I Predict That The Mets Will Finish In 1st Place…

Added by Eddie Utley on April 5, 2012.

Tonight.

No one would be bold enough to predict the Mets winning the division. But, today, they looked good, and Johan Santana almost looked vintage.

Santana threw about 85 pitches and challenged hitters like he always has. He was aggressive, the changeup was working, and he’s back to throwing the slider that he has barely used at all since coming to the Mets. He went five innings and even got out of a jam in the 5^th.

The Mets didn’t do much offensively against Braves starter Tommy Hanson, but they did what they needed to do. New York scored one run which held up to put their first W in the books.

Ike Davis was fed breaking ball after breaking ball and looked bad at the plate. Hopefully, they don’t have a book on Ike, or it will get ugly for the Mets.

One bad note from the game is centerfielder Andres Torres looks like he’s going on the DL. I thought it was odd to see him in the Yankees games, but they claimed he was ready. The problem with Torres is he’s one of those 4% body fat guys. When you are almost all muscle, you are much more prone to pulls, sprains, and tears. A leg problem is what derailed Torres last year and, hopefully, it’s not going to be as bad this year, unless his replacement does a good job.

That replacement is most likely Kirk Neuwhenheis. If Torres is DL’d, which looks very likely, and Captain Kirk can play well, then maybe they keep him on the roster. He was probably going to end up as a platoon mate for Jason Bay, who continues to look pathetic, anyway.

Even the bullpen was solid. After looking horrendous during spring training, they closed the door on the Braves this afternoon. Tim Byrdak, who came back early from injury, and he even had surgery on his knee, is back two weeks early.

So far so good, but Ruben Tejada is going to move to leadoff and someone will most likely be called up for Torres. On to game 2…