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…well, now this is rich……
In a post to the excellent Phillies blog, Beer Leaguer, Jason Weitzel writes the following in 
response to news that the Mets had acquired Johan Santana from the Twins…
“The sounds of our “small splashes” never sounded so small. This is a tidalwave, causing a flood that will submerge the rest of the National League East for six or seven years. Baseball’s best pitcher belongs to the Mets, set to anchor the rotation for years to come while canceling out our best hitters head-to-head…Introducing the winner, and new champion, of the 2008 off-season, and possibly much, more more: Johan Santana and the New York Mets, who’ve stuck it right up the Phillies’ butts.”
…wow…where’s Jimmy Rollins when you need him, jason…by the way, the comments that follow are equally as priceless…
For more reaction out of Philadelphia, check out Jim Salisbury’s report in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
As they say so often on Seinfeld with absolutely no sincerity….”that’s a shame”!!
Ha ha……couldn’t resist!! Let’s Go Mets!!!
If anyone wants to see another great and really funny reaction to the Santana trade you’ve got to check out Scott Ferrell on Daily New Live from yesterday. Ferrell, who by the way is a huge Yankees fan, goes on to rip the Phillies, Jimmy Rollins and then the Yanks, it’s classic. I think the line was that the Yanks have taken a back seat and predicted the Mets will win 105 games now with Santana. I can’t find a link, but I’m sure SNY’s website has got it somewhere. It’s so funny watching Chris Cotter trying to deal with all of this.
I saw that … he was off the wall yesterday!
That’s because he’s on drugs.
Now Omar, just spin Pelfrey and F-Mart for Bedard….
Just kidding…
If that happened, Shea might just implode from collective adrenaline rush in the greater New York area. Omar could then replace Obama and be elected President.
Theres a huge difference between the MLB Message Boards for the Phillies and Beer Leaguer, I get cracked up most by the Phillies fans attempts to compare the roster!
Cant wait for the press conference!
this guy wrote at the bottom of his article that this makes the phillies quest for a repeat nl east title “A little more difficult”
A LITTLE?
Wow…way to understate it buddy
at least they got brad lidge…oh wait
“In New York, they are celebrating an upcoming Super Bowl and the acquisition of Johan Santana. In Philly, we are celebrating the fact that TO owes us money and the acquisition of Pedro Feliz. God, I feel pathetic. ”
thats funny
Yay! Feliz and Lidge! If Lidge thought he had problems in Houston, wait until he realizes up close and personal how easy it is to hit a baseball over their bandbox of a stadium.
Loves it! It’s over Philly!! Start the Eagles chants now.
“But to say the Mets are the biggest winners of the season, I don’t know about that. If the Phils can get Loshe (to me that’s possible now), maybe Myers goes to the’pen. Benson will probably sign a minor league deal and could be insurance for Eaton. Helms should be moved for a reliever. That’s not too bad.”
I love it…
And this is positively priceless:
“TO ALL METS FANS: THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN SAY THAT WILL MAKE US FEEL WORSE ABOUT THIS. WE ARE MUCH MORE IRITATED BY THE PHILLIES FRONT OFFICE THAN YOU COULD EVER BE, SO SAY WHAT YOU WANT BUT KNOW THAT WE HATE THE PHILLIES MANAGEMENT MORE THAN YOU DO.”
i almost feel bad for them. Almost.
It’s not hard to think that the Mets pitching will be considerably better with Santana and a full year of Pedro. Here’s some projections. (Hope the formatting works).
If this was close to accurate, Mets SPs would pitch about 40 more innings, taking some pressure off the pen. Overall, Mets would give 60-70 less runs, good for 6-8 wins.
G W L IP ER ERA
Santana 33 18 8 215 70 2.93
Martinez 30 14 8 180 75 3.75
Perez 32 15 9 200 80 3.60
Maine 32 12 10 180 90 4.50
Hernandez 20 7 7 120 60 4.50
Pelfrey 15 4 6 90 45 4.50
SP Projections 70 48 985 420 3.84
2007 Actual 66 53 941 460 4.40
2008 RP Projections 24 20 465 200 3.87
2007 RP Actual 22 21 512 227 3.99
2008 Total Projections 94 68 1450 620 3.85
2007 Total Actual 88 74 1452 687 4.22
where are these from?
Don’t think Maine can post an ERA at or a little under 4?
Maine will put up better numbers, hope Pelfrey has a better year. Agree with everything else.
‘Omar Minaya, in a memo to Pat Gillick:
“I see your Pedro Feliz and raise you a Johan! Check mate, biotch.”‘
This says it all! :0)
okay, I had to stop reading because the urge to respond to some of those idiots was frustrating me. I’m glad we can reply to each other directly on this site.
Saw this posted on a board, it gets my vote for dumbest post of the year so far:
“Truth is this gives the Mest the best chance to win once every five days. Aside from Santanta their starting staff is very suspect. An old Pedro, an old El Duque, Mayne and Perez? I dont think that rotation scares anyone. No power at the corners and an inconsistant outfield. With the state of this team right now, this was a bad move. You make this move when you are one player away from a Championship. The Mets are well short of that.
I still expect the Phillies to run away with the division.”
No power at the corners? idiotic. Thing is I think this came from a Mets fan.
Or someone who thinks they’re living in 2002
wait till next year when pedro feliz hits 25 HRs and has 90 RBI bc of that bandbox and dwright has 30 hrs and 100 rbi in shea while probably having about 30 points on feliz in BA. philly fans feable brains will compute that as feliz is easily just as good as wright and that wright is so overrated.
And next fall when DWright collects his 2nd consecutive gold glove despite being outplayed defensively in every way by Feliz they can cry about that too
probably the best prediction thus far.
Wright has no business (yet) owning that piece fo hardware.
Yes, because Perez and Maine have NEVER been pitched well in important situations (NLCS, NLDS).. El Duque? How many rings has he won?! ugh these people.
but though seriously.. run away with the division…hehehe, . These people are hilarious. Go get drunk in a dumpy parking lot already. I hear the Eagles may acquire Eric Johnson to replace Terrell Owens this year. Go celebrate that.
I hear the Eagles may acquire Eric Johnson to replace Terrell Owens this year. Go celebrate that.
HA! funny
Guys, I really think we need to show more class than going over to their blogs and talking smack. It’s not a good move and accomplishes nothing.
The Mets have had decades of craptitude (crappy ineptitude) both in the front office and in the field.
Kicking a man when he’s down is bush league.
I like to think that Mets fans are better than that.
I agree..
Wagner has the right idea.. this doesn’t change anything until we prove it on the field.
Head down… go to work.. you just happen to have a great solider to go to war with you now..
Now go prove you’re the best
Phillies and Braves enjoy 2nd & 2rd place :)
So just how good will Santana be in the Nat’l league? Should we pencil him in for 20 games with better run support from Mets and weaker Nat’l league opponents?
20 game winners nowadays are becoming rare no matter how good the pitcher is. id be happy with 18 and 200+ innings.
Question…when he signs his extension…do the Mets feel confident with the roster? Or does Minaya make a minor trade or sign a free agent? And if so, what position will he need to fill?
I would be ok with one more veteran guy at the back end… and and a right handed bat to spell Church/Delgado.. although I guess Easley can probably do both? I dunno if he can play 1st…
And who backs up Reyes, Gotay? Or would we call up Anderson right away if Reyes got hurt?
i personally would love the idea of getting kevin mench, and freddy garcia. you could get garcia for a minor league deal then use him in the 2nd half to give pedro and duque rest. not to mention that would make pelfrey 7th on the depth chart letting him develop more in AAA which can only help him. do we NEED to make anymore moves, maybe not but a mench/garcia pick up to me would make this a very complete offseason, and both dont need to be traded for.
Sounds good to me..
Cerrone get on that!
Plus ins’t Garcia also from Venezeula like Johan? And I think most of those players stay pretty close on on account of how friggen crazy that country is…
Bring back Julio Franco to back up 1B and be a clutch bat of the bench…..
NOT!!!!!
the starting rotation is fine with duque bringing up the rear. leave pelfrey down in aaa for experience and the sixth starter. add another vet to sign on as a minor leaguer who will come up when needed.
other than that fortify the bench with a power bat who can balance church and then maybe another arm in the pen…maybe.
overall i think the team has the pieces, just need to see it all in the spring.
a bullpen upgrade would be great. though it’s unlikely at this point. hopefully, sanchez will be healthy and effective.
the bench is a bit odd. there isn’t anyone who can give reyes and wright time off when needed. gotay needs to spend the spring with a couple of different mits. who plays first when delgado need a rest (probably regularly): m. anderson? easley?
that being said: i kinda feel like the celtics fans: you get kg and ray allen. still need a back-up point guard and big-man. can you really complain?
great job omar. it’s time that the wilpons give him an extention and raise. he makes $900,000 per year. that’s a joke.
i agree with omar and a raise/extension. he pulled off the greatest trade in the team’s history (my apologies to mike piazza).
Woah Zen.. come on now.. let’s win a 2nd division title before we lock up Omar… he could of been fired at the end of 2007 and really who could of argued?
me for one. To view the collapse last year as an accurate sample of Omar’s tenure is both irresponsible and inaccurate. Omar turned this team around and i hope he’s manning the ship for years to come.
This is Omar’s Mets.
You know, the notion that Shea is filled with neanderthals (which is widely held by Phillies fans) is somewhat annoying. I mean, sure there are undesireables at Shea, but isn’t that true of all stadiums?
for the most part, yes. However, I did attend a Mets – Cards game at “old” Busch stadium a few years ago wearing a Mets t-shirt and the fans around me were quite nice, recommending restaurants and places to visit. Thanks to them I became aware that A). There is actually a video game museum, and B). It has hands on exhibits baby!
Actually, I did attend a midwestern game (Wrigley – amazing!) and the fans were awesome. One guy bought me a brat because I had never had a “Wrigley Brat” before.
But, it’s not like Phillies fans are nice. They are the most nasty of all fans.
This is classic Philly overreaction. They don’t deserve even Rollins, who at least had the courage to stick his neck out. They happily dive for the mantle of “underdog,” predicting gloom and doom solely to avoid the usual crushing disappointment that afflicts most all Philly sports. Inside, though, they all think they can sweep us three times this year, too. Stick a Tastykake in it, guys.
to be fair, that description fits plenty of Mets fans, too.
It’s a matter of degree.
I will charter a bus for a Phillies bashing in Philadelphia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1st Sign Mench
2nd Sign Shawn Chacon
3rd Trade a low prospect for Amezaga . He played games at every position except catcher and pitcher last year. Not a great hitter but has speed. Would replace Gotay on the bench. Maybe a team desperate for a 2B would take Gotay for a prospect or a RP?
Let me first add that after all that happened yesterday I actually found myself smiling when I hit the pillow last night… then I realized it was over a man …(Not that theres anything wrong with that) Needless to say Im pretty excited about everything.. Even though Wagner blasted his mouth the other day I do see his point. People remember… We havent won ANYTHING yet… We still have some work to do, Omar. BTW you are a freakin genius.. I highly doubt it will happen but Id love to see Livan signed and pitching along with his half brother, highly unlikely though…And also, ive read so much news on this but has anyone realize that Santana will be reunited with his old pal Castillo?
Obviously most of us realize the Santana Castillo link and many of us assume it even played a part.
As for Livan, I can see a need but I am not sure it’s a wise move. I think that Pelfrey needs to be given a chance to be #6 and Elduque’s worth is in the rotation this season. If Elduque could be effective out of the pen and Pelfrey needed an entire season and Livan was willing to sign a 1 year contract then maybe.
I second that on Chacon… His numbers are pretty respectable..
Plus I like the fact that Chacon can start if needed. That would give us Sosa, Pelfrey and Chacon as backups if Pedro and Elduque go down at the same time, which as we learned last year injuries come in bunches. That sounds much better than Lima, Gonzalez, Park and Lawrence
Call me an Omar Hater
I still dont think he is all that good of a GM
I feel as if this deal fell into his lap and had more to do with the Yanks, Sox and Twins and the Mets having CASH than it did any great amount of work by Omar.
He Certainly deserves some credit, I cant blame him for the mistakes (Castillo for 4 years) and not give any credit for the successes (finding Maine, and Perez).
Like I said, call me an Omar hater, (truth be told I am not a huge Willie fan either) but I just dont see him being anymore than an Average GM who lucked out here.
So is a poker player lucky or skilled?
You totally miss something in your take on the Santana trade. It wasn’t luck and it wasn’t financial might. It was straight up strategy that got Santana.
What Omar didn’t do was blink and trade away too much, which considering he didn’t know how the Yanks and Sox were going to do, was a real possibility. He also waited out Bill Smith and took full advantage of Johan’s long-awaited demand to have a resolution by COB Tuesday. Bill Smith was desperate and Omar knew it.
And, do you really want to punish Omar for working for an organization with a lot of money? That’s not fair.
What is fair, though, is that you admit that you are an Omar Hater. At least you admit it.
An average GM? The man got the Twins to dwindle their requests from Reyes down to the Mets best prospect and finally down to unproven prospects. Seriouly, are you kidding me?
Matt, you better watch it. I might have to start reading the Beerleaguer to get my laughs, this guy is funny! But, my heart stays true to the Orange, White and Blue.
It still hasn’t set in on me that we will be considered the next Atlanta Braves, when Glavine, Smoltz, and Maddux were in their primes, and we only have Santana, not all 3.
Anyways, what I’m trying to say is:
“I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, LETS GO METS!”
I would say that there is potential for our rotation to be as good as that Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz. Santana is great and both Perez and Maine have great potential as 15 game winners last season.
What else can the Mets really add? I think their 25 man roster is already set.
Starting lineup is set with (8)
I would like to add a Nady/Mench right handed bad that can play the corner outfield spots and first base, but our bench already looks full with Castro, Gotay, Anderson, Endy and Easley. (5)
Our bullpen also looks full with Wagner, Heilman, Sanchez, Schow, Wise, Smith, Feliciano (7)
Rotation is set (5)
Add that up – 25
Matt will have to take up another hobby
Smith is no lock for the pen and will have to keep his spot with competition from Register other signees.
Gotay is no lock for the bench as he only plays 2nd and not very well.
Don’t forget that Valentin will be competing for a roster spot as well.
Do you trust Valentin to play SS when Reyes needs a break?
Now, if they are OK with Valentin or even anderson Hernandez backing up Reyes and Castillo, Gotay could be freed up for a trade.
Still more worried about the OF though, at least until Easley proves he can handle RF.
And it would be nice to have a RH 1B on the roster. Is that Easley? I thought Marlon was the spare guy.
Hey, maybe Castro can play 1B!
7 man BPs really screws up the bench.
No I don’t trust Valentin at SS. That is why you trade Gotay and get Amezaga.
Lets see. Gotay is 25 and played 2nd, 3rd, and short last year. Easley is 38 and played LF, RF, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd last year, but has played about 100 games at short since 1999. Valentin is also 38 and has played the same positions as Easley, and last played 1 game at short in 2005, but that was his main position before that. He’s also coming off a knee injury. Anderson Hernandez has been going back and forth in the minors between short and 2nd, but pretty much playing short last year. He also cant hit major league pitching. Amezaga is 30 and can play all the positions but catcher and pitcher, but has mainly been a CF playing about 29 games over the last 2 years at short and less at the other infield positions. He’s also light in the hitting department.
Defensively, Hernandez is the better player and then Gotay. Offensively the old timers are better then Gotay, Amezaga, and finally Hernandez. If it’s going to be a day here and there to give Reyes a rest, I’d pick Gotay because he’d be better defensively than the old timers and probably Amezaga, and he’s better offensively than Hernandez and Amezaga.
As for Mench, it would be nice but there is no room as seen above. Besides, if he was that good, why was he non-tendered in the first place, and how come no one has signed him yet?
I have been commenting on the bench for a while too, so I agree with your concerns.
And unless they go with a 6 man pen, it won’t get better.
That spare OF/1B (a RH hitter now) is a big hole. As is the back up SS, assuming you want to get some more rest for Reyes.
Is Gotay good enough to fill in on occasion? Don’t know.
Gotay at least can spot at 3B, but DW isn’t sitting much.
Problem is, with this bench (and assuming Gotay sticks to be the BU SS and 2B), Easley needs to be a legit OF and 1B guy. If not, he is blocking someone like Mench (can he play 1B?) or a Nady type of guy.
So, assuming Anderson and Easley are locked in, the only way to add that bat is to ditch Endy, and that likely isn’t happening.
So, unless Easley or Endy gets hurt (entirely possible in either case), it will be patchwork defense when a regular is out.
I would love to see Mench added (Harper would have been a possibility before he ledt).
Yes Mench plays 1B/OF. Easely and Anderson can as well. I would love to have Mench as he would be a great platoon for Church but that being said I guess Easley already is, considering how he hits LH pitching.
The Gotay spot troubles me, I know he hit decent (.297 is not a superstar the way that people made him out to be) but his inablity to play defense and the fact that he can only play 2nd makes him tradeable. Trade him to some team desperate for a 2nd baseman. Then go out and get Amezaga from the Marlins. He can play every position well and has good speed.
Castro, Easley, Anderson, Chavez, Amezaga would at least be versitile.
I’d like to see Tony Clark signed. I think he’d help the bench bigtime and he has a decent glove at first. He’d be decent in case Delgado goes down.
Either Mech for the OF or Sweeny to back up Delgado would be a big help. Gotta love the Phillie fans…….what a riot…..
FUNNY: I got an email from the Mets this morning promoting season ticket plans. Boy, they certainly don’t waste any time!
I got a phone call about 1/2 hour after the news hit saying to buy tix now “before the Santana rush”
Gotay is the back up shortstop by defualt because the Mets do not have anyone else except A-Hern who can’t hit a lick.
I think the Mets will stick with Smith and commit $$$ to try to upgrade the bullpen.
Don’t see the Mets really doing anything else to the major league roster. Maybe some minor league deals.
Yup they still need that veteran pitcher to stash at AAA in case of emergency. They already have that in Valentin for position players.
Gotay at SS sends chills down my spine and most likely Castillo’s too. I just don’t think he is the right person for our bench this season.
Hey..Why stop now….How bout….Fmart and Pelfrey and another m leauger for Bedard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Santana
Bedard
Martinez
Maine
Perez
Holy Cow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who can beat them!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice thought but that package might get you Blanton? It’s not worth it. We need those 2 anyway.
Even though the bullpen as a whole looks strong and balanced, I still think it probably is the Mets biggest weakness because of one man – Billy Wagner. Do not feel comfortable with him and his straight fastball in the 9th inning.
*Defensively we are great with the additions of Church and Schneider.
It depends on Sanchez. If he is back and healthy he could give Wagner some rest now and then. Wagner is still one of the best closers in the game. He does make me nervous but think of it this way, last year was an off year for him and look at his numbers.
Omar played this perfectly and took charge. Kudos to him for a job well done. Santana truely tips the scale towards Queens.
Depth Chart Check:
C: Schneider
1B: Delgado
2B: Castillo
SS: Reyes
3B: Wright
LF: Alou
CF: Beltran
RF: Church
Bench: Castro, Gotay, Easley, Valentin, Chavez, Marlon [AHern, Pagan]
Rotation: Santana, Pedro, Perez, Maine, El Duque [Pelfrey, Vargas]
Bullpen: Wagner, Heilman, Feliciano, Shoenweiss, Wise, Sosa [Sanchez, Collazo, Smith]
- Lineup is set and very strong. No Brainer.
- Bench is incredibly strong. Can’t say enough about this. A bench has become a consistent theme with an Omar organization. Any pine with Marlon and Endy sitting on it is one of the best in the league. Easley is a great right handed power bat, which is one thing this team lacks. Pagan is also a righthanded threat. And Gotay proved enough to us last year with AHern a defensive gem..
- But honestly, I am still somewhat concerned about the depth after # 5 in the rotation. I understand that is a spoiled mindset as not too many fans have the luxury of saying that about their team. But Omar does need to focus these next few weeks on getting some contingency vererans to hang out in New Orleans next year. We all know these 6 starters will not cover us for 162 games. The last few season proves that 15-20 starts will come from somewhere else (ala..Williams, Park, Lawrence, Soler). Who will that be? Not a major issue….but is a resulting gap from this must-do trade. It will be interesting to see who Omar invites to camp to be that reserve starter on the 2008 Shea-to-NO shuttle.
- I still don’t like the bullpen. It is our weakness. Wagner is a year older. Sosa lost all that house money he was playing with when last August rolled around. Matt Wise and an expectation of a healthy Duanar Sanchez is simply not going to cut it as additions to last year. IMO, Omar needs to get us one more reliever. Perhaps Chacon is the answer. But the question cannot be ignored. I would love a Chad Bradford-type who can come in a guarantee a ground ball.
I can’t believe it is late January and all I can point out are 2-3 minor-to-noticable gaps on this squad.
Good times, Gentlemen. Good times.
I’ve always thought that Phillies fans seem to consider us more of a rival to them than we consider them to be to us. It’s thus amusing to see them focus so much attention to us when the reality is that our bigger problem always has been the Braves, and with Glavine back in Atlanta, I don’t see that changing. Wagner was absolutely right – we need to prove this on the field – but not against the Phillies.
It’s interesting to see what Phillies fans are saying, and while we should be no means ignore them, the fact of the matter is that we need to focus our attention further south.
-steve
Wagner should shutup and worry about not blowing every game he enters in September. Every season he irritates me more and more.
I actually like Phillies fans becaue I think we relate alot with our teams. We’re both passionate about our teams even though they tend to let us down alot. Speak to them when they’re at Shea; they’re funny. But I think they’ll be very scared this season now that we got Santana.
AWESOME! NOW the icing…
1. L. Hernandez p/up,2. Duque to the pen for bigger bang out of him and 3. Plefrey to AAA to build confidence and master the trade.
This could actually free up a piece in the pen if Omar needs ammo for any fine tuning as the season starts.
As much as I don’t like Hernandez (seems like a younger Boomer Wells with that body) I’ve been open to this idea since before the Santana deal was discussed. It would give the Mets plenty of flexibility, especially considering that El Duque gets hurt every year and for extended period of time.
If Sanchez continues to do what he did before he got hurt, the Mets have a pretty good bullpen. And I think Matt Wise will be key to keep Willie from always going to Sanchez and Heilman.