All right, in Omar I trust again.The only question now is this: Do I trust the Wilpons?
Hmmmmmmm.
Forget next week's primaries. January 29th, 2008 will go down as a truly Super Tuesday, as the Mets have gotten their man. Finally, an ace pitcher in Johan Santana, acquired at the cut rate price of Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra. Look Ma, no Fernando Martinez!
Let me recite to you what a friend of mine (a frequent visitor to the comment section) said to me about the trade:
"What I am most happy about the trade is that for once the Mets did not bid against themselves. The 4 guys they put on the table stayed on the table. Omar did not panic even with the wolves baying at him to make a deal at any price. He wanted to keep Martinez and was succesful. When everyone laughed that the Mets offer was ridiculously puny compared to the Sox and Stinkees, he held his hand. He really played this one very well. Now Freddie Coupons has to pony up the dough."I can't say it better myself, so I'm not going to try. Omar knew exactly what he was doing ... he wasn't going to bid against himself when the Red Sox and Yankee offers kept falling like the stock market. I admit, despite the fact that Omar's strategy was clear, I would have caved and thrown in the extra prospect to make sure the deal got done. But that's why Omar's the GM and I'm doing what I'm doing.
Now, you could say that it isn't really a stroke of genius to do what Omar did ... holding fast to a group of four prospects that fails to include the best one of all. Look, it really was the perfect storm that this happened. Yes, the Yankees and Red Sox got into a fit of restraint that helped the situation. But of course, the Yankee-lovin' media is running with this notion that the only reason the Mets were able to make this happen was because the Yankees let it happen ... again, we owe our lives to Big Brother From The Bronx. Had nothing to do with Johan wanting to come to Queens ... nah.
So let's calm down.
But whatever you believe, Omar did get the job done. Now all that is left is for the Wilpons to "pony up the dough" and put the spike in the sand on Omar's perfect set-up. When Misty May puts up a set, chances are that Kerri Walsh doesn't miss. All the Wilpons have to do is put this spike in the ground so that Johan Santana can come to Queens and strike out the likes of Misty May's husband. The sides, as of this moment, are far apart. But even Buster Olney says that the chances of this falling apart are "remote". So I'm going to resist the urge to be a curmudgeon and sleep well tonight ... knowing that by five o'clock tomorrow it will all be official, and Johan will be fitted in orange and blue.
It will be official, right?
15 comments:
You can see reasoning behind the hold-up. The Wilpons were very, very clear in stating the policy of the organization was not to give pitchers contracts lasting any longer then 5 years. They don't want to look like hypocrites.
With that said, GET THE DEAL DONE. You know the problem isn't money - it's years. If the haggling point is between 5 and 6 years, give him 6. I'm sure not too many people - Wally Matthews aside - will be penning articles or blog entires about the rampant hypocrisy permeating the organization.
Has there been any discussion on how Santana might fare in the new ballpark? I can't quite see Shea from Cincinnati -- kidding aside -- is CitiField shaping up to be any more or less of a pitcher's ballpark compared to Shea?
Inquiring minds want to know!
Fredstradamus,
All indications point to New Shea being a fair park, slightly advantageous to the arms.
Not really sure what negotiating position the Mets have here. Six years/$120 million, with incentives for a seventh year, seems likely.
Now let's "complete the play"
And you're right MD, this trade is so un-Mets like - they hauled in the big fish on their terms . . . it's a weird feeling.
two points:
1. the yanks "allowed" the deal to be completed? lots of spin there, but a thread of a half-truth. to the extent that it's true though, the yanks only "allowed" the deal to go through because boston "allowed" them to "allow" it by keeping lester out of the deal. boston never put its best potential offer on the table, signaling that they don't "need" santana but are in a position to bid the yankees into the stratosphere. steinbrenner flinched. THAT is when omar knew he had the upper hand. of all the players in this little drama it was the yanks that really got punked.
2. i'd be a little disappointed with a 7 year deal. i wouldn't cry, but 7 years for any pitcher seems just silly. and, when you consider the fact that the mets are in a position to simply add more cash to the deal, trading dollars for years, they'd be stupid not to.
God Dammit.
Good luck Mets fans. This will now be a better season with Santana in NY. I look forward to the 19 games we play this year.
Yes I am a Phils fan.
they are real estate chiselers. why would a little hypocrisy bother them?
Assuming the Mets get this done, can we please, please, PLEASE, for the love of god please permanently retire the "Freddie Coupon" name? The Mets have had the third or fourth highest payroll in baseball for some time now, even before Santana. It's a tired and lazy attempt at "analysis" that needs to go.
Its going to be another one of those days when my colleagues wonder WHAT THE HELL I AM DOING when I am running into my office every 10 minutes to check my computer and see if this deal has been finalized.
haha yeah katherine i know how that is...i'm in class and people keep asking me why i refresh metsblog every 10 minutes.
Citifield is supposed to be pitcher friendly...but I don't think anyone can really say until the Mets start playing there. Remember Cincinnati was supposed to be a "neutral" park, and somehow all the engineers they hired didn't realize a giant jet stream carried balls out at an astounding rate. Especially with the Ebbetsesque dimensions (short porches).
Is that 5 PM deadline today absolute? If they aren't able to meet the deadline, does that mean the deal is automatically off? Or is there some leeway on it?
Metsblog reported that MLB would extend the deadline if the two sides could show that they were "close to a deal." The did the same for the Yankees and Randy Johnson in 2005.
It's done, baby.
Toasty:
Sorry, but the name sticks to Wilpon. The only reason this trade happened is because of the collapse of 2007. He was forced into it to make us forget last year. Wilpon is like your little old uncle who says "What BMW? Chevys are good too" We've been fed a steady diet of Chevys for years. Retreads and projects. Aaron Sele, anyone? Every now and then the wallet opened; or did it? We got Pedro because the Red Sox didn't want him and everyone else thought he was shot. We got Beltran because the Yankees said no to Boras' discount. Wagner was tired of Citizens' Bank Bandbox. The Mets are bottom feeders. They never go toe-to-toe for a player. They wait for the market to bottom out to then try to pick your pocket. Over-the hill guys with short contracts is their way. Plug and play. How's this? If the Yankees said yes to the Twins to include Hughes this week we'd be talking about Livan Hernandez today.
Freddie Coupons! Freddie Coupons! Freddie Coupons! There, I've said it.
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