Mets getting Johan Santana?

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-spjohan5555002jan28,0,3421763.story

 

Done deal, Santana to Mets for 4 prospects. From a Phillie fan prospective



FUCK

 

haha the mets sold their soul to get one player, i cant wait to see these prospects lead the twins to the world series

 

I hate the Mucking Fets but they just made themselves the team to beat in the NL East IMO. They gave up a lot and will have to give up a rediculas amount to extend the contract, but damned!!!!


MUCK THE MUCKING FETS!!!

 

From everything I have read the Mets got off cheap.

 

Yeah, they didn't even have to give up their best prospect. I guess the Twins just didn't want Santana to stay in the American League because the Mets' offer was much worse than those from the Red Sox or Yankees.

 

I think that time will tell us that both the Red Sox and the Yankees pulled back on the deal. Neither was willing to give up their most prized prospects and break the bank signing Santana. I really think the Sox got into the mix just to raise the ante for the Yankees. Gomez in a couple of years could make this deal look good but right now the Mets stole Santana.

 

Yes, they were. Both teams offered their #1 prospects, each of whom was significantly better than anyone the Mets had. The Twins just fucked up.

No, he won't ever make this deal look tolerable, much less good, and I like Gomez. Santana is the best pitcher of this generation and they didn't even get one elite prospect in return.

 

From Buster Olneys blog over at ESPN

I would love to be the agent for Johan Santana today. I would love to ever possess the kind of leverage that Peter Greenberg, Santana's longtime representative, possesses today. He can sit across the table from the Mets and say: We'd like an extension please, of six years and $150 million. On top of the $13.25 million owed for this year.

The Mets will blanch. They will grimace. They will groan. And Greenberg, whose office is in New York and is well aware of the public pressure on the Mets to finish this deal, will know exactly how boxed in they are right now.

They're coming off the worse late-season collapse in baseball history.

They've got a huge hole at the front end of their rotation.

They've done almost nothing to upgrade the team this winter, with the most significant player move being the departure of Tom Glavine as a free agent.

The Mets will offer Santana something much less than $25 million a year, initially. Maybe five years, $20 million.

Greenberg can just say no to that, because the Mets need Santana like someone lost in the desert needs an oasis.

The Mets just made what is perceived to be a tremendous trade for Santana, a deal without giving up either shortstop Jose Reyes or prospect Fernando Martinez.

Santana was essentially dropped in their laps, after the super money powers in the Bronx and Boston ended their two-month stare-down by slowly backing away from the fight. After circling and circling this situation like a buzzard, the Mets now sit on top of this, ready to gnaw.

After Greenberg says no to five years and $100 million, the Mets might upgrade their extension offer to something in the range of five years and $115 million. And Greenberg can just say no, because of where the Mets sit, and because of history.

The largest contract deal ever for a pitcher went to Barry Zito last winter, at seven years and $126 million. And everybody knows that Santana is better than Zito, as much as Tom Brady is better than Philip Rivers. The Players Association will want Santana to establish new benchmarks (highest average annual value and total package) for a pitcher; the Cubs' Carlos Zambrano currently has the highest AAV at $18.3 million.

The Mets will swallow hard and go to a sixth year. Six years, $22 million, for a total package of $145 million, including the $13.25 million Santana will make this year. And Greenberg can say no, because he knows the Mets have to sign him.

They're opening a new ballpark (what appears to be a beautiful CitiField) in 2009.

They've got their own network.

They play in New York.

They cannot get this close to signing the best pitcher on the planet and come up short, only because of money; their fan base will riot if, on Friday afternoon, we learn that the deal fell through because of dollars.

Greenberg is in an incredible position of power this morning. He can throw the Mets a little financial bone. Tell you what, guys. We'll come down to $24 million a year. But nothing more than that. Because my client has two Cy Young Awards and he would be perfect for your team and your city and your league. And next fall, if my client becomes a free agent, the boys in the Bronx will be sitting there, poised to offer him a HUGE deal. Everybody now knows Hank Steinbrenner loves him. The Yankees have a bunch of contracts coming off their payroll in the fall: Jason Giambi, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettitte, etc. I'm asking for six years and $25 million now, but I might get more than that from the Yankees in the fall, especially if they don't make the playoffs in 2008.



That scenario is a little frightening, isn't it? You guys get to the 1-yard line in this process but don't finish the deal over dollars, and then he becomes a Yankee in 10 months. Ouch. No, we'll sit on our asking price.

The Mets will blink. They have to blink.