07-08 Offseason
Did the Twins Get Fleeced?
In the aftermath of the Johan Santana deal, there were immediate grumblings by pundits that the Twins “settled” for the Mets’ package of Carlos Gomez, Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra. The general theory is that the Twins had stronger offers from the Red Sox and Yankees, but they wanted to get Santana out [...]
Sean Burnett Available
Only a few days ago you saw that former first-rounder Sean Burnett was pitching well in winter ball, and might be on his way to a successful comeback after several arm issues. Well wouldn’t you know that the Pittsburgh Pirates have just DFA’d Burnett, to make room on the roster for Ray Olmedo? I realize [...]
Mets Winter Wear
Spring training is less than two weeks away, but it’s still pretty cold up here in the northeast. If you haven’t already, be sure to visit the MetsToday Store and pick up some cold weather gear that will keep you warm in the winter months. For example: Mets wool winter hat Mets classic knit beanie [...]
Hot New Mets Sneakers
On the heels (pun intended) of the Mets acquisition of Johan Santana, a nearly as exciting announcement is the release of Nike “Dunk Low” NY Mets “House of Hoops Exclusive” sneakers. Hat tip to MetsToday reader archeress for the scoop. Here’s a shot of the new sneaker: Also, hat tip to my wife, who points [...]
Deal Is Done
In case you missed it, Johan Santana signed a six-year, $137.5M contract extension with the New York Mets. The contract includes an $18.5M club option that could keep Johan in the orange and blue through 2014. Santana will take a physical today (Saturday) to officially complete the deal. Braves catcher Brian McCann responded to the [...]
Greatest Mets Rotation Ever
Loyal MetsToday reader Joe Muscaglione brought up a great discussion topic — how does the projected 2008 rotation compare to 1986? I’ll go one further: how does it stack up against the best rotations in Mets history? Here are my candidates … 1969: Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Gary Gentry, Don Cardwell / Jim McAndrew Seaver [...]
Santana Effect
With the addition of Johan Santana, here is the what the Mets’ starting five looks like: 1. Johan Santana 2. Pedro Martinez 3. Orlando Hernandez 4. John Maine 5. Oliver Perez Wow. There are many who will argue that El Duque is the #5, and not the #3, but my guess is that this is [...]
Johan Santana Trade: Quick Analysis
We know the value of Johan Santana — his presence instantly establishes the Mets as “the team to beat” (sorry, Jimmy Rollins). It also means that Mets are playing for 2008, and that a postseason appearance is EXPECTED. But let’s quickly look at the players going the other way. Carlos Gomez After Lastings Milledge was [...]
Holy S! We Have Johan !
Twins agree to deal Johan Santana to the Mets. Discuss …
Gomez Gone?
You may have already seen MetsBlog quoting Impacto Deportivo’s report that Carlos Gomez has been told to stop playing winter ball — feeding speculation that he is on his way to Minnesota as part of a deal for Johan Santana. Naturally, I like the idea of the Cy Young Award-winning lefty coming to Flushing. However, [...]
Wagner: We Are Third
There is a great book by former NFL running back Gale Sayers titled “I Am Third”. Sayers means after God (first) and his family (second). However, Billy Wagner, in an interview with Kevin Burkhardt on SNY’s Mets Hot Stove, he states the Mets are third behind the Phillies and Braves. His exact quote, after being [...]
Four Lefties Off the Table
Player pickups are going full force with spring training just weeks away. In the past week, there were dozens of players signed to minor league contracts — some of which may have been at least mildly interesting to Mets fans. Herewith a quick rundown of arbitrarily chosen transactions. Four Lefties Jeremy Affeldt signs one-year contract [...]
Tom Glavine’s Replacement
So the latest rumor — straight from the oft-unreliable Tracy Ringolsby — is that Livan Hernandez is “close” to signing with the Mets. If it’s true, I’m fine with it — Livan is the guy who can replace Tom Glavine’s 200 innings and be a quality postseason performer. Even if the Mets do pull off [...]
Mets Sign Ricardo Rincon
The Mets signed veteran lefty reliever Ricardo Rincon to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. Yes, it happened a few days ago and I’m a little late reporting it, but better late than never. I like this signing, for several reasons. First of all, Rincon can pitch — when healthy — [...]
Offseason Talk: Oakland Athletics
While the Oakland A’s mean little to Mets fans — after all, they’re not on the 2008 schedule — it’s hard to be a baseball fan and not notice what’s going on in Oakland. Billy Beane is picking apart the team piece by piece and undergoing a complete overhaul — even youngsters such as Huston [...]
