JOHAN SANTANA IS COMING TO SHEA !!!!!!!!

THANK YOU OMAR!!!!! YOU'VE ANSWERED THE FANS PRAYERS. Pending a contract agreement and physical, Johan is going to be wearing orange and blue this year.

Since last summer I've been pushing for this trade to get done. I was hoping it would happen sooner than this, but better late than never. This will be a history changing trade for the Mets. No more will fans talk about trading Nolan Ryan, or Tom Seaver. And Scott Kasmir will soon fade from the conversation too. Omar with this one trade has now put the Mets and their fans on the doorstep of Destiny.

Santana is the missing piece to the Mets World Series title hopes. With a rotation of Santana, Pedro, Perez, Maine, and either Hernandez or Pelfrey, the Mets have the best rotation in the NL and I'd say all of baseball. Coming from the AL, Johan will benefit by pitching in Shea and against the weaker NL line-ups. He should lower his ERA by at least half a run, and add about 30-40 more strikeouts to his yearly average. I see no reason why he doesn't win 20 games this year, and compete for a Cy Young. The Mets now have a legitimate 20 game winner [Santana], a returning Cy Young winner [Pedro], and 2 youngsters [Maine, Perez] who won 15 games last year and should get to the 17-19 win area this year. I think this puts the Mets in the 100 win area now. And they still have three 1st round picks in the up coming amateur draft. None of the players traded for Santana is going to make a difference for the Mets in the near future. Johan will have an immediate and long term positive effect on this team. That's something that could never be said about anyone the Mets had in the farm system.

Now all Omar has to do is get Johan signed, and watch the city turn into a sea of Orange and Blue. Now is not the time to be cheap, but no need to be stupid either. I believe a 5 year extension at $22-24 Million per season with an option for a 6th and/or 7th season should do it. I've heard that Johan wants a 6-7 year deal, but I think that will have to be done thru options. He has the same agent as Jose' Reyes, and the Mets have a good relationship with him. I think Johan will enjoy this city and soon will be the King of NYC. Between David Wright, Johan Santana, and Jose' Reyes, the Mets have the 3 biggest stars in the City and will for many years to come.

So Guinness, are you ready to admit that I was Right? I can show you an e-mail I wrote last summer that says the Mets will have Santana in Shea stadium in 2008. I guaranteed it. Now all I need is for Santana to bring 3 World Series titles in the next 5-7 years, and both parts of my prediction will come true. LET'S GO METS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sleepwalking at Shea

Well here it is about 3 weeks till spring training starts and we as fans get the 2007 Mets part 2. Omar is so pathetic and spineless it's comical. He walks around the baseball world with his chest puffed out proclaiming his brilliance and does nothing but sign old washed up, has been players once again this off season.

Instead of being daring, Omar is cowardly. Instead of making franchise altering decisions, he stays the coarse. Instead of getting a younger, healthier, more athletic team, Omar signs over-aged marginal players who show no likelihood of changing the Mets future. So I hold out little hope for the Mets to get the Titles and Rings we as fans desire and cherish.

Here are some of the player changes we can see this year. They traded Milledge for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider. They traded Mota to the Brewers for Johnny Estrada, a catcher they didn't need or offer a contract to. They signed Matt Wise for the pen. They signed Rincon [who hasn't pitched in 2 years] to a minor league contract. They traded for Angel Pagan for the outfield. They resigned Damion Easley. They resigned Luis "Bad knees" Castillo for 4 years. Brought Marlon Anderson back for 2 more years. Agreed to a 1 year contract with Heilman. Signed "Hammy" Chavez for 2 years. Signed "Arthritic" Castro for 2 more years. And picked up "part-time"Alou's option for this year. Not a lot has changed personal wise from last year, so why would we expect a different result? Once again I can see post-season disappointment in all of our futures.

Some of these player actions are good, but hardly exciting. Matt Wise should help in the pen, but is he a season changing pitcher? Sanchez is due back, and Juan Padilla is coming to camp too. Heilman is here for another year, and things don't really change from there. There are 7 relief spots and more pitchers than spots. And now "Omar the Courageous" is talking about bringing in Livan Hernandez. Just what the Mets need. Another worn out, over paid Hernandez brother on the team. For $9+ Million and a 1st round draft pick, the Mets will get a .500 pitcher with an ERA around 5.00. I'd rather save the money and draft pick and take my chances with Pelfrey as the 5th starter. I guess Omar is into a rut in NY. He never seems to look at anyone who hasn't played for him somewhere else. Livan's only good feature is that he pitches alot of innings. In the games I've seen him pitch, that seems to happen because of the lousy teams he pitches for. He usually gives up 4-5 runs in the 1st 3 innings, and then gets left in the game because the teams don't want to burn up the pen while losing a game. Good teams don't tend to leave bad pitchers in games when they believe the game is still winnable. Does anyone really believe Witless Willie is going to allow Livan to pitch 8 innings and give up 6+ runs while doing it? Livan will be out of the game by the 5th inning and once again the pen will pitch the last 4 innings.

The Mets could own NYC and the Tri-state area for years to come if "Omar the Courageous" would do one simple trade. GET JOHAN SANTANA IN THE ORANGE AND BLUE !!!!!! He will do more to win the city and numerous titles in the next 5-7 years than anybody in the Mets farm system. F. Martinez is at least 2-3 years away, Gomez is still too raw and unproven, Humber and Mulvey have no place in Shea, and Pelfrey is barely holding on. Prospects are just that prospects. The Mets have a history of over hyping their minor league talent, and getting nothing in return. Wright and Reyes are the only 2 players in the last 10 years that have lived up to their hype. Remember Wilson, Izzy, Pulsifer, Tyner, Jacobs, Jefferies, Agbyani, A.Hernandez, ect. How many of them made a difference?

So, do you want to "wait until next year" again? Or would you rather play for the present and win while there is still some life on the Mets old worn out players? Without Santana, the Mets don't win a title this year, or in the near future. With him, they win at least 3 titles in the next 5-7 years. That's my prediction, what about yours?

Hello from the great white north

Below is a question I asked Marty Noble about the Mets last year. I was glad to see he agreed in some respects, but he did slam me a little bit too. The Mets have many issues to address this off season, and Omar and Witless Willie have been sitting on their hands. I disagree with Mr. Noble in the sense that there were things Willie could have done. He never gave a sense of urgency at any time last year. I fail to see where Willie did any motivating of his players at any time. He let things go and the Mets had no direction or focus last season. If that happens again this year, the Mets will be home watching TV in October again. "I enjoyed your article on the Mets' 2007 season. I, for one, was screaming to the heavens way back in June that problems existed with the Mets. They lacked the killer instinct needed to bury teams. I place that blame solely on manager Willie Randolph. He continually brushed off any suggestions of trouble with the team's play. He made questionable pitching decisions and played people -- Carlos Delgado, Johnson, et al -- who should have been sitting. He lacked the spine to stand up for or to his players and it showed on the field. Jose Reyes never should have been allowed to play when he loafed in the field or at the plate. It's pretty sad when the catcher argues about bad calls more than the manager. And now that vocal leader is gone, and Randolph and GM Omar Minaya continue to ignore the problems."-- Daniel S., Melrose, N.Y. "Before anything else, I must ask, who is the Johnson you mentioned, Ben? He played in nine games, he had 27 at-bats. Is this a big issue? Johnson's brief tour with the Mets overlapped with the absences of Moises Alou, Carlos Beltran, Chavez and even Jose Valentin, who could have played some outfield had he been available. Lastings Milledge was assigned to the disabled list in the Minor Leagues at the same time. Somebody had to play, and if you're upset that Johnson was the choice, your problem is with Minaya, who provides the talent Randolph uses. As for Delgado, it's easy to say he should have been benched. He admitted last week he had a poor season. But two things: He did drive in 85 runs. And who would you have started at first base if Delgado had been eliminated? No one else was going to produce even at the diminished rate he established last summer. As far as Randolph's spine, I believe it was quite functional. His response to Reyes not running that night in Houston was immediate and measured. Neither you nor I know what happened behind closed doors. If Randolph had come down harder on Reyes, he stood the chance of losing his leadoff man and shortstop. To me, that's where Delgado fell short. Players respect his achievement and standing in the game. He has influence, but he is reluctant to exercise it. Chances are he would have had greater effect on Reyes than anyone else in the clubhouse except Valentin. Alou has comparable influence, but players relatively new to a team and assigned to the disabled list are not likely to assume that responsibility. Randolph challenges umpires when he feels the need to. Not everyone is Bobby Cox. And if Lo Duca was working the umpire, why should the manager? Which brings us to the absence of Lo Duca and the resulting void that exists. Without him and Valentin, I sense the team is lacking an element, a degree of intensity. Where have you gone, Wally Backman? Lo Duca provided that. Players recognized it, and even those who weren't particularly close to him acknowledged the effect of his fire. Without Lo Duca, Valentin and Tom Glavine, the intensity level may be dangerously low in 2008 despite the spoken resolve about making amends for last season and no matter how much David Wright tries to enhance the team energy. In that regard, you have reason to be concerned. But again, Randolph can do little to address the situation. He doesn't bring in the talent or the personality. I thought the signing of free agent David Eckstein to play second base might have helped, but he evidently overpriced himself. That the Mets pursued Eckstein suggests they are aware of the intensity issue." - Marty Noble