One thing this trade has made happen, its knocked the NY Giants off the back sports page. Its been 24/7 NY Giants talk for the past 4 weeks here in NY. Now the Mets have risen from the dead to dominate the sports talk a few days from the Super Bowl. What are they? the Yankees!

John, I can imagine that this is huge news in NY. I've been listening to the baseball talk channel on XM radio, and it appears that this is an even bigger steal than I thought. I just heard a baseball reporter describe the two pitchers the Twins got as no better than number threes (serviceable, but nothing special). Last night someone on espn described the center fielder in the package as having a chance to become Coco Crisp. This may turn out to be one of the most one-sided trades ever.

Karmic payback for trading Nolan Ryan for Jim Fregosi? (Mets fans will understand.)

That seems only fair. You have to feel for Nolan Ryan. If he hadn't been traded, he wouldn't have had to pitch for dogs his whole career. Imagine what his numbers would have been like if he'd played for decent teams.

Yes - and all of the other former Mets who've tossed no-hitters for other teams (Seaver, Gooden, Cone, Mike Scott etc), while the Mets still await their first no-no. At last count I believe there were 7 former Mets who've tossed 13 (!) no-hitters. I think Scott Kazmir will be next on the list.

Maybe Santana can get us on the board

spscpr, that makes a lot of sense to me. There are conflicting reports in Seattle area papers today.

Tacoma News Tribune Blog:
"Apparently there is rumor swirling around the Baltimore area is that the reason the deal is being held up is a concern that Adam Jones may have a degenerative hip condition. Now, I have know idea where or how this rumor started.

The guys over at the Baltimore Sun, who are good guys and solid journalists, are treating it as nothing more than a wild rumor. Roch Kubatko mentions it in his blog.

As somebody, who covered over 50 Rainiers games and saw Jones every day, I never saw so much as limp during my time. In fact, he was pretty durable. He only missed a handful of games because of minor dings that are commonplace during the season. ?

Seattle P-I online:
"The most significant development in the Erik Bedard trade talk Tuesday took place neither in Baltimore nor Seattle.

It took place in New York, where the Mets reached a deal with the Minnesota Twins to acquire ace left-handed starting pitcher Johan Santana.

The deal is contingent on the Mets agreeing to a contract extension with Santana. If they do, the Twins would receive outfielder Carlos Gomez and three pitchers -- Phil Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey.

The package of talent the Twins would receive in exchange for the two-time Cy Young Award winner could influence the Mariners' bid to land Bedard, also a left-handed No. 1 starter....................

The package the Mariners have reportedly offered the Orioles -- outfielder Adam Jones, left-handed reliever George Sherrill and minor league pitchers Chris Tillman and Kam Mickolio (and maybe Tony Butler) -- is as good or better. And Bedard's résumé doesn't include two Cy Young Awards.

The Orioles reportedly spent the past couple of days trying to get the Mariners to improve their offer. The return the Twins are getting for Santana might convince the Orioles that the Mariners' offer is as good or better than anything they could get elsewhere.

The Orioles could wait until the July 31 trading deadline approaches and hope the Mariners or some other team makes a better offer. But based on what the Twins got for Santana, it seems unlikely the Orioles would get more for Bedard, who was 13-5 last season with 221 strikeouts and a 3.16 ERA.

The Mariners could have made virtually the same offer to the Twins for Santana -- there's some evidence the package the Mariners offered Minnesota included some of the same players the Mariners are offering for Bedard...................

A Baltimore radio station is the likely source of a rumor that the reason the Orioles are getting soft on Jones is that they suspect he suffers from a degenerative hip condition. The report is completely unsubstantiated. Mariners trainer Rick Griffin said he couldn't talk about the situation. Bavasi chose not to, saying: "All I can tell you is that we brought Adam Jones home from Venezuela. Beyond that, we're not saying anything." ."

Seattle Times Online Blog
"I wish I could say to you with certainty that the Erik Bedard/Adam Jones-plus trade will be finalized tonight, but I can't just yet. Sorry, that will have to do. I'm not going to piggyback on the MLB.com rumors. Here's what I do know for now:

1. Those crazy rumors out of Baltimore yesterday that Adam Jones has a degenerative hip condition? Toss them out the window. Not a touch of truth to it. Both sides are laughing that one off emphatically. Yes, Jones was being brought in for a physical. But it wasn't for a serious type of injury or anything that would be a deal-breaker. So, there's nothing on that front that would impede a trade.


2. I haven't been able to get a hold of George Sherrill so far today. (UPDATE: 2:05 p.m.) Cancel that. Within minutes of posting this entry, Sherrill called me back. He left Utah last night to begin his drive to Peoria for spring training. He's stopped over at a relative's house in Mesquite, Nevada -- about a five-hour drive from the training complex. (At least he should be able to find plenty of briquettes for a BBQ in today's location). Sherrill says he left last night instead of today because a huge snowstorm is headed for Utah. He says he hasn't heard anything more on the trade being done. His plan now is to arrive in Arizona tomorrow and then catch a plane to Baltimore if he has to. He figures this was the best move, in any event, since the snowstorm in Utah might have prevented him from flying any place else. So, there you have it. Sherrill is staying put for now.

3. What held this deal up? I heard on Sunday night, within moments of his being told, that Orioles owner Peter Angelos was furious to learn that news of the impending deal had broken. He was about to head into the hospital for a minor procedure the next day and could not believe Adam Jones had spilled the beans. Would it be beyond Angelos to hold things up another 48, or 72 hours before giving his go-ahead and making everyone sweat a little? Nope.

4. Do I give credence do the "other teams" jumping into the fray theory? No, I do not. The Orioles had a deal with the Mariners they were quite happy with -- happy enough that the Mariners pulled Jones off the field and told him to head to Baltimore for a physical so he could be the deal's main component. Any further discussion was going to be over minor details of the back-end guys being included in the package. Baltimore won't get a better deal than this one now. Not after yesterday's Johan Santana trade. One top prospect is the most they can hope for and they have a good one heading over in Jones. And it doesn't matter that, as some of you point out, Jones is not technically a "prospect" but a starting right fielder. In the eyes of those doing the dealing and making comparisons around the game, he'll be viewed as a top prospect against the top prospects of other clubs. Got it? So, unless the Reds suddenly have a change of heart and throw in Jay Bruce, very unlikely at this stage, Seattle is the O's best bet. Not some ficticious other clubs.

That's it for right now. A reminder to all: RSVP spots are still filling up for next week's big blog event on Feb. 7 (thank Maui Mariner for pointing out the typo) at 6:30 p.m. in our newspaper's auditorium. Also, be sure to copy your comment submissions before you try posting. That was, if our computer system loses your text, you won't blow a gasket like I nearly did the other night when 90 minutes worth of work went up in smoke".

.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=a ... &type=lgns


I never realized Mattingly was having big marital problems. He needs an order of protection against her!

Funny how the Senate Fisa vote was scheduled for the day before the Clemens hearings. Clemens made page 1, Tel Co immunity didn't. Which is more important....?

Maybe at some point this season will be about baseball and not Steroids/ HGH.

Part of me wishes that the fans would show the powers that be of baseball that we will not take this charade anymore and NOT show up for opening day. Wouldn't that be something, an empty stadium on Opening Day because the fans are sending a message. It ultimately is our game not theirs. If we don't spend our $$$ the game shuts down.

But fan is short for fanatic. Too many fanatics out there who don't give a crap what these people do to the game of baseball.

It's going to be a really long season for Giants and A's fans like me this year.

Personally, I'd like us fans to figure out a way to tell the media that we're sick of hearing about steroids.

HGH - steriods - they all did it and everyone turned their head. It SAVED baseball after the strike. They investigated - they got their big name now all the politicians are gonna jump in to get their credit. I am sure that for everyone that got caught there are a dozen that escaped - at least a dozen.

Let the past be past - from here on in have a get tough policy. Get caught once - your out 1 year. A second time - lifetime ban. A third time - go directly to jail - do not pass go.

It seems the Mets got a good deal. I think the price tag was higher for the Yankees. The Met's didn't give up anything they were going to use this year. Good - now maybe we will have a subway series.

Sox fan's I will only say this once each year - Good Luck - may the best team win.

I think Mets, Yanks and Sox fans will enjoy the year. There could be a Subways Series if the Mets get down to business and stop screwing around (how bout it Willie). The Yanks will be in great shape if the "kids" are as advertised and Pettite can get past the HGH scandal.

My M's are about 2 hitters & 1 set up guy (who they may have if Mark Lowe comes back 100% from surgery) from competing with the Angels for the AL West. If 2 of the 3 of Lopez, Sexon or Wilkerson has a comeback year (or if they let rookies Balentien & Clement play right & dh respectively with Vidro moving to 2nd base) the West could be interesting. If not it could be a long year.................

Gonna begin my spring training this week. Got all my baseball movies ready.

8 Men Out
Field of Dreams
Angels in the Outfield (50's version)
Pride of the Yankees
61*
The Bronx Is Burning

and picked up yesterday for $ 12.98 at a used video place - The New York Yankees 1977 World Series Collection - All 6 games plus the final playoff game vs the Royals. (a Sox fan must have dumped it).


Also will sprinkle in the Yankee-ogrphis I have and my VCR copy of game 6 - NY Mets vs Bill Buckner and his Dread Sox. I will be game ready by the end of my spring training.

Great article in todays Sunday NY Daily News from Bill Madden (one of the best baseball writers ever).

He brings up the point that back in December the Yankees had a choice, go with Pettite for $16M or go for Santana.

At that time Pettite didn't tell the Yankees how deep he was involved with HGH. So deep even Pettite's father is involved! The Mitchell Report was about to break so of course Pettite tells the Yanks, I'll take the $$$.

Within the week all hell breaks loose for Clemens and his good friend Pettite.

Now the Yankees face a year of Pettite being questioned constantly about his involvement or the quick retirement of Andy Pettite (many feel Pettite isn't strong enough mentally to pitch well and be in the National headlines as this HGH/Steroid scandal continues).

What a mess!

They should have Santana. How the Mets were able to grab him will go down in history as one of the great robberies of all-time.

Now that's a nice pic, Linda! Hopefully that could be a great 1-2 punch come playoff time!

That's a great price. A f***king great price.

(Not that you needed me to tell you that... I'm just trying to bump up my post count. )

As a Mets fan my first thought is - we're screwed, totally screwed.

I am sure Robert Hunter was thinking of the Mets (or at least baseball in general) when he wrote High Time - "Nothing's for certain; It could always go wrong"

This is a true story: When I was in elementary school MANY moons ago, we had an assignment to write a play about something goofy. I picked a world series between the Met's & The A's. At the time, they were the doormats of baseball! Things have changed..................