Johan Santana gets a taste of the Media

Today Johan Santana met the NY media. With over 200 people in attendance, I imagine it was quite a sight for him. He handled it well and seemed at ease with all the questions and pictures. I've seen him pitch a few times, and knew of his achievments, but had never seen him conduct himself at any kind of press conference. I think he'll do fine this year with the media. I don't see him as someone who will avoid the questions and slink out of the locker room after the game.

I TiVo'd the press conference and noticed a few interesting things. The first thing I noticed was that David Wright was the only player there. He seemed genuinely excited and happy at the thought of Johan pitching for the Mets. Santana was asked who he talked to after the trade and I found his answer very telling. He 1st spoke to Jose Reyes. He said Jose was excited about him coming to the Mets, and that he and Jose are friends. I hope he can help keep Jose focused this year. He also talked to Castillo. He is good friends with Castillo and seems to have made his choice of the Mets based on Castillo's recommendation. They had frequent talks about what it was like to play NL baseball, when they both played for the Twins. David Wright made a call to Johan also. He congratulated Johan and welcomed him to the Mets. David once again is showing that he is the leader of the Mets and the face of the Franchise. What I was wondering is where were the mice of the club? Johan didn't say anything about Beltran or Delgado calling him. He also didn't mention Alou' or Willie. I find that a very telling thing that major players on the team, who have a habit of disappearing from the locker room, can't take 5 minutes to call Santana. He's the most important person on that team this year, and the mice ignore him.

I've also been reading all the NY papers and seeing what kind of feelings there are out there about the signing of Johan. Most Mets fans seem to agree that this was a great signing. 6 years for $137+ million with an option for a 7th year doesn't seem to matter much. There are a few who whine about giving up 3 unproven pitchers and Gomez, but I believe they're wrong. Most of the negative comments come from Yankee fans. They seem to think that Johan is in the same league as Pavano, Brown, Johnson, Jarad Wright, and the rest of the failed Yankee pitchers. Sounds like sour grapes to me. None of the players traded for Johan would make a difference in the Mets future. Santana already has. The Mets go from a good team in the NL, to the best team in the NL. And regardless of what Guinness says, I don't see anyone in the NL with a better starting pitching staff. The only question mark on the Mets staff is where and how often El' Duque pitches. It's not a stretch to see Johan, Pedro, Maine, and Perez all get 15-20 wins this year. Who else in the NL, or AL for that matter, can say that? Arizona has Webb and Haren. Phillie has Hamels. The Yankees have who again? Oh Yea, they have Wang. LOL. The Sox have Beckett, Schilling, Dice K, and Buckholtz. They're about the only team that might get 15-20 wins from their 1-4 starters.

I really can't wait for the season to start. My father is even excited about this year. He's never been to Shea Stadium, and now he wants to go see Santana pitch this year. Maybe I'll even get to meet Guinness there.