After making a 125-pitch start over eight innings against Chicago on Tuesday, Mets ace Johan Santana followed it up with a complete game three hit shutout on three days rest. He has now thrown 242 pitches over the past five days.

With the spectacular performance by Santana yesterday, it puts his final record for the season at 16-7. Santana has had some awful luck this season. Whether it be run support, errors, or the bullpen blowing games, his record does not dictate what kind of performances he has put up. Here is a look at ten games that I have compiled that define quality starts that resulted in a loss or no decision for the 29-year old southpaw:

April 6th - @ Atlanta - 7.0 IP, 1 ER - Loss
June 6th - @ San Diego - 6.0 IP, 1 ER - Loss
June 12th - vs Arizona - 7.0 IP, 0 ER - No Decision
June 23rd - vs Seattle - 7.0 IP, 1 ER - Loss
July 4th - @ Philadelphia - 8.0 IP, 2 ER - No Decision
July 22nd - vs Philadelphia - 8.0 IP, 2 ER - No Decision
August 2nd - @ Houston - 6.1 IP, 1 ER - No Decision
August 7th - vs San Diego - 7.0 IP, 2 ER - No Decision
September 1st - @ Milwaukee - 6.0 IP, 2 ER - No Decision
September 13th - vs Atlanta - 7.0 IP, 2 ER - No Decision

After adding up the total number of innings and earned runs from this game, this brings us out to a 1.82 ERA through these 10 starts for Santana.

Yesterday, Rob Harding posted that he thinks that Santana should be the Cy Young award winner.

It remains to be seen whether or not these performances will be factored into the discussion for National League Cy Young. I am not saying that Santana is the best choice, and I do think it’ll be a tight race, but at this point, of the likely top three to be considered for the award (Brandon Webb, Tim Lincecum), Santana has logged the most innings, and the lowest ERA among the three.

Record obviously has a factor into the decision, but for Santana? This is a pitcher who could have matched Webb’s National League leading 22-7 record with a little run support and bullpen help here and there.

I think it is quite clear Santana has earned every last dime of his $19 million paycheck this year.

With their win over the Nationals today, the Philadelphia Phillies are your NL East division winners for the 2nd consecutive year. Of even greater importance to the Mets, the Brewers LOST to the Cubs today, 7-3, and are now tied with the Mets for the wild card lead. Tomorrow, the pitching matchups are looking like Ollie Perez vs Scott Olsen, and Carlos Zambrano against CC Sabathia.

Well, this is why we watch this team for six months. Get it done, guys.

Yeah, I have no issue with Cubs manager Lou Pinella benching his position players. That is part of the game, and he gave the Mets the same benefit when the Cubs played them earlier in the week. What really bugs me is, that he puts a SP Jason Marquis into the game, in the EIGHTH inning. First of all, Marquis has been a SP all year, and now you want to put him into a game because he won’t be starting for you in the playoffs?

Yes, I know many will say Pinella wanted him in the pen for the postseason, but come on, is Marquis really going to be used in a pressureized situation over the stud Cubs relievers such as Carlos Marmol, Jeff Samardzija, or Bobby Howry? The only place I see Marquis pitching in the postseason is in a blowout, so pitching him in a game like this makes no sense to me.

Johan Santana is worth every single penny that the Mets pay him. He is money, and has arguably had his best two starts of the year the last two times out, when it really counted. Santana had a devastating changeup today, probably the best change I have seen from him all year. What’s better is that Santana went the distance, and didn’t give the beleagured bullpen a chance to blow it.

Now the question is, does this start put Santana into a position for serious CY Young award consideration? I believe so. Santana is now 16-7 with a 2.53 ERA. He really should be at least 20-7, with all the leads the bullpen has blown for him. Other Cy Young hopefuls include Tim Lincecum (17-5 2.66 ERA) and Brandon Webb (22-7 3.24 ERA). Lincecum leads the trio in Ks, Santana leads in ERA, and Webb leads in wins. It is really a toss up, but if I had a vote I’d have to give it to Johan, as he came up huge when the team needed him most.

Thank you, Johan.

I can’t believe it, but I’m still believing.

Hat tip to Lets Go Mets tumblr.

Today, Jerry Manuel has totally revamped the lineup. Carlos Beltran is batting 2nd, Carlos Delgado is batting 3rd, David Wright 4th, David Murphy 5th, and Ryan Church 7th. Also, Ramon Castro will be behind the dish.

Something had to be done, as this lineup has been so inconsistent these last few weeks. Of course, none of this will matter if the Brewers win their last two games of the year..

Here’s the full lineup:

• SS Reyes
• CF Beltran
• 1B Delgado
• 3B Wright
• LF Murphy
• 2B Martinez
• RF Church
• C Castro
• P Santana

As you can see, Jerry put an emphasis on not having two lefty, or two righty bats in a row. They have the two switch hitters at the top, then goes left-right-left all the way down the lineup. Nice job Jerry, i like it.

Before yesterday’s game, manager Jerry Manuel announced that he would start Johan Santana today on short rest. 

In his career, Santana has a 6.14 ERA in three starts on short rest.  However, those numbers are from long ago because he hasn’t pitched on short rest since 2003.

Here is another interesting tidbit regarding Santana: He has been significantly better with Ramon Castro as the catcher this season compared to when Brian Schneider catches. 

Opposing batters are hitting .256 with a .300 on-base percentage and a .400 slugging percentage when Schneider is catching.  When Castro is behind the dish, batters are hitting .211 with a .272 OBP and a .313 slugging. 

Take the hint Jerry, start Castro. 

I think that last stat is quite noteworthy because whenever somebody cites Schneider’s poor offensive play people say he has “intangibles” and “calls a great game.” Well, if the game he calls is so phenomenal, then why is there such a stark difference between the stats with him catching compared to when Blastro catches?    

This season, the Mets record when I have attended the game is 3-1-2.  To clarify, they have won three times, lost once and been rained out twice.  

Naturally, because I have tickets for tonight, the game is at best questionable because of rain that has been going on consistently ever since mid-way through the game last night. 

According to the weather.com Mets game forecast, there is a 50% chance of precipitation for during the game, in addition to the rain that has been pelting down on New York City all day today.

Well, I will be there huddled in my rain coat.  Hopefully after the game I get to sing my favorite song, “I love it when you call me Big Pelf-rey” to the tune of ”Big Poppa” by Notorious B.I.G.  

Word over at Mets Blog is that there is a good chance Dwight Gooden will join the Mets for their farewell to Shea ceremony on Sunday. The very idea of Doc and Darryl Strawberry, two of my childhood idols together, arm and arm at Shea on stadium gets me a bit emotional for a number of reasons.

Doc and Darryl were baseball royalty to me. Doc, the most dominant pitcher in baseball, who could have possibly been one of the greatest of all time had things turned out differently off the field. Darryl Strawberry, with his sweet golf swing, teeing off and dispensing baseballs with such effortless force it seemed like he was driving them with a three wood. While they faded soon after their stars ascended, the impact they had on me as a kid has never dulled and in fact burns brighter as the years go by.

I’ll watch quite emotionally if both of my boyhood idols do indeed arrive together at Shea one last time, and a goodbye to this field of dreams will feel a whole heck of a lot more complete.

I received an email today from Chris McShane of Develop Willets Point that I would like to share with you. If you have an opposing view from Chris and wish for me to post yours as well, feel free to contact me. Both sides of this important issue are welcome here at Hot Foot.

Hello everyone,

I wanted to let you know that I’m organizing a rally in support of cleaning up and developing Willets Point for 11 am on Sunday morning.  The rally will take place on Roosevelt Avenue near the stairs of the Willets Point Shea Stadium station.

I’ll have plenty of copies of fliers for hand-outs to curious Mets fans.  I’m also working on getting some Clean Up Willets Point signs there.

I can use any help any of you or your readers might be willing to offer.  People to hold up signs, speak to the press, and hand out fliers would be great.  Please email me back if you can make it yourself.  If you know anyone else who is interested or want to post something on your site, please have people email me at: developwilletspoint@gmail.com

I really hope to see you all out there on Sunday morning.  As we close down Shea Stadium - hopefully just for the last regular season game - we’ll have a chance to express our voices about the future neighborhood in which we’ll attend so many games.

We’ll meet at 10:30 am to start handing out fliers on Roosevelt and try to gather a good crowd for any of the media that shows up.

If you have any questions, or if I’ve forgotten any important details, please let me know.

Thanks so much.

Chris McShane
Develop Willets Point

Shea isn’t the prettiest park in baseball. It doesn’t have the long tradition of Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park. The concessions are downright awful. However, Duk at Big League Stew perhaps best summed up why I, and I suspect many others love Shea Stadium so much,

“the charm about Shea is that it’s a neighborhood bar.”

Shea Stadium is our neighborhood bar. As we move into CitiField, most folks will be corporate, white collar types who can afford the exorbitant prices they’re charging and will make up a good portion of the crowd. However, the history of Shea’s audience is distinctly blue collar. The team, the stadium, and their fans are a scrappy bunch, and all you have to do to understand why is because they’ve chosen this team over the far more successful one in the Bronx.

You see Mets fans love their team for more than just wins and losses, it runs far deeper than that, Mets fans connect with their team on a deeper emotional level and considering the roller coaster history of the team, they’ve gained an emotional maturity fans of the other team in town cannot understand. To be fair, there is the die hard base on both sides of town, and then there is that wide swath of fans who float between whatever team happens to be successful at the time. Yankee and Met fans can agree on one thing, and that is an acute disdain of those types of fans.

But I digress, this is an ode to our lovely lady Shea. The home of our childhoods, of the Buckner ball, of Dykstra’s heroic NLCS home run, of Darryl’s moon shots, Piazza’s emotional post-9/11 home run, Ventura’s grand slam single, Endy’s miracle catch and so much more. These things we get to take with us. The memories. While they auction off every square inch of the stadium, the pieces of Shea will scatter among the fanbase, but we get to share the things that matter most, the moments. No wrecking ball can ever remove those from our collective psyches.

The neighborhood bar that we all came to know and love, the stranger who became a new friend sitting in the row behind us or in the adjacent box. The knowing that this stranger has endured the same soul crushing defeats and life affirming victories. A shared knowledge that most of the folks on the other side of town were pretending while we were authentic fans, who knew real pain and for that the victories were that much sweeter.

Shea is more than just the stadium itself, but the people who came, and may not all be able to come when the new stadium opens. Shea is the culture, the current and past fan base. The folks who walked up and bought tickets the day of games, who likely won’t have that chance next year. This is Shea Stadium, not just the structure but the people.

So if you wonder why I describe people, and not just this architectural behemoth, it is because this baseball sanctuary is more than just a thing but a living breathing organism of hopes and dreams that do not die when the building disappears. The soul of the stadium remains, perhaps in limbo, as the bodies that the soul inhabits may not have the resources to move with it to its new home.

Here’s to the soul of Shea Stadium.

Join the Hot Foot Facebook Group for special prizes you won’t even find on HotFootBlog.com

This is your last chance to enter to win our first Facebook Group prize.

The first of many prizes currently being offered is a t-shirt from a recent Mets game, which is in honor of the final season at Shea Stadium. This shirt is exclusively available only to folks who attended the Last Season At Shea shirt game, but you have a chance to win it by joining our Hot Foot Facebook Group.

One lucky person who joins will win this special shirt. So head over by clicking here and get a chance at this one of a kind piece of Mets history.

With the inspiration of Deadspin editor AJ Daulerio, apparently a Tampa Bay Rays fan has started a petition to get former Mets and Rays pitcher Victor Zambrano to throw out the first pitch of their first playoff game in franchise history. They intend to send the petition to the Rays president, Matt Silverman.

Most Mets fans know the story. Zambrano was traded to the Mets in the deal that sent stud pitching prospect Scott Kazmir to the Rays. Kazmir went on to be an instrumental part to the turnaround of the Rays franchise, while Zambrano is rocking the minor league benches. Here is how it all came about…

They now face a strange predicament: Who to throw out the first pitch of their first ever playoff game? Rays president Matt Silverman said, “MLB asked us who it’d be. We realized nobody in the history of the franchise had done anything to be worthy of the honor.” Well, the goal of this here petition is for the Rays to have Mr. Zambrano himself throw out the first pitch. Is there a better choice? If one person can be given credit for the Rays’ turn of fate, why not Zambrano? Sign this petition if you’re a Rays fan, a baseball fan or if you just love irony (or hate the Mets.)

Yeah, that’s a low blow.

OK, so maybe Lou Pinella has backed off his “competitive lineup” comment before this series started, as he’s resting Derrek Lee, Alfonso Soriano, and Aramis Ramirez tonight. Tonight is a must win, as we still have a shot to get the division if we can defeat the Cubbies. If we lose, then for example we would need to sweep the Marlins and the Phillies lose 2/3 to the Nats (not likely).

To be completely honest, I have no faith in Pedro Martinez, whatsoever tonight. I feel that his age has finally caught up to him and he will never be an effective pitcher again. What made Pedro so good was his ability to spot his pitches, his impeccable control. This year, Martinez has struggled to get his breaking pitches over, and hitters are teeing off on those 2-0 and 3-1 fastballs. We need you tonight Pedro, step up.