Consistency is boring. Where there's no risk, there's no fun. It's why girls love leather jackets and motorcycles. It's why Seth Cohen never got any ladies. It's why some of the sports world's greatest players go underappreciated.
Me? I love consistency. A-Rod's 12-year streak of 35 homeruns and 100 RBIs is my sports equivalent of Keira Knightley bathing gently under a waterfall while whispering, "Come join me, Gideon." There's just nothing more incredible than a guy who you expect to perform at a high level fulfilling those expectations everyday. Nothing!
Johan Santana is the ultimate example of a performer who lives with the reality of high expectations and simply comes through time and time again. He's been an absolute rock for the Mets this season and he is going criminally overlooked.
Never has a team seemed more on the verge of disaster than the 2008 Mets. Coming off a historic collapse in 2007, they got off to an awful start, fired their manager, almost released the guy who currently leads their team in home runs, rebounded, got hot, regained control of the division, developed a lead, blew it and now seem destined to collapse again.
But through all this, Johan has been there (he's sort of like State Farm in that way). Every time the Mets are ready to fold, every time the papers are ready to declare them dead, every time Jose Reyes is ready to crawl into his sad place, Johan has been there to deliver seven strong innings and breathe new life into this team. It's truly incredible. It happens every couple weeks; the Mets seem like a dysfunctional underachiever, then Johan takes the mound and all of a sudden they're a talented, happy-go-lucky club. It's like a weekly transformation from the Osbournes to the Brady Bunch.
His numbers back it up too. He hasn't lost a game since June 28. He leads his league in ERA and quality starts. He's going to break 200 strikeouts for the fifth straight year. This season, he's gone less than five innings only once (4 IP) and given up more than four runs (5) only once. As in, he gave his team a legitimate shot at a win, literally, every time he stepped on the mound in 2008. With better run support and a bullpen that didn't cost him five to 10 wins, what exactly would Johan's numbers look like?
That makes me giggle a little.
Remember, when Johan signed his record-setting deal with the Mets last offseason, a lot of baseball people felt the Mets overpaid. They said Johan's velocity was down. They said the league had caught up with him. They said he's getting old and beginning his decline. They said Erik Bedard was the cheaper and possibly better option.
They were wrong for a single reason. Johan Santana is one of baseball's great competitive personalities. He's a guy who has the "it" factor, a total gamer who wants the ball when it counts and never ever accepts a loss. He's the kind of guy who's capable of willing his team to victory simply because he wants it more. It's a rare quality, and it's a marvel to watch in action.
He deserves the Cy Young for reasons beyond his incredible numbers. Sure, Brandon Webb has won a ton of games, and Tim Lincecum is "the little engine that could throw 99 miles an hour," but Johan has single-handedly saved his team from mediocrity and propelled them toward a possible championship run. His reliability at the front of the Mets rotation has been nothing short of extraordinary. If he wins the Cy Young, it will be because of his consistency and if he doesn't, it will be because of his consistency. I hope the writers see through the leather jackets and motorcycles and vote for Johan. He may not be the sexy pick, but he's the right pick.
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Gideon Jacobs is a sophomore who has not yet declared a major. He can be reached at Gideon.Jacobs@tufts.edu.
