The Mets rotation is bunch of Mercenaries only Great Aaron

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spken305556864jan30,0,548551.column?track=rss


In this crazy world of New York baseball, it just might turn out that, when the Mets complete their miraculous acquisition of Johan Santana, they should thank the Steinbrenner boys most of all.

Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, George's sons - who, a year ago at this time, had virtually nothing to do with Major League Baseball - unwittingly engineered a bait-and-switch that concluded with one of the most glorious moments in the Mets' history.

Hank, with his boisterous talk and his tossing of money at Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Alex Rodriguez, convinced Twins general manager Bill Smith that he had a dupe on his hands. That the longer he dangled Santana, the more Hank would salivate like Wimpy in front of a hamburger.


Hal, the quiet, younger sibling - with an assist from Yankees general manager Brian Cashman - ensured that moment of desperation would never come.

It turned into a remarkable misreading by Smith of his potential trading partners. This isn't to say that, five years from now, we won't be praising Smith for his vision in taking Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Phil Humber and Kevin Mulvey. But you won't find a non-Twins executive in the industry who would choose that package over one fronted by the Yankees' Phil Hughes, Boston's Jon Lester or Lester's teammate Jacoby Ellsbury.

Smith's patience and high demands worked as a strategy only if he were willing to take Santana into spring training with him. After all, the Twins, with Santana aboard, could have made a bona fide run at the World Series. The A's Billy Beane has shown there's no shame in carrying a player through his walk year - be it Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada or Barry Zito - and then picking up compensatory draft picks for him as he departs.

Yet that turned out not to be a real option for the Twins. According to a person briefed on the Twins' thinking, manager Ron Gardenhire believed that Torii Hunter's impending free agency served as a yearlong distraction in 2007, and he didn't want to go through that again with Santana.

Granted, Santana would have attracted far more media scrutiny than did Hunter. But come on, now. Suck it up and work through such lightweight stuff. The Mets, Yankees and Red Sox deal with high-profile players in their walk year pretty much every year, and they seem to do all right.

So to the trade offers Smith went, and he let the Yankees' package of Hughes and Melky Cabrera go by, asking for Ian Kennedy, as well. The Yankees, already skittish about including just Hughes, passed, and they eventually took Hughes off the table altogether. The Red Sox's interest never seemed to surpass an interest in making sure the Yankees didn't get Santana at a bargain rate.

Remember how the Yankees folded on their "We won't sign A-Rod if he opts out" pledge? The Twins did - too much, it seems. They equated that situation with the Santana trade discussions.

But it was apples and oranges. The A-Rod threat served as mere rhetoric. Ultimately, the Yankees still believed their best move for third base was to re-sign A-Rod, and once A-Rod renounced Scott Boras, it all came together. This time, however, Cashman believed that the better baseball maneuver was to keep Hughes. Hal Steinbrenner believed that the team's payroll was high enough, as it was.

And Hank Steinbrenner, impetuous as he may seem, served as no match against that duo.

Enter the Mets, who, to their credit, hung in there when the Twins kept asking for first Jose Reyes and then Fernando Martinez. Who refused to give up and sign a Kyle Lohse or Livan Hernandez until Santana's fate was settled.

Who have now successfully changed the conversation about them, after The Collapse hovered for almost four months.

Great work by the Mets, yet they couldn't have done it without some help from the Yankees, and some incompetence by the Twins.

They say it takes a village. Consider the Triborough Bridge the midpoint of baseball's oddest village.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spken305556864jan30,0,548551.column?track=rss


In this crazy world of New York baseball, it just might turn out that, when the Mets complete their miraculous acquisition of Johan Santana, they should thank the Steinbrenner boys most of all.

Hank and Hal Steinbrenner, George's sons - who, a year ago at this time, had virtually nothing to do with Major League Baseball - unwittingly engineered a bait-and-switch that concluded with one of the most glorious moments in the Mets' history.

Hank, with his boisterous talk and his tossing of money at Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Alex Rodriguez, convinced Twins general manager Bill Smith that he had a dupe on his hands. That the longer he dangled Santana, the more Hank would salivate like Wimpy in front of a hamburger.


Hal, the quiet, younger sibling - with an assist from Yankees general manager Brian Cashman - ensured that moment of desperation would never come.

It turned into a remarkable misreading by Smith of his potential trading partners. This isn't to say that, five years from now, we won't be praising Smith for his vision in taking Carlos Gomez, Deolis Guerra, Phil Humber and Kevin Mulvey. But you won't find a non-Twins executive in the industry who would choose that package over one fronted by the Yankees' Phil Hughes, Boston's Jon Lester or Lester's teammate Jacoby Ellsbury.

Smith's patience and high demands worked as a strategy only if he were willing to take Santana into spring training with him. After all, the Twins, with Santana aboard, could have made a bona fide run at the World Series. The A's Billy Beane has shown there's no shame in carrying a player through his walk year - be it Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada or Barry Zito - and then picking up compensatory draft picks for him as he departs.

Yet that turned out not to be a real option for the Twins. According to a person briefed on the Twins' thinking, manager Ron Gardenhire believed that Torii Hunter's impending free agency served as a yearlong distraction in 2007, and he didn't want to go through that again with Santana.

Granted, Santana would have attracted far more media scrutiny than did Hunter. But come on, now. Suck it up and work through such lightweight stuff. The Mets, Yankees and Red Sox deal with high-profile players in their walk year pretty much every year, and they seem to do all right.

So to the trade offers Smith went, and he let the Yankees' package of Hughes and Melky Cabrera go by, asking for Ian Kennedy, as well. The Yankees, already skittish about including just Hughes, passed, and they eventually took Hughes off the table altogether. The Red Sox's interest never seemed to surpass an interest in making sure the Yankees didn't get Santana at a bargain rate.

Remember how the Yankees folded on their "We won't sign A-Rod if he opts out" pledge? The Twins did - too much, it seems. They equated that situation with the Santana trade discussions.

But it was apples and oranges. The A-Rod threat served as mere rhetoric. Ultimately, the Yankees still believed their best move for third base was to re-sign A-Rod, and once A-Rod renounced Scott Boras, it all came together. This time, however, Cashman believed that the better baseball maneuver was to keep Hughes. Hal Steinbrenner believed that the team's payroll was high enough, as it was.

And Hank Steinbrenner, impetuous as he may seem, served as no match against that duo.

Enter the Mets, who, to their credit, hung in there when the Twins kept asking for first Jose Reyes and then Fernando Martinez. Who refused to give up and sign a Kyle Lohse or Livan Hernandez until Santana's fate was settled.

Who have now successfully changed the conversation about them, after The Collapse hovered for almost four months.

Great work by the Mets, yet they couldn't have done it without some help from the Yankees, and some incompetence by the Twins.

They say it takes a village. Consider the Triborough Bridge the midpoint of baseball's oddest village.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/mets/ny-spmets0130,0,2493981.story

The Mets can't change history, but they certainly made it easier for everyone to forget the unfortunate events of last September by agreeing to terms Tuesday on a trade for Johan Santana, who could be atop the rotation as early as today if a contract extension can be completed that quickly.

After weeks of lagging behind the Yankees and Red Sox in a three-team race for Santana, the Mets got their opening this month when the American League East rivals seemed to lose interest. Despite the mounting pressure to improve his club, general manager Omar Minaya stood firm on a package of prospects that never included the one player the Twins most wanted: Jose Reyes.

Minnesota GM Bill Smith relented Tuesday and accepted outfielder Carlos Gomez along with a trio of pitchers: Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. The deal is contingent on the Mets and Santana hammering out a contract extension in 72 hours, and team officials will meet today with Santana's agent, Peter Greenberg.


That is the last obstacle for Santana to officially waive his no-trade clause. Each player also must pass a physical.

Santana, a pending free agent who is due $13.25 million this season, reportedly is seeking a seven-year deal worth $140 million. The Mets lost out on Barry Zito last winter when they refused to go beyond five years and the club's decision-makers initially said they had no plans to do so with Santana.

But that policy may have to loosen now that the Mets are on the verge of locking up the two-time Cy Young Award winner, who turns 29 in March. Team officials were optimistic last night that a deal would be worked out.

Minaya would rather give Santana a higher annual salary for fewer years, but it's likely the Mets will compromise and give him a six-year deal with vesting options based on innings pitched. It should help that the Mets have a good relationship with Greenberg, who also represents Reyes and Endy Chavez.

The Mets were tight-lipped last night about the trade. But according to one person familiar with the situation, the talks heated up Monday night and Guerra was not added until Tuesday. The Twins liked Gomez and Mulvey, and once Guerra -- the club's top-rated pitching prospect -- was included, the Mets told the Twins it was their "best and final" offer.

If Minnesota had balked again, the Mets were prepared to walk away from Santana, with one team official describing Plan B as Kyle Lohse and Plan C as Livan Hernandez. Fortunately for the Mets, it didn't come down to that.

Minaya did not address Santana specifically when asked about the three-time All-Star before last night's Baseball Assistance Team dinner at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.

"The bottom line is we're going to continue to look for ways to improve our club," Minaya said, "whether it's through the free-agent market or by talking to other clubs."

Was the GM optimistic he could get something done?

"I always try to be optimistic," Minaya said, "about how we're going in our efforts."

Getting Santana is a coup for the Mets, whose biggest offseason move had been trading Lastings Milledge to the Nationals for outfielder Ryan Church and catcher Brian Schneider. Otherwise, Minaya had done nothing to improve a starting rotation that left too much responsibility on the surgically repaired shoulder of Pedro Martinez.

But after flirting with the idea of signing Lohse or Hernandez over the weekend, the Mets remained patient as Santana became more restless. With less than three weeks until spring training, Minaya used the ticking clock to his advantage. For his Twins counterpart, it was more like a time bomb.

With just a handful of teams able to pay Santana, and only three willing to do so, Smith was stuck with few options from the outset. He appeared to be on the brink of accepting a Red Sox package headlined by pitcher Jon Lester during the winter meetings in Nashville seven weeks ago, but opted to wait for an improved offer that never materialized. The Yankees were prepared to send Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera to Minnesota, but lost patience with Smith and withdrew earlier this month.

That left the Mets.

"If it's true," David Wright said Tuesday, "you're getting arguably the best pitcher in the game."

im A.,

Fortunately I am okay now, and not like, murdering anyone with a DWI.

I quote from the NY Post, January 29th, 2008, National NY Post edition, page 12 of Cindy Adams "Sports Memorabilia raises questions."

Article states ...

"I was told Jim Leyritz, whose alleged druken driving [twice the allowed BAC] caused a woman's death [leaving behind two children] was to give autographs at a 'Yankee Pride' show featuring the 1998 World Series champs."

YANKEE PRIDE SHOW?

Jim A, my friend, you know I like you and your son, mailed you the Field of Dreams stuff bla bla bla.

Should a man who murdered a woman, while drunk, sign autographs at a TEAM function? Official YANKEE TEAM FUNCTION so soon after this horrible nightmare has unfolded?

Consider the rest of the darkness hovering over this team this offseason ...

Again, only two teams would dare to do business with the Peking people in spite of their horrible human rights abuses. The Yanks are one. Theo's boys are the other. (Big surprise. So much for Holocaust denial: Tibet, forced sterilization, slave labor, bla bla bla)

Do YOU AGREE Jim, my friend, that the Yanks should have an official team function and have Leyritz there signing autographs a month after his murder of this poor woman?

I spoke with the police here in Florida. They ALL say he is going to jail and will lose millions.

Why isn't he in mourning? Why be out there singing autographs with the team?

Doesn't he have a soul?

Doesn't the team have a soul?

Don't the fans have a soul?

Yes, he should be forgiven. But it's too soon right now to carry on as normal.

Yes?

No?


Posted by Linda Richmond | January 29, 2008 22:13


I know how to fix the world ...

Joba in the Pen

Ron Paul as President

George Bush Jr. as President of Iraq

Hillary Grand Marshall in the PRC Politburo

Colby Rasmus in CF

Igawa back to Japan

Giambi, Mussina and Damon to San Diego

Why not?


Posted by Casual Observer | January 29, 2008 22:17

I, for one, am elated that Santana is in the NL. Neither the Sox or the Yanks gave away the farm for him.....as far as I'm concerned, everyone except possibly the Twinks won with this deal.


Posted by Casual Observer | January 29, 2008 22:23

Now that Johan is out of the picture...so to speak, we can debate who has the "upper hand" in the AL east. It should be a pretty good debate...because both the Sox and Yanks are going to be reliant on the very same kids they were (almost) willing to trade for Santana.


Posted by Nudge | January 29, 2008 22:25

Ant and Omar have the last word!


Posted by Viper | January 30, 2008 02:54

Just shut up, Ant.

Nobody cares what you think about world events or morality.


Posted by Sully | January 30, 2008 04:51

I do have to agree with Ant that having that killer Leyritz signing autographs so soon after murdering that woman is pretty bad

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/29/yanks-step-back-from-the-brink-and-watch-santana-go-to-the-mets/



Resisting the temptation to trade for Johan Santana may be the surest sign we’ve seen that the Yankees are operating differently now. Even as late as Tuesday afternoon, when the Mets were finishing off their deal with the Twins -– which is contingent on Santana agreeing to a contract extension -– some insiders believed the Yankees could pounce in the final moments.

It never happened. General Manager Brian Cashman opposed the deal all along. So did Hal Steinbrenner, the team’s money man in Tampa, Fla. Eventually, even Hank Steinbrenner, who had aggressively sought a deal early on, decided to pass.

In prior years, the Yankees would have made this deal. Santana is a snazzy name, but more than that, the Yankees would have made the deal because they would have paid Santana whatever he wanted. That is how they got Randy Johnson, Alex Rodriguez and Kevin Brown -– no one else could afford them.

But look at the three teams that showed the most interest in Santana: the Yankees, the Red Sox and the Mets. All three have their own cable networks. The Yankees are not alone in their spending might anymore.

In the end, though, the Yankees did not compete with the others for Santana. Like the Red Sox, their interest simply waned from what it had been at the winter meetings in early December. The Yankees and the Red Sox have essentially the same strategy: build from within while keeping the payroll high, but within reason.

The Yankees will shed some major contracts next winter in Jason Giambi, Carl Pavano and Mike Mussina. But with their payroll already over $200 million, the deal ended up making little sense for them. Paying Santana a small fortune, while losing Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera, was too costly.

The Yankees’ extraordinary luxury tax penalties rarely seemed to bother George Steinbrenner. But his sons look around and see other teams succeeding without paying heavy taxes. It is a fact that teams can win without spending as wildly as the Yankees have in this decade, and it is reasonable for the Yankees to go about it another way.

If Hughes, Joba Chamberlain, Ian Kennedy and the rest are as good as the Yankees think they are, the team can win while spending less, making a whole lot more money and still having the highest payroll in the majors.

Of course, if the young pitchers disappoint, then Santana will be right across town to remind the Yankees of what they missed, and perhaps motivate the Steinbrenners to revert to the old Yankee ways.