A Rare Coup!

Last Night, Johan Santana basically did what he's done every time he's taken the ball for the Mets this season. Over 7 innings, Santana allowed 8 hits, 3 runs, 1 HR, 2 walks and 7 strikeouts against the Marlins. It's been pretty much the norm for him.

However, if I'd spent the night in a cave or, worse, in the Theater, and you told me that that was Santana's line, I'd have a hard time believing that the Mets actually won the game. But win they did, thanks to some early offense, something that the Mets have actually done on a rather consistent basis if you can believe it, the Mets doing something consistent that doesn't involve hitting into double plays or getting picked off base. Just when it appeared that the Mets would let a potential big inning go by the wayside in the 1st, it was a pair of backups, playing in a revamped, righty-exclusive lineup against the lefty Andrew Miller, coming through.

After loading the bases with no outs, thanks to a vapor-lock play by Miller on Castillo's sacrifice attempt and a walk to Wright, Beltran did what he didn't do on Saturday but has done all too often: He popped out. But, in this new, Righty-centric look the Mets offered, it wasn't Carlos Delgado coming up to, predictably, strike out or pop to the 1st baseman, it was Damion Easley. No, Easley certainly isn't going to light things up any more than Delgado would have, but, hey, he wasn't going to be any worse, right? Right. His sac fly plated Reyes with the first run. Still, with Tatis to follow, things weren't looking as promising as they had a pair of outs ago. But Tatis hit and Castro followed with a hit, both to the opposite field, and suddenly, the predictable failure had become the surprise success. And with Santana being Santana, and the Mets adding some late tack-on runs, it became a victory. A much-welcomed victory, if you ask the players and the Manager.

I'm not fooled. During Monday night's game, the Mets were talking about how they needed to have "That Game," the game that gets them going on to bigger and better things. Maybe it was Saturday, maybe it was the two games against the Yankees. Nope. Darling summed it up rather succinctly. So succinctly that it went right over the heads of his booth-mates.

"It's not happening." He said. "If it was going to happen, it would have happened already."

It's a sad truth. One victory does not amount to much, especially when the Mets have been hard pressed to make that one in a row into anything much more than that.

So, enjoy tonight while you can. Tomorrow, Oliver Perez. Which one? I'm not quite sure.

For the 19 games: 5-9.