Tonight might reveal Santana's magical spell !

Tonight! Tonight!  Tonight!  Tonight!

Right off the bat with a devil-may-care attitude the Phillies issued a warning notice to tonight's opener pitcher with their arrival at Shea Stadium. Indeed, it will be a case of facing his demons again tonight for Johan Santana since the last time he started a Mets series against the Phillies, nearly to weeks ago or thereabouts, he ended up with eggs on his face as the Mets lost 3 - 2 away to the hosts. However, the Mets' confidence has been uplifted and their performances in the last 13 games have energised their belief that they are a force to be reckoned with. 11 wins out of 13 games played is certainly a wonderful return for their input for they are now drawn level at the top the National League East with tonight visitors, the Philadelphia Phillies. I am flirting with the idea that tonight the fighting spirit of the Phillies would be ripped out of their offensive game by Santana's 95 plus miles per hour throwing and there would be, albeit for a short time, a party to celebrate my compatriot's triumph. Nevertheless, he needs to have speed, intention and pay attention to every cacher's sign for those are the elements that will propel him to achieve his goal tonight. Indeed, a good pitcher can be undermined by circumstances, namely errors and lack of supportive batting gunnery but Shea Stadium offers the best platform for Johan Santana to begin making his reputation as a winner and not as a whinger.

P. Figueras