For anyone who remembers last season, the bullpen woes and hitting problems in the clutch do seem rather ominous, don’t they? Both were on display Wednesday in the Mets’ crushing, 4-3 loss to the Marlins that — stop us if you’ve heard this before — wasted another Johan Santana gem. Colleague Joel Sherman writes that Santana deserves better.

Meanwhile, colleague Mike Vaccaro writes that David Wright is starting to feel the heat.

Jerry Manuel‘s odd decision to pull a cold Omir Santos from the bullpen to pinch-hit in the ninth inning didn’t exactly work out.

In the notes, question marks now surround the expected Friday returns by Carlos Delgado and Luis Castillo.