Just because Johan Santana has had a slow month of May, it seems as if there were a giant punch bowl of Hatorade that the Mets world has been drinking.

In one piece, David Lennon from Newsday went so far as to say in the title that the “Mets need a new ace” and argues for the Mets to acquire Cliff Lee. While I agree, the Mets should trade for Lee, and concerns for Johan and his velocity are valid (I raised them earlier in the year), saying as Lennon does that the Mets need to “accept Santana for who he is, and that is a .500 pitcher” is hasty and misguided.

In seven of Johan’s first 11 starts, he gave up one run or fewer. In all of those seven starts he pitched at least six innings, and in many of them he went further. Now, the Mets blew two shutout efforts by him in May, and another two run effort, all three over seven innings or more, but losing those games are hardly Mr. Santana’s fault. Does this sound like a typical .500 pitcher to you? It sure doesn’t to me.

Now, the critics are screaming about issues because he has raised his ERA from 2.76 to 3.55 over the last four starts. They also point out the reduced velocity, which is a legitimate concern. He, however, dealt with it for a good stretch this year when he was still a top tier pitcher, and will be able to work out the kinks over the long run - unless he has aggravated an injury. In this case still, it is unfair to call him a .500 pitcher; he is then an injured ace.

Besides, what good pitcher isn’t prone to a rough stretch. Comparing Johan’s last four starts of 17 earned runs over 25.2 innings to other aces, it’s not that horrible. Tim Lincecum had a three game stretch with 15.1 innings and 14 earned runs in May, while John Lackey gave up 15 runs over three starts in May. Tommy Hanson had a 13 ER two start stretch in May, while as of yesterday he has let up 14 ER in his last two starts.

The long and short of it is pitchers, even good ones go through slumps. Jumping on the Johan-is-mediocre-bandwagon is just a bit too quick.