Manny Ramirez? Don't need him. Randy Winn? Forget it. Raul Ibanez? Solid, but no. The Mets don't need to deal for a left-fielder. That's because the Mets have Superman playing left field now. Of course, that's his team nickname (the Shea music operator plays the theme to Superman with his at-bats), but Fernando Tatis has been reborn, and he's hitting homeruns and getting clutch hits at a feverish pace. Met fans have taken a shine to Tatis, and he is swinging the bat as well as he ever has during an uneventful career.

Jerry Manuel has anointed Fernando Tatis his full-time left fielder, and with good reason. The Mets began to surge when Tatis began playing on a regular basis. Tatis entered Monday night's series opener in Florida hitting .318 with seven homers and 26 RBI in 148 at-bats. This from a guy who played the entire 2007 season at AAA, and was out of baseball in 2004 and 2005. What has made Tatis a hero at Shea is not just his impressive hitting, but the hits and homeruns he has amassed have come at critical times in games.

The numbers are impressive. He's hitting .381 with RISP, .333 as a pinch hitter, .365 at home, .438 since the All Star Break, and .415 in July. Surely, he won't maintain those numbers all season, but he has shown no signs of cooling off any time soon. He has also displayed a willingness to work with Howard Johnson, who compacted his swing in Spring Training.

The 33-year-old Tatis said he resolved to return to the game to raise money to buy land on which to build a church in his hometown of San Pedro de Macoris. That is why he returned to baseball in 2006. Whether it was his dream of building a church or simply a natural maturity, he has a better attitude and has been a model teammate according to Met insiders. It's easy for anyone who doesn't watch the Mets on a consistent basis to think that this is a fluke, but when you actually watch Tatis play the game this year, there's something different about him. He is confident, content, and he's hitting the ball with authority.

If the Mets decide to acquire another outfielder, it should only be as insurance in case Ryan Church is unable to resume normal baseball activities. But as far as left-field is concerned, the Mets have Superman manning the position. And the Mets would be wise to leave him there for the entire season. As for Ryan Church, the Mets will have to wait and see. As for Tatis' church....it was built and opened three months ago.



Court Adjourned!