But the thing I hate the most is, until something actually happens one way or the other, I know I’ll be back here tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that and so on and so on…

I also believe that the Twins are very hot to get Hughes and probably perceive the Yanks as more desperate then the Yanks and the most likely to cave in.

I also believe the Sox deal is legit and not merely intended to get the Yanks to overspend – though I doubt the Sox would complain if it happened.

If getting the Yanks to overspend was their only goal, they could have started all kinds of rumors, but they haven’t.

First of all, the real value of the players involved depends a lot on the needs and plans of both of the teams. If most of the players in the trade don’t fit into the Yankees plans, then where is the loss? Where is the downside? 1 player, 2 players … 3 … 5… 10 … 20 … it all amounts to the same thing if they don’t fit into their plans. Zero plus zero plus zero plus zero etc.

I think we can all agree that Hughes is the big prize in that trade, but the other three… ?

Two of the four are mid level prospects. I just don’t see the Yanks patiently waiting for them to blossom. It will be a few years before those kids will be major league ready. There will just be way too many free agents for them to over spend on before they’re ready. I just don’t see them putting any value on these guys at all.

Melky is popular with their fans, but I’m getting the impression that the Yankee brass think they could do better. They sure threw him in the package fast enough when they thought they could snap up Santana during the winter meetings. If the trade went through (or goes though) I believe the plan was (is) to move Damon back to center.

Can Damon still handle CF or do they have someone who can? If the answer to either question is yes, then Melky isn’t really a loss for them either.

And if the answer is yes to either question (or at least perceived as a yes by the Yanks), then the trade from a Yankee standpoint really becomes just Hughes for Santana and that sounds like a total no brainer to me.

If the players you mentioned want to leave because they don’t like that I took the best deal. I’d trade their asses and get more highly talented prospects in return. Plus I would get high draft picks for sucking for a couple of years. In 3 years, I’d have a young team filled with more talent than I would know what to do with (assuming a good scouting system).

I doubt the Yanks or Bosox will raise their offers because they have to concern themselves with the luxury tax that they are paying, and which will increase substantially with a Santana signing. It seems neither team is willing to give up a whole lot of talent AND increase their payroll.

So basically, you have the Mets as the only team willing and able to increase payroll AND give up blue chip talent. Signing Santana would NOT put the Mets over the luxury tax threshold.

I think the bigger problem is some the the Twins star players. The Twins have been trying to sign Cuddyer and Morneau to extensions, but both players haven’t been too open to the possibility. They want to wait and see what kind of moves Smith and Co. pull off before signing anything long term. Even though there has been no talk of a deal, you can add Nathan to that group as well.

I know a lot of the players were very upset with management last year. Many felt they could still win the division and wanted management to trade for some offensive help. Instead, they traded Castillo for a minor leaguer right at the deadline. Castillo had great speed, great defense and was one of the few productive bats in the line up. The players felt betrayed and I can’t really say I blame them. The whole team just laid down and died after that.

Anyway, the point is Smith’s reluctance goes much deeper then what the fans think. What he does will affect the way he and the rest of the Twins management is perceived by the players. And that will affect his ability to keep a lot of very popular players on the roster.

The fans may not be an issue right now, but if some of the popular players start asking for trades or dissappearing via free agency, that could change.

That’s why I think if a trade does happen, the Sox or Yankees would have the edge in spite of what anybody might say contrary. Both of these deals fill the Twins need at CF, include a solid pitcher to help ease the loss of Santana, plus a few decent prospects for down the road and depth.

Both of these deals tell the fans and more importantly the players that this management team is doing everything it can sensibly do to not only win now, but keep winning for years to come. A prospects only trade, no matter how good they may be or how many they may get will probably alienate the players even further. It just won’t be as appealing to the Twins management or players no matter how many players are in the package or how good they are.

Minnesota also has their own outfield and pitching prospects, several of whom are closer to making the major league roster then any of the players in the Mets package.

In a lot of ways, doing nothing and starting the season with Santana in the rotation is more appealing. At least Santana will be there helping the team win now.

At this point I don’t think it would take that much more from the Skanks or Sox to get it done. If the Mets really want to pull off a trade, that is what they are up against. They are going to have to throw a deal at Minnesota that they can’t refuse.

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