one more time this season, and I'm positive he won't be the same. Pitchers rarely recover from rotator cuff surgery, and the other taxing injures Santana has suffered over the last few years shouldn't help either. The Mets are talentless at this point, and even if he can pull off a third Cy Young season, there is no way they can even be contenders.
So don't view Johan Santana's career with the Mets as a bust. Consider the Mets' career with Johan Santana a wasted opportunity of epic proportions.
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