The Mets have lost Billy Wagner for the season, possibly even a good portion of 2009, which spells very bad news for them.  He’s been the anchor of that bullpen ever since he signed with the Mets and was a large part of their 2006 NLCS run.  He’s gone down thanks to a possible torn elbow ligament which not only ends his 2008 season, but like I said earlier, could cost him part of or all of 2009.  I have little faith in the Mets making a run to the World Series now…their bullpen seems a little shaky.  If I were a fan, I wouldn’t have much faith in Luis Ayala or Duaner Sanchez to close out crucial playoff games.

I think anyone that knows anything about baseball could have called this, but the Santana trade seems to be working out for the Mets.  Despite being 16-15 and in 3rd place in the NL Central, Johan has given them his usual production, save a few starts.  His ERA is under 3, he has 3 wins, only 12 walks, and more strikeouts than innings pitched.  He’s helped the team forget about Pedro Martinez.  All in all, hes adjusted to the NL about as well as you possibly could.  There are some numbers that stick out, however…

His home runs allowed total is on pace to go through the roof.  After allowing 33 in his final season with the Twins last year, he’s already given up 7, and is on pace to give up a few more than that.  That’s a scary statistic, you don’t expect your Hall of Fame ace and arguably the best pitcher in baseball to give up that many home runs.  I’m sure Mets coaches would love for him to get this under control, but his past statistics say that he won’t, and they’ll just have to live with it.  It’s not like it’s really hurting his stats that much, but imagine him giving up a 3-run homer in game 7 of the NLCS that costs them the game.  It could happen to everyone obviously, but from Johan?

I’m sure I sound like an idiot when I say that, but it’s a legit concern in my opinion.  I’d rather my ace give up 10 home runs a year, not 35.  That’s high for any pitcher, even Steve Trachsel gave up less last year, and it’s never a good thing to be compared to or be listed by him…trust me.

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