Johan Santana makes debut Friday

It's not quite March, and already Johan Santana is being called upon to be the stopper. Well, not exactly, but the $137.5 million addition is set to make his Grapefruit League debut Friday against the Cardinals in Port St. Lucie with the Mets' spring record at 0-2-1 - and the tie coming against a college team (okay, a ranked college team).

"Yeah, I think we'll win before too long," Willie Randolph playfully said yesterday, after the Mets were blanked by St. Louis, 7-0. "Maybe tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow we'll win one. I've got a shot tomorrow. That's why I'm making that bold prediction. That's a safe prediction right there." Continue