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Johan Santana puts the Mets on another level, according to columnist Bob Cook.

He has a 93-44 record and two Cy Young Awards. He has struck out 235 batters or more each of the last four years (John Maine, with 180, was the Mets’ leader last year). His “bad” year was 15-13 with a 3.33 ERA in a 2007 season Twins management clearly gave up on (Santana will rejoin second baseman Luis Castillo, whose dumping by Minnesota put Santana down in the dumps for the rest of the year). And Santana turns only 29 on March 13, a young 29, given how the Twins ease their pitchers into carrying major-league innings.

Santana is among the few starting pitchers who can make his whole team look better. He is a true No. 1, so youngsters like Maine, 15-10 last year and turning 27 this season, and Perez, also 15-10 and turning 27, will not have the instant pressure of carrying a staff like they did last year during Martinez’s injury and Tom Glavine’s season going south, so far south he ended up back in Atlanta. With Santana, Maine and Perez, the Mets potentially have a staff not only strong this year, but also for years to come.

As for 2008, Santana helps Martinez, growing more fragile with age, by taking away Martinez’s responsibility of carrying the load as he once did. And the seemingly ageless Hernandez will fulfill the same role he had with the Chicago White Sox in 2005 — keep things steady until four very good pitchers start their rotation again. No longer do glorified long relievers such as Aaron Heilmann and Mike Pelfrey get handed the ball as starters.

By running Santana out every five starts, Willie Randolph suddenly becomes a smarter manager as well. Let Santana give you seven to eight innings every start, and watch your record go up, up, up. Having Santana in tow might make Mets fans forget that Randolph was in charge, and most of this group was present, for the team’s epic collapse last season, the one that sent them from seven games up in the NL East, with the league’s best record, to out of the playoffs in about two weeks.

That collapse shows that even before Santana, the Mets’ toughest opponent was themselves — and so they will be again this year. Injury and illness certainly can take a toll. But if the Mets are to struggle to pass, say, 90 wins, with Santana and the talent they have on the roster remaining fairly healthy, then something is seriously wrong — and the Mets’ problems last season go far deeper than even baseball’s top starting pitcher can solve.

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