Mets 5 Padres 4

The cardiac kids strike again, and push themselves up and over the Flushing .500.

Mets 9 Padres 8

The Mets pitchers did everything they could to give the game to the Padres, but those gosh-darn Mets hitters insisted on winning the game. Many thanks to former Met Heath Bell for making this victory possible.

Some quick notes regarding the upcoming game and series between the Mets and Padres …

In case you haven’t heard, the Mets have traded former first-round pick Eddie Kunz to the Padres for another former first-rounder, Allan Dykstra. This news is over a day old, but I’ve been trying to develop a reaction to it.

First of all, no, Allan Dykstra is not

According to a tweet by Jon Heyman, Adrian Gonzalez and the Boston Red Sox have agreed to terms.

One source close to the situation said that Theo Epstein walked into the meeting room holding a boom box over his head playing “Please Come To Boston” by Dave Loggins, a la John Cusack in “Say Anything”. In response, a teary-eyed Gonzalez broke down and signed the contract. Not a surprise when your name is “Adrian”.

The tentative trade of Adrian Gonzalez to the Boston Red Sox has fallen through, and A-Gone will remain with the Padres — for now.

Gonzalez and the Bosox couldn’t agree on a contract extension, with the Gonzalez reportedly looking for something similar to the deal given Mark Teixeira two winters ago.

I can understand A-Gone’s demands, but I wonder if he’ll get that kind of money on the open market next winter. How many teams that will need a first baseman in 2012 can afford a $150M+ contract other than Red Sox? Maybe the Dodgers, if they sour on James Loney? Maybe the Angels? Not to mention the fact that Prince Fielder and Albert Pujols are also potential free agents next year — in which case it could be a crowded market.

Though the deal is dead as of right now, there is still a possibility that Gonzalez goes to the Red Sox.

Additionally, the Padres claim that if A-Gone isn’t traded to Boston, they will no longer field offers for him. I’m not sure I buy that, but we’ll see.

According to many sources, the Red Sox and Padres have agreed in principle to a deal sending Adrian Gonzalez to Boston.

The Red Sox have been given a window of time to negotiate a contract extension with Gonzalez, who also will be taking a physical. Both must be successful for the deal to go through.

Rumor has it that Boston will be sending no MLBers to San Diego in return for Gonzalez. They will be sending top prospects Casey Kelly, Anthony Rizzo, Reymond Fuentes, and a player to be named later.

WEEI has a quick rundown on these three minor leaguers.

Assuming the deal is successful, it should help spark considerable activity during the winter meetings next week. In past years, the meetings have been somewhat sluggish because teams were waiting on big-time free agents to sign and other players to move. This year, however, the free agent market has been busy, and impact bats such as Gonzalez and Dan Uggla have already changed teams. As Sir Isaac Newton once observed, a body in motion tends to stay in motion — so we can surmise that there will be a flurry of transactions in Orlando.

Two pennant contenders pulled off a three-team deal involving a last-place club, and in the end, everyone got what they wanted.

The San Diego Padres sent AA pitcher Corey Kluber to Cleveland and A-ball LHP Nick Greenwood to the Cardinals in exchange for slugging outfielder Ryan Ludwick. As part of the deal, the Indians sent veteran starter Jake Westbrook to St. Louis.

The trade comes two days after the Padres traded for infielder Miguel Tejada. San Diego holds a slim 2.5-game lead over the second-place Giants, and are 19 games over .500, mainly thanks to strong pitching and the one-man offense known as Adrian Gonzalez. The additions of Tejada and Ludwick could be the difference in whether the Padres can hold their lead through September and enter the playoffs.

At the same time, the Cardinals — who hold a similarly slim lead over the Reds in the NL Central — get the starter they so sorely need after their rotation was decimated by injuries to Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse. Westbrook may not be spectacular, but he should be a better innings-eater than Blake Hawksworth and Jeff Suppan. Who knows, the Dave Duncan Factor may also push Westbrook to another level.

Meanwhile, the Mets remain status quo. They do not seem concerned about their half-game lead over the fourth-place Marlins.