Are the Mets Really that Good?

With the new acquisition of pitcher Johan Santana, the Mets have essentially bought themselves a World Series ticket. Santana alone revives an otherwise dull Mets starting pitching staff and is even complimented by Martinez and John Maine. Following one of the worst first place collapses in sports history, the Mets are out for revenge this year. The direct cause to seal the collapse was Tom Glavine who couldn't even get out of the first inning although he had an otherwise great year. The bullpen was also a mess last year especially without Duaner Sanchez who makes his first appearance this year after a shoulder injury in 2006. Sanchez will be a major help to an improving bullpen. The starting pitching durations each game didn't help the bullpen either. It was up to Glavine and Orlando Hernande and occasionally John Maine to give a seven or eight inning performance last year. The really sad thing is that starting pitching staff couldn't even produce one complete game the entire season. Added to the Santana acquisition, hopefully Maine and Oliver Perez will mature a little bit more and make longer outings, and the pitching problem will go away. Other than that the Mets' defense looks pretty good besides an injury waiting to happen in Luis Castillo's knees. This all mixed in with one of the most potent offenses in the Majors makes at least a World Series contender.