"I'm a man. I'm a man,"

Ok, its official, Johan Santana is my favorite player in baseball. It isn't just his talent, I truly admire the way he plays the game. On a night where he was anything near his best, Johan battled, and helped the Mets win this game on the mound, with his glove and with his bat.

It is one of those great and rare days when as a Met fan you feel on top of the world. Still can't talk shit, but this game has Mets fans everywhere smiling in a good mood. The Mets beat the Phillies 6-5 in Citi Field to pull within two games of their division rivals.

Johan was pulled in the eighth after serving a lead off solo shot to Chase Utley, his 91st pitch of the game, 71st strike. Manuel didn't understand what Santana meant when he repeated "I'm a man." Not gangster enough for you Jerry?

He wanted to stay in the game, he only threw 91 pitches, he felt great. He wanted to keep going, to battle against his rival. He wanted to win. Santana is a born competitor. He plays the game with a fire that I wish everyone else on the Mets did. Santana plays with emotion, which I love. He doesn't let them take over, he uses them to pump him up, amp his game and get his teammates going. Whether he is telling Jerry he is the man, or screaming "Lets Go" after ripping a game tying double, this is a guy who you love to have on your team.

Now statistically, he is not the best pitcher in baseball right now. But ask yourself, you have one game to win and you can pick any pitcher in the big leagues. Sure you might pick Greinke and you wouldn't be wrong. Maybe the best choice would be Doc Halladay, a man who already has ten wins and will pitch till his arm falls off. But I am taking Johan. He is the most gutsy guy out there on the field and he wants to win more than anyone else. He can do it all. Hit, field and most importantly, pitch. And when he is on, there is no one better in baseball.

Now before I pledge my full fledged allegiance to the guy, this game was won by a number of players. This is the Mets team that had Citi Field generating electricity last night. Almost everyone contributed to beating the Phils.

• The Home Run Ball is back- David Wright, Carlos Beltran and maybe most importantly, Ryan Church got the stadium jumping with three monster shots. Nothing like the long ball to get a crowd going. Church's home run was huge as it provided an insurance run and eventually would be the game winner. He cranked it to dead center, dropping it into the Apple. Fun Stuff http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200906094958955&c_id=nym
  
• While I applaud and admire Johan wanting to stay in the game, Jerry made the right move in taking him out. Pedro Feliciano was HUGE last night, getting 3 outs on 4 pitches, ripping the heart out of the Phillies lineup. In case you had de ja vu when Feliciano retired Howard, it's because he has done it a lot. Howard is now 4-24 vs the Mets left handed specialist
• If you were asked who the best closer in the majors is right now and answered K-Rod, you would not be wrong. He is now a perfect 16 for 16 in save opportunities and has a video game like ERA of 0.65. Where are all those critics of this guy now? He looks better than ever.

Now if you read this, it might look like I am saying the Mets are going to win the World Series. Ha, far from it. Mike Pelfrey takes on Cole Hamels tonight which is a match up that heavily favors the Phillies. Lets hope the momentum from last nights win carries over. We'll see.

Bottom line, a great game and a great day to be a Met fan. Enjoy this because you don't get too many of these.

Quick links from around the majors

Josh Beckett pitched beautifully to lead the Red Sox past the Yankees again. Sox are now 6-0 against the Yanks. I still think the Yanks are better, but I am sure it is driving the Yanks fans crazy that Boston keeps beating them. Yanks need a win quickly to end this nonsense. http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200906094962413&c_id=bos

Johnny Cueto is now 6-3 with a 2.33 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Guy is having a hell of a year so far and continued that with a strong performance against the Nats.(Yea I know, not hard) http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200906104967343&c_id=cin

Similar numbers belong to Jered Weaver, who continues to live up to his billing. Weaver picked up his 6th win to raise his record to 6-2 with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. 69/24 K to BB. http://losangeles.angels.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?mid=200906104967345&c_id=ana

Frisbee news

Dutch Master Killer's won their opener in CUFA Summer League 15-13. Lot of fun in Cranford last night. A-League against Roots tonight.

Enjoy your Wednesday!