Happy Recap: Mets 9 Cardinals 1

That was the Johan Santana Mets fans wanted and needed all season. He was magnificent, and he went the distance. Although with an 8-run lead, as opposed to a 3-run lead, it might not have been so bad to give him an inning off. But I'm not complaining, nor were the Mets fans at the game who gave Santana quite an ovation.



That catch by Beltran was incredible. That was seriously one of the best home run-robbing catches I have ever seen because he reached way past the wall, not just over it. And it almost slipped out of his glove from the impact but somehow he managed to hold on. I think it was definitely better than Endy’s catch in the 2006 NLCS though not nearly as important because of the situation.

Another home run for Ramon Castro, it's becoming quite commonplace these days. Castro is 9 for 22 with 4 homers and 9 RBI in his last 5 starts. And those 5 starts have come over 15 games, why is he only playing a third of the time. He should be playing two-third of the games, at least. If his stats were extrapolated over a full sesaon he'd be one of the top 5 catchers in the majors. Even if he experienced a significant dropoff in his numbers, he'd still be top 10. His .903 OPS is second on the team, behind David Wright.



Right before Castro's 2-run homer was a 2-run homer by Fernando Tatis. Tatis is also having an excellent season and in addition to judging him purely on his numbers it should be noted how many of his hits have come in crucial situations.

I think the problem fans (and management) have with Tatis and Castro is there's a feeling that they will slow down eventually if they play everyday or for too long a stretch. Even if that were true, why not ride them while they're hot and figure out a backup plan later.

This was a nice bounceback game after a tough loss the night before. Santana went the distance to save the bullpen and with 3 more homers the Mets are continuing to bash the ball.