Mets Acquire MLB’s Best Pitcher from Twins, Deal is Unofficial
Yesterday, the Mets unofficially acquired baseball’s best pitcher, Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins in a deal that sent an outfielder (Carlos Gomez), and three pitchers (Kevin Mulvey, Philip Humber, and Deolis Guerra) to Minnesota.
Today the Mets and Santana had contract negotiations, but as I write this, no deal has been made. Santana and the Mets have 48-72 hours to work out a long-term contract, likely in the 5, 6 or 7 year range for about $150 million.
Ok, enough of that. If this deal gets done, Johan Santana will be in a much better position than where he was, which will boost his self-confidence. He was mad at the Twins because they traded away 2B Luis Castillo to the Mets, who he will be reunited with. Santana is a lights-out pitcher who has won two cy-young awards in the past four years, gone to the MLB All-Star Game each of the last 3 seasons, and has struck out I’d say five trillion batters.
Just What they Needed
This is just what the Mets needed: A young, solid, reliable number 1 starter in their rotation that they knew would likely stay unharmed (last trip to D.L. was 2001!!!) He will provide durability and balance to this rotation and save innings for relievers that were burned to the painful death in the second half of last season. Obviously that was because the GM, Omar Minaya, failed to acquire a talented reliever that could hold down the fort, and the whole organization crumbled in September, sending all the blame to him, which he deserved.
The prospects that the Twins received in this deal shouldn’t be all that special. Carlos Gomez showed flashes of talent, but I’m definitely not sold on him. Phil Humber obviously showed time after time that he was a disappointment, while it is much too early to determine how the other two prospects will be. Besides, even if these players all prove the Mets wrong, it won’t MAKE the Mets wrong if Santana has solid seasons each year because the Mets have what they need, they just traded away their surplus. Easy as that.
Now that the Mets have two of Baseball’s best pitchers at the top end of their rotation, things should shape out nicely for the Mets and prevent any possible collapse again, which has been forgotten already. The Mets should now be the best team in the NL, while before they were fighting with Philly for the best spot in the East. Some people say the Braves were better than the Mets but that is obviously not true with them losing Edgar Renteria, Andruw Jones, and others.
Former Mets Explain why Today’s Players Should Change their Workout Routines
Recently, Keith Hernandez told Matt Cerrone of Metsblog.com that today’s players,
including SS Jose Reyes, work too hard in the off-season, making it a problem during the season, especially late. Last season, people started to complain that Jose Reyes looked tired at the end of the season. Keith Hernandez explained of players who stole over 110 bases during his time while at 38 years old, and they never ran out of gas, meaning today’s players work too hard in the winter months.
In a story by Marty Noble of Mets.com, Ron Darling has been trying to work out like 
today’s players for a little while just to see how hard it actually is so he could explain it better when he is announcing during the season.
“It’s a lot more difficult than I knew. We did more baseball stuff. What they do now is more analytical, working out stuff. And it can wear you down.”
Mets Extend Contract of Endy Chavez
The Mets and reserve outfielder Endy Chavez have agreed on a 2-year $3.85 million deal. Prior to this, both sides exchanced salary proposals before coming to a conclusion.
Chavez is to earn $1.8 million this year and $2.05 million next.
Early Info on Super Bowl XLII
The Super Bowl’s “Home Team” switches from AFC to NFC in even and odd years.
Wikipedia explains this year’s situation:
“In Super Bowl XLII, the NFC representative, the New York Giants, were scheduled to be the home team; after winning 10 consecutive games on the road in the 2007 season (3 coming in the playoffs) and earning themselves the nickname “The Road Warriors,” they deferred the designation to the New England Patriots.
The last time the Giants wore their home uniform in the Super Bowl (2000), they lost.
The thing that gets me confused about this is that Wikipedia explains that the NFC is the home team in the even years, but it says the Giants are scheduled to be the home team.
Notes:
•The cost for a 30-second commercial in Super Bowl XLII has been estimated at $2.7 million
•Mike Carey has been chosen to be the Head Referee
•Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will announce the game on Fox, while Pam Oliver and Chris Myers will be on the sidelines. The pre-game coverage with Kurt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw,Howie Long, and Jimmy Johnson will begin at 2pm with Road to the Super Bowl highlight on at noon.
THE GIANTS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!! THEY ARE NFC CHAMPIONS!!
The Giants are going to the Super Bowl, thanks to Lawrence Tynes’ 47-yarder to seal the deal in the 2nd ever overtime in NFC Championship history!!
The Giants, seeded number 5 in the NFC Playoffs, knocked off three division winners, two first-round-bye teams, and all while on the road in hostile crowds in Tampa, Dallas, and Green Bay, while brutal weather conditions in Green Bay also.
The Giants have advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2000, when they lost to the Baltimore Ravens, a wild card team at the time.
Eli Manning continued his playoff success with another interception-less game and he hasn’t thrown a pick since week 17 of the regular season.
A lot of credit should go to Steve Spagnuolo and what he did with the Giants defense this season. He turned them around from 0-2 and trying to find out who goes where to Champions of the National Football Conference and headed to Arizona for Super Bowl XLII. How does that happen? Wow.
The running back position has stayed together this year, whether it was Jacobs’ injury earlier this year, Ward’s injury 3/4 through the season, or Bradshaw’s emergence as a rookie, this squad has gone through several ups and downs this year and they were able to fight it out and have a successful season.
I’ll have more posted soon, but for now, the GIANTS ARE NFC CHAMPIONS AND WILL HAVE A REMATCH WITH THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS IN TWO WEEKS!