Not since 1986 have the New York Mets had such a dominant force at the front end of their rotation. Dwight Gooden (Dr.K) was a complete animal striking out batters, dominating games, and then doing enough blow to cover the rockies in snow. Johan Santana has several things in common with Dr.K, but one thing he differs drastically on is his demeanor and professionalism. You won’t hear of him punching his women in the face. You won’t find powdery residue on his metro-sexual beard. Speaking of which, does that beard, the size of the contract and hype that he’s bringing to NY remind you of anyone? Say… #31? Mike Piazza The greatest hitting catcher of all time? Let’s hope for everyone’s sake that Johan has a longer shelf life then Piazza.

The two-time Cy Young award winner is no longer a rumor for the Mets wish list. The reality has arrived and could already be “long tossing” with Brian Schneider in Port St Lucie, Florida. I for one have almost forgiven the Metropolitans for last year’s embarrassing second half collapse, and it’s all because of Johan Santana. The Mets were without a quality front of the rotation going into the beginning of last year but out played their competition for 6/7 of the season. If they had made the playoffs, I would suspect that the trigger would have never been pulled for Johan, and that the Mets would have been satisfied to go into next season relying solely on their young arms and offensive power. Fate it seems is not without a sense of humor, because the Mets DID collapse, they DIDN’T make the playoffs, and Omar Minaya pulled off a wonder-trade to bring the best pitcher in baseball to Shea.

The players that were given up could prove costly however. Although I believe everyone is in near consensus that the Mets got the better of the deal today, its difficult to measure a prospects value until a few years pass. Personally I was happy to see Gomez go. I was not impressed with his ability to get on base, and he did not show any signs of learning how to get better at improving his on base percentage (OBP). Unlike Jose Reyes, Gomez seemed almost too fast, and talented, but lacked Jose’s pure joy to play the game, desire to improve, and ability to adapt. Sometimes having all the athletic talent in the world doesn’t translate to being an effective big leaguer, and I feel trading Gomez will be a price well worth paying to get a Johan Santana in the rotation.

Most spring training camps begin with optimism and dreams of championships. Without Johan Santana, the sour taste of last season’s embarrassment may still be lingering. With Johan in the rotation however, the Mets can focus on winning, and fielding a strong team day in and day out for the entire 2008 season.