Mets need Santana to stop skid

NEW YORK – It is a horror story passed down from one generation of Chicago Cubs fans to the next, how a stray black cat suddenly emerged from the recesses of Shea Stadium, made a beeline for star third baseman Ron Santo in the visitors' on-deck circle, then finished off its mission of malevolence by strolling past manager Leo Durocher in the dugout.

"It was like we trained the cat, and trained him to run back and forth right in front of their dugout,'' former New York Mets outfielder Ron Swoboda once said, laughing at the memory.

But you don't have to go back to that 1969 incident – after which the Cubs blew a huge lead in the standings and were overtaken by the team that became known as the Miracle Mets – to find examples of the Mets traumatizing their visitors from Chicago.

Four years ago this week the Cubs came to Shea Stadium, a playoff spot seemingly assured, especially when they took a 3-0 lead into the ninth against the Mets after winning the series opener a night earlier. "We win that game,'' Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said Monday night, "and we're pretty much in.''

Instead, in a tale more improbable than any involving a fabled feline, the Mets tied the score on a two-out, three-run home run by Victor Diaz, a September call-up and Chicago kid who grew up a Cubs fan. The Mets won in the 11th on a home run by another rookie, Craig Brazell. Neither Diaz nor Brazell is still in the big leagues; the home run by Brazell was the only one he would hit in the majors.

The Cubs never recovered. They lost a one-run game to the Mets the next afternoon, then lost five of their last seven games while the Astros won seven straight to take the wild card.

But while Santo, now a Cubs broadcaster, skipped the trip here this week, surely he was figuratively clicking his heels at the thought of the Mets in freefall, with the Cubs in position not only to keep them from winning the National League East but also imperiling their chances to qualify as a wild card.

Johan Santana gets the ball Tuesday night in what could be his defining start as a Met, after the Mets fell to the Cubs, 9-5, Monday night, dropping 2½ games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the division. The Phillies beat the Braves, 6-2, and have gained three games in three days. The Mets' lead over the Milwaukee Brewers in the wild-card race is down to a game. The Brewers, like the Mets, finish the season at home, with three games against the Pirates followed by three against the Cubs.

The Cubs, meanwhile, assured themselves home-field advantage until the World Series by clinching the best record in the National League.

"I feel pretty confident that we can get in this thing (playoffs),'' Mets manager Jerry Manuel said.

Much of that confidence stems from Santana, who in 21 starts since June 1 has allowed two earned runs or fewer 16 times, and is 4-0 with a 1.61 ERA in his last seven starts at Shea Stadium.

But after Santana, who would also be in line to pitch the season finale Sunday at home against the Florida Marlins, the Mets are in trouble.

Monday night, Cubs pitcher Jason Marquis hit a grand slam off Mets rookie Jon Niese, who was born the same day in 1986 the Mets won their last World Series. Marquis became the second pitcher to hit a grand slam against the Mets this season, Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez having done it in interleague play. Marquis also drove in a fifth run with a force out, becoming the first Cubs pitcher in 36 years with five or more RBIs in a game, Milt Pappas having done it Aug. 11, 1972, also against the Mets.

"I hung a curveball and he put a good swing on it,'' Niese said.

Niese, who has made just three big-league starts and hasn't gotten an out in the fourth inning in two of them, originally was scheduled to pitch Saturday. Now Manuel isn't so sure, though his other options are Nelson Figueroa and Brandon Knight. Figueroa opened the season as a Mets starter but didn't make it past May. Knight, who turns 33 in a week, has 32 innings of big-league experience, 12 with the Mets.

Pedro Martinez, bedeviled by first-inning runs, was so discouraged by his last outing that he volunteered to go to the bullpen. Martinez, scheduled to pitch Thursday, follows Oliver Perez, who will face Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano.

The bullpen, with 29 blown saves and without Billy Wagner, is toxic. John Maine (bone spur in his shoulder) threw a simulated session Monday that was a big improvement over his first side session Saturday, and if he feels OK could pitch out of the bullpen as soon as Wednesday.

Now the availability of center fielder Carlos Beltran is in question. Beltran banged his elbow into his ribs and also knocked his surgically repaired left knee against the fence while flagging Mark DeRosa's drive in the seventh. The trainer advised Manuel to take Beltran out of the game because of swelling in the knee, and the manager had Damion Easley ready to hit for Beltran in the seventh, but Beltran insisted on taking his turn. He singled, and also hit again in the ninth, but admitted he is concerned that he'll wake up with a sore knee Tuesday.

"I'm going to be sore, but good to play," he said. "It's swollen and it hurts. I don't expect to have a day off. I expect to come out and do everything I can to play. We are in a situation where you have to play.''

Manuel, meanwhile, continues to show remarkable patience in the face of relentless questioning about whether the Mets, who have lost six of their last nine games, are duplicating last season's collapse, when they blew a seven-game lead with 17 games to go under manager Willie Randolph.

"We have to exorcise the demons at some point,'' Manuel said. "No question. But there are some big guys. Some of those guys are huge.''

David Wright hit his 33rd home run, but for the second straight game, the Mets twice put runners on first and second with none out and failed to score.

"We just need to look at the big picture,'' Wright said. "There's no need to panic. There's a sense of urgency, which is good, but there's no panic. We've got six games left, and I feel somewhat like a broken record, but everything we want to accomplish is right there in front of us.''

As for parallels to '07?

"Last year is over with and done with, a failed opportunity,'' Wright said. "This year is a golden opportunity.''

Shea Stadium is due to close Sunday unless the Mets make the playoffs. If that black cat has any descendants, they might want to show their faces soon. The Mets could use the help.