Sportsmeat

Over the last couple of days I've read or heard a few ridiculous baseball stats for Johan Santana that I thought were worth passing on:

-) He's 40-4 after the All-Star break since 2003
-) His .914 winning percentage after the break since 2004 is nearly 150 points better than the runner-up, Chris Carpenter
-) Since 2004, Santana's second-half batting average against is .186 (Roger Clemens is second at .216)
-) Since 2004, his second-half ERA is 1.78 (Clemens is against second, this time at 2.69)

Moving on, the Mets made perhaps the most curious move of the year by hiring Rickey Henderson as either their hitting coach or first-base coach (far more curious if it's as hitting coach). Rickey was an amazing player but communication never struck me as his forte. Still, I think it was a good move to shake up the Mets a little bit--the offense is clearly udnerperforming. By that same token, as much as I like Julio Franco, his bat speed is shot and he doesn't provide enough versatility to keep on the 25-man roster. Still, I wish there had been a better way to let him go.