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The Mets will hold a conference call at 4:30 pm EDT to announce the official acquisition of LHP Johan Santana from the Twins.
…i will be on the call, and will do my best to provide a few key notes while it is in progress…
…Update…4:28 pm…
…let me just say, ‘thank you, Internets,’ because i am on the road right now…i couldn’t get home in time for this call…so, i am pulled over, at a rest stop, sitting in a parking space, huddled in the driver’s seat online with my laptop and the conference call on speaker phone on my cell phone…
…Update…4:46 pm…
Omar Minaya, Jeff Wilpon and Peter Greenberg are on the call, Johan Santana is not.
There will be a formal press conference with Santana at Shea Stadium on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
According to Greenberg, after the Twins, the Mets were Santana’s first choice. He told the Twins he would not stand in their way of getting the best package of players from wherever Smith needed to send him, but the Mets had always been his top choice, followed by either the Red Sox and the Yankees.
Minaya said there was a point during the negotiations when he worried that a contract would not get done, as they were ‘very far apart,’ with only an hour left to go. He asked for the extension, it was granted by the Twins and the commisioner’s office and they were able to agree on a contract. According to Wilpon, they were confident they could sign him, and there was no way they would have pulled the trigger on the trade if signing him was in doubt.
Greenberg said this was one of the most unique negotiations he had ever been apart of, especially with the added element of checking his watch every fine minutes.
According to Wilpon, the extension was needed to work out the final $5 million of the deal. In theory, explained Wilpon, Santana came down $5 million, while the Mets gave up an additional $5 million, for the two sides to meet in the middle on the final total.
Minaya called Santana, “A true, number-one starter.” He is happy to had added as much pitching and defense as he did this off-season, since it is what he believes is necessary to win a championship.
According to Minaya, it was Greenberg and Wilpon who did a great job working out the contract’s details in the final hours.
Minaya says he entered the winter saying he wanted to acquire a font-line starting pitcher, and though he was tempted at times to sign a free agent, for fear he’d be unable to replace Tom Glavine, something told him to be patient with Twins GM Bill Smith.
After the winter meetings, Minaya bet Wilpon a pair of shoes that Santana would become available again and that the Mets would have a chance to get him.
Last week, Smith called and said, “I want every one’s best offer,” and since he would never trade Fernando Martinez, Pelfrey or Jose Reyes, he offered up the four prospects and Smith accepted.
According to Minaya, it was very hard for him to give up on Humber, Gomez, Mulvey and Guerra, ‘but we need to win now,’ he added, and since the only way to acquire an ace was via trade, he had to do what was necessary.
Minaya says this is the team he will go to spring training with.
Thank you Matt. By the way, ESPNews scroll says that with Santana’s passing of his physical, the trade is
FINALIZED
So for those of us, including myself, who were worried about the physicals of the prospects the Mets sent away, as my Ozzy friends say
NO WORRIES MATE!
go mets !
Santana, I ask of you not to try the foot long hot dogs at Shea, I repeat do not try the foot long hot dog for you will most certainly land in the DL .
Don’t worry. Yesterday Santana said he’d make SMALL concessions to join the Mets.
His first choice after the Twins were the Mets? Not according to Mike and the Mad Dog….
Mike: “I don’t care what he says Dog, he wanted to come to the Yankees. My sources are indisputable.”
Dog: “You tell em Mikey, I believe you over God himself.”
Mike: “Good Dog.”
Dog: “Say something funny, Mikey…bwahahaha”
that’s effing funny
Given how sensitive Pedro is, I’m not sure its smart for Omar to say we lacked a true ace and #1 starter (even if true). Remember how Pedro reacted when Schilling eclipsed him in Boston. Mets need to stroke Pedro’s ego to get the most out of him this year.
Mark my words, Pedro will outpitch santana this year. Of course Santana will have more games. Never underestimate the talent that is Pedro Martinez, Santana has a long way to catch up to Pedro.
I second, do not doubt Pedro
I doubt Omar’s comments will affect Pedro or the team in any way. For all the talk of Pedro feeling slighted in Boston, by Schilling’s addition, he did a great job in 2004 and the Sox won the World Series. And, for that matter, the stories about Pedro feeling slighted in Boston were, in fact, only stories. We do not know for sure that anything ever happened along those lines.
I don’t doubt Pedro’s ability, but I doubt his durability. He’s yet to prove that he can still pitch deep into games, and deep into the season.
But Pedro’s special, and he’s younger than most aging veterans. I’ll be more than happy to be proven wrong on this.
I don’t know that you will be proven wrong, gameball. I don’t know that Pedro will actually get injured, but his days of going 7 or 8 innings may be behind him. That’s why we needed Johan, or at least an innings eater, so much. Usually, when the bullpen is overworked, you can rely on your ace to give them at least something of a rest. As well as Pedro has pitched for the Mets, he hasn’t exactly racked up the CGs. And now that he underwent major shoulder surgery, that is even less likely.
Agree with other comment, do not doubt Pedro
Thats why I think Pedro should be given the opening day start!
fifth, everyone is counting out Pedro (talking about my friends) and HE WILL DELIVER!!
is there anywhere that would stream the conference call
not gonna lie…the comment moderation is a little annoying but i guess i’m not really in a place to complain at this point
i hope it is temporary response to huge numbers of posters. Otherwise, yes, its a real drag.
Awesome Matt!
where is it airing? I would think sny but i had to wait til 10 to see coverage on fri and I know its tuff to interupt street games…
haha
I guess street games ran out of ammo pretty quick since right now they seem to be airing some sort of retiree fantasy camp.
what channel??
they don’t usually broadcast conference calls on tv.
LOL – reading comprehension not some Metsblog readers’ strong point.
<3
It would be cool if we got to listen to the conference live. Hopefully there is a way.
it’s probably a lot easier to get major press reps in on a phone call than thousands on thousands of mets fans.
If anything, I think it’s fantastic that they let someone like Matt in on the conferences because he’s a direct conduit to us. Having Matt in on the calls and directly reporting back is as close to having press events open to the common fan as we’re gonna see. Kudos to the Mets and Matt :)
theres no reason why we can’t listen to it…i’m not asking to be able to ask questions
i am so happy to see johan santana in a mets uniform wow it is going to blow my mind to see someone like him a met if ever thing goes right i think well be great there is still two places on the mets roster that bugs mets one is a back up closer they could have gotten that with dotel but not now and you got to be worried about if billy back goes out out would be the closer ? and two first base yes carlos is good but if he starts out the way he did in 07 we are going to have to look for a nother first baseman theres mike carp i am not sure if he is ready but if not then theres goes to be worried yeah we could always put marlon there out easily but there not the first baseman there help outs theres are my problem need help in those spots if i am wrong tell me but i feel they are huge spots and oh yeah thank you god for getting omar to get JOHAN SANTANA yessssssssssssssssssss
I’m not a stickler for perfect English/grammar by any means but my God man, Old English is easier to understand than that gibberish.
Haha, longest sentence ever.
try reading Ulysses by James Joyce.
I forgot my decoder ring… could someone traslate that for me?
bigdws29,
It’s time to make friends with capital letters and punctuation.
I was abouit to make a comment, touching on the grammar of bigdws, but after reading some of the posts responding to it, I feel I would just be kicking a dead horse.
Dude, we just signed Johan freakin’ Santana, and you’re worried about the backup 1B? Everybody should have these problems.
Enjoy the Super Bowl, bro. Worry about it after.
“Johan freakin’ Santana”
That’s what they’ll be calling him in Philly and Atlanta for years to come.
Signing Johan Santana, as near as I can tell, WAS the Super Bowl.
That sucks that they’re not doing a standard press conference to do the announcement. Or are they but just not today?
probably after the SUPER BOWL, which is going to dominate the news through Monday.
Next week, dude…you can’t have a presser today, the day before a NY team is in the Super Bowl…the NY spoirts press is all in Phoenix.
There WILL be a presser with Johan donning the uni., etc. Expect early next week, depending on if GMen pull off upset and have to adjust for tickertape parade day, etc.
Wed Feb 6 at Shea
Opening Day No Hitter. How great would that be?
Robmenna, You forgot, he’s a MET pitcher now. Thus, no hitter…. impossible.
I would think that if they do hold a press conference it would be next week, you know with the new jersey and all.
will beltrans mole be there?
No, according to mole’s myspace page he’ll be making an appearance on Cindy Crawford’s cheek that day.
i heard mid-week next week most likely
Are they televising the press conference?
I think sometimes MLB.com puts up a link sometime after the conference call where you can then listen to it
What a week for a Mets and Giants fan i couldn’t be any happier. Thank You Omar and I can’t wait for Opening Day!!!!!
In the same boat. I’m on cloud nine right now!
…so when you got tired of waiting for new Santana news you guys could go back to waiting for the Super Bowl to get here already.
I agree as a Mets/Giants fan I’m so excited! There is only ONE thing that can make this week complete.
If only the Knicks could win 35 games in a row, we could really have a great NY sports winter!
All I want for 2008:
1) Mets get Santana (done)
2) Santana pitching game 1 of the World Series
3) Giants make it to the Super Bowl (done)
4) Giants win the Super Bowl
5) Rangers win the Stanley Cup
6) Knicks fire Thomas
7) Chillin with my fellow Mets fans watching them take the National League by storm.
A girl’s dreams can come true!!
Chillin? Please.
How about “getting together with my fellow Mets fans”
or
“hanging out with my fellow Mets fans”.
are you being serious? because if you are trying to be funny. . .try much harder
CaptainWright – Get a life.
Streettrash words like ‘chillin’ has no place on MetsBlog.
First, the decision as to what “has no place on MetsBlog” is up to Matthew Cerrone, not an anal retentive visitor who, as “Cyclone” suggested, needs to get a life.
Second, the word “chillin’,” while certainly slang, and a part of numerous rap songs, is not a “streettrash word.” Of course, I can only imagine what you think is “streettrash.” Would that include the hippies and similar groups of the 60s and 70s who said things like “take a chill pill”?
Go Mets! GO GIANTS!!
I agree–an impromptu formula one night race in Manhattan with Johan Santana as the master of ceremonies.
Is the press conference going to be televised … SNY?
Can you read? Today is a conference call…next week for the presser.
So when should we start talking about the possibility of CC Sabathia coming here when he is a free agent??
Right after we start playing our home games in the Bronx. The Mets just signed the highest paid pitcher in the history of baseball, I’d be shocked if they even considered one-upping that less than a year later.
Scott Boras client Oliver Perez is a free agent after this season, that’ll be enough of a free agent pitcher headache I think.
Plus, although they play different positions, and perhaps even lead different lifestyles, Sabathia just SCREAMS Mo Vaughn to me and I don’t want to go down that road again.
Pretty sure he was joking.
Biggest problem with the internet…can’t hear sarcastic inflection. Will eventually be it’s downfall (he said sarcastically).
I agree.. I would not pay CC a Santana sized contract. Don’t get wrong..he’s awesome..but you have to have durabilty concerns with him. I would say, that signing Santana would disqualify the Mets from signing Texiera next off season.
Not that I necessarily expect the Mets to sign Teixera next offseason, but it would be possible. Delgado is earning $16 million in 2008, and there is a $4 million buyout for the 2009 option. So, that’s $20 million off the books for 2009 alone.
I think the early belief is that he’ll stay with Atlanta, but, with Boras as his agent, you never know.
Let’s start CC watch right now. Someone call Hank Steinbrenner and see what he has to say about it.
“No comment, but we’d love to see CC in pinstripes” H.S.
Right after A-rod donates half his salary to the Mets as a charitable contribution, wow it never ceases to amaze me how greedy and unrealistic people can be and if you are joking, I sincerely apologize because I didn’t catch it.
Cool man! Thank you Matthew. The stupid thing is I was all so spaced out from this thing that I was thinking it was a News Conference and was cursing that I couldn’t find a live feed of it on the internet, but now I see that it is just a conference call. We still have the news conference to look forward to – great! Drive Safely, Matt!
I picked up a home Santana Mets jersey that I had made on Tuesday today. When I walked out of the store on to the street, some guy nearly convinced me that Johan had failed the physical. I nearly lost it. Then he started laughing. Phew.
This really is amazing. I’ve been gazing into the numbers of this jersey all day…
Hodges, your post, in a nutshell, is why I love NY. We kid because we care.
BTW, when you gaze into the numbers, what do you see?
I see Pat Burrell crying in Charlie Manuel’s arms with a large wet stain expanding down his leg.
I know alot of people type LOL on the internets, but I wan’t to assure you that I just did in fact laugh out loud.
When I asked I expected “Met’s first no hitter” or something like that. Thank you for the wonderful surprise.
Ditto
I see our house rockin’ again…
what a sendoff this year will be!
I see Metsblog posters going absolutely nuts with anxiety the first time Johan gets “Glavined” in the third inning. (may it never happen)
Just flipped through his game logs. In the last 3 years, Santan was “Glavined” once. He was pulled after three innings, on his last start of the 2007 season…Of course he only gave 2 runs.
Outside of that single start (in a completely meaningless game), Santana has gone at least 5 innings in every game for the last 3 years. Seriously, how impressive is that?
First of all, Hodges, that is too funny (cruel, but funny), what our fellow Mets fan did to you. I must say, though, you took a BIG chance ordering the Santana jersey before the deal was finalized. You might have had to deal with a bunch of enraged Mets fans, accusing you of jinxing the deal, had it fallen through. :)
if anyone manages to get a link for the conference call please link us to it
Is it true that the Mets are now looking to trade Santana for a package of prospects?
Only if we get Jose Reyes in return…..oh wait.
I heard they were holding out for Victor Zambrano!
Has anyone read Tom Glavins comments on mlb.com.. Trying to compare this trade with the Randy Johnson trade that the Yankees made….. I mean the two trades arent even close to compare.
Uh yeah, Randy was in his forties already.
He never really liked it here at all did he. Almost makes me glad the Mets didn’t win a WS while he was here, almost.
Here’s his quote:
“When Randy Johnson went to the Yankees, three, four or five years ago, everybody was ready to hand them the World Series trophy and it never happened,” Glavine said. “That’s the old cliché in this game: That’s why you play the games. You just don’t know what’s going to happen.”
hate to say it, but he’s right. Before 2002, the Yankees signed Giambi and Conventional Wisdom was “Yankees just bought the WS.” In 2003 they beat out the Red Sox for Contreras and signed Matsui. Same old song. In 2004, everyone cried about the Yankees buying the WS after trading for A-Rod and spinning Weaver into Kevin Brown. Glavine just quoted you 2005. 2006 was Johnny “Perfect Fit” Damon, along with the Abreu (”Built to the Yankee Mold”)/Lidle salary dump.
As much as you don’t want to hear it, and as bad as that analogy is, Glavine’s point holds true – it doesn’t matter until you play the game – something we’re painfully aware of after last year.
Tommy’s no dummy, and he’s saying brave [no pun intended] things that his new/old fan base wants to hear. Hudson was quoted as saying much worse things, as in “Santana got hit around a lot last year” and “he’s beatable.” We’d be saying the same things if the shoe was on the other foot. I still recall that shutout game he threw against the Cards in the playoffs when we were down a few pitchers, leading Pujols to say that “he wasn’t that good.” Loved that comment after Glavine had spanked them hard. I’d like to hold on to the good memories of ex-Met players. He played hard for us, just got the bejesus knocked out of him on his last day on the job.
Oh yeah, I always liked his ads for union workers, in hard hat infront of the new stadium. How many big leaguers make pro-union ads (even though they’re union members!)?
I actually agree with his general point that you have to play the games, but it’s hard to swallow when he then backs it up with such a Ludacris (dirty Sowf yo) example.
Randy Johnson was old enough to be, well, Johan Santana’s older half-brother from another marriage, if not quite his father. Had he instead used any of the other examples you cite it would have been more reasonable. Just like his tenure here, his idea is perfect, it’s his execution that’s flawed.
Union ads aside, Glavine never wanted to be here and it showed. He begged the Braves to sign him and they turned their backs. He then crawled back to us and Omar foolishly took him in. Now that he is “home” again he is talking crap and proving he has always been a Brave even while he was a Met. Good ridance Tommy Boy!
What did we expect Glavine to say? I cant stand him and never did, even while he was a Met. When we signed Glavine I was so furious. He is a Brave and always will be. And no you cant compare the Randy and Johan acquisitions at all. As said above Johnson was already old while Johan is just turning 29! In his prime and the best pitcher on the planet. His numbers in the AL were phenomonal and now at Shea against the NL, well I cant imagine what his success will be now. Anyone read Tim Hudson’s comments? He claims if you put him or Smoltz against Santana they can beat him anytime. Ha! Smoltz is so old as is Glavine. They are done. Hudson granted is good but no where near Johans class. But we do have to expect the Braves and Phils to downplay this great trade although they know deep in their hearts this is bad, bad news for them. I predict the first no hitter in our history this year. The thing is I have a feeling it wont be Johan but rather John Naine. Always feel like he has the no hitter stuff. He came close this year. Whoever does it no matter, just somebody finally pitch the no no before we say goodbye to Shea.
Congrats to all of you fellow Met and Metsblog diehards. Omar and the Wilpons pulled off one of the biggest steals of all time and we should give them the credit and respect they deserve. Where are all the posters who were against trading for Johan now? Seems everyone changed their mind. Kidding. Everyone has to realize this deal was a no brainer. Credit to Omar for keeping Reyes, F-Mart, Pelfrey, and Heilman. F-Mart to replace Alou in 2009 in RF. He will be the real deal.
I am right here Bsmitty, and still not crazy about the deal. I have just decided that right now I will enjoy having Santana, and if/when Gomez is a superstar, I will regret this trade then.
Not when Santana won us a few Championships.
I’m confused… how does F-Mart replace Alou in RIGHT field?
Obviously I made an error. I meant F-Mart will replace Alou in LF in 2009. Thank you.
I’m sure he would have preferred being in Atlanta the whole time, but I think he was fine in NYC…as long as things were going well. Not to say that he was completely unprofessional, and couldn’t take any heat, but I think when the huge NYC media contingent that heaped praise on him for his accoplishments, instead focused on his failings, he got a little defensive. Like he deserved a free pass because of everything he had accomplished in his career–and probably the Atlanta media wasn’t as tough on him. Probably it all served to make him “homesick.” And, of course, had he come back to the Mets for the 2008 season, the “welcome” he would have received from the fans would have outdone anything he had ever experienced, based on the last game of the season.
It’s insanity. Old boy has a bone to pick. Shoulda played hockey.
I don’t know and I don’t care if it’s just me but I can’t wait to face good ol Glavine and watch the Mets rough his ass up
I know what you mean, MetsFanInVegas. The way I see it, Glavine owes us several wins. I haven’t done the research to determine just how many it is, but it will AT LEAST include 3 for the last 3 games he pitched as Met, and one more for each of all those atrocities he pitched against the Braves as a Met (though, I’m not quite sure what he did in any of those games counts as “pitching”).
I cant wait to see Wright hit his 83 mph fastball over the bleacher seats
as howie rose would say..
PUT IT IN THE BOOKS!
“But we need to win now.”
That should be the headlines of this call.
So I have a 3-week old son, who is named James, after my father and I. There has been considerable debate on a nickname, as there are already 50 Jims and Jameses in our family. I’ve started calling him Johan. Is that strange?
Only in that a nickname is usually shorter syllablically (is that a word?) than the name it’s nicking…otherwise it’s wonderful.
you shouldnt just “give” him a nickname, he has to do something cute or different to warrant a nickname GOD!
I just convinced my wife, to name our new Daughter, Tana, as in Johan San”tana”.
Before the trade, I told my wife if it went through, we’re going to name our next son Johan. The name has a nice meaning too (God is gracious!). Considering how everyone was saying we were long shots, I’d say God is Gracious!
trey
Not strange, but perhaps unwanted if Santana doesn’t live up to his rep…
“never trade pelfrey”? what? since when was he good enough to not be available in a trade for johan santana? lol
since when will a GM say, yeah, that Pelfrey guy we have, he sucks, the Twins didn’t want him, so we couldn’t trade him…yeah, that’ll happen. Also, Pelfrey DID improve at the end of the season, but of course people who weren’t watching closely didn’t notice that. He’s a guy on the rise and it should be interesting to watch what he ends up doing this year. By the end of the year year, I say he’s in our rotation.
Pelfrey did show signs I agree but he should spend most of the season in AAA working on his second pitch. He will definetly be in 2009 rotation if not traded, especially if we lose Oliver Perez in free agency. I hope Omar does whatever he has to do to lock up Perez and Maine to long term deals. A rotation of Johan, Perez, Maine, and Pelfrey for the next 6 to 7 years would be ausome!
It’s almost certain that the reason the Twins didn’t want Pelfrey was because his Boras-negotiated contract provides that beginning next season he will earn $1 million. Were that not the case I doubt they’d be less interested in Pelfrey than in Mulvey and Humber.
Yeah … I was going to comment on that. To lump Pelfrey in with FMart and Reyes means the Mets must still be VERY high on him, or it is PR spin. Perhaps the Twins never even asked about him.
I’m hoping Omar has seen something in the last six or seven months that I haven’t to have him thinking the former.
I think the optimism about Pelfrey is based on the same things that led to them drafting him with their first draft pick of the year. Of course, his less than impressive performance in the majors so far (except for the last few of last year) will lead to some doubts creeping in, but Pelfrey still has the same skills and talent he did when he was drafted. And remember, Aaron Heilman’s career progressed very similarly, and now he is doing a very good job as a set-up man. Pelfrey has…what?…2 years of professional experience? He should not have been in the majors, yet–it was too soon, and that is why he struggled. He could still pan out. And, most significantly, since he has struggled so far, his trade value is low, so it would make no sense to trade him at this point–what would they get for him? They need to hang on to him and hope he turns it around. That way, the Mets either benefit from his services, or by trading him when his trade value is much higher. If he does not turn things around, then we likely would have no worse than anything that would come in a trade for him at this point. Technically, that makes Pelfrey untouchable–if Omar wants to say it in a way that makes it sound like it is because Pelfrey is a much-hyped uber prospect…hey, go for it! :)
I sense the team will want to begin treading water with new contracts. Meaning…this Santana deal puts our payroll around $130M next year. I can see them trying to keep that number right there between guys who are getting raises and new hires along with guys who are expensive and will leave like Delgado and Alou and Duque and possibly even Pedro.
It means a new emphasis on things like player development.
Right now the only inexpensive positions on the roster are at Ca and RF and a few pitchers along with the bench. Reyes and Wright are still inexpensive considering their production but not cheap like under a $1M
the real question: what kinda shoes are we talking about here?
Umm haven’t you seen Omar’s new K-Swiss?
hope theres no egg in it
Haven’t you seen Omar’s new K-Swiss?
As I have posted before, Don’t know if you guys knew this but apparently Turk Wendell saved the deal. Omar and Green burg got into quite a tussle, Omar got stabbed in the eye with a chopstick, while wrestling with Peter Greenburg about who has better shoes. Turk Wendell came in and did a quadruple back flip while wrestling with a bear. He soon caused an avalanche after his bite to the bears neck made the bear yelp with extreme pain. Turk rescued them with shark tooth and all and carried them (In mid-air might I add) to taco bell. They had the negotiations in the bathroom. I guess Omar won at battlesh*ts and they got him! God Bless You Turk! (BTW I could defiantly J it to this trade I seriously can and will)
“since he would never trade Fernando Martinez, Pelfrey or Jose Reyes”
VERY interesting to see Pelfrey listed with the other two.
omar saying that he wouldnt trade pelfrey is just a ploy to increase pelfrey’s trade value with other gm’s. It’s very possible Pelfrey might be needed in a trade pkg at the trading deadline, so if Minaya claims he was untouchable now, other gm’s might think more highly of him. Hard to imagine wiht the way he performed… but it was worth a shot by Omar
There is no intention in trading Pelfrey. Next year, the Mets, God forbid, will be short of 3 starters. Pelfrey shows promise and those who jump to early to say that Pelfrey sucks is clearly short sighted. Pelfrey is projected to be a #2 and has a longs way to go, but he will get there. Omar should be content with where the team is going. Only thing that remains is to resign Ollie and build the farm from scratch which consequently is why this years draft is immensely important. Citifield, Johan, FMart and Pelfrey are some of the things to look forward too, not too mention a couple of championships if I’m not getting too ahead of myself. But back to the point being is that Pelfrey will be our homegrown ace, you just wait and see.
I hope your right. I think it is in him somewhere but at some point…he has to be the one to let the tiger out and just pitch. Development is not only about the coaching…it is also about the student
Pelfrey’s had a bad start to his ML career, but to give up on him now would be like what the Orioles did with John Maine two years ago. Young guys need time.
Perhaps just as importantly, the Mets desperately need to have at least one credible backup ML starter in AAA. Pelfrey is that guy until the next generation of prospects can step up.
I just thought of perhaps the best baseball game ever. Mets vs Red Sox opening the World Series, Santana vs Beckett. Mookie Wilson and Bill Buckner in attendance… Wow!
Wow, that would be a double whammy to the Sox and the Yanks.
Have we ever gotten an exact answer:
As far as I read, the six year deal counts 2008, b/c they mention 2014 as an option year.
so that means it’s the original year, 2008, a five year extension and an option year. Right?
Since it’s tech. a five year extension, I’m assuming we can get insurance.
Do I have everything right or is something off base here?
You’re right on the contract – Santana is signed through 2013 with an option year for 2014 – 5.5 million buyout.
However, in terms of insurance I don’t think you’re right. I read somewhere (don’t remember where) that the most you could get insurance for is 3 years/39 million for a pitcher. The 5/6/7 years wasn’t so we could get insurance or not, just how much the Mets were willing to give him that would be uninsured – they are OK with 2 years uninsured, but not 3 or 4.
Thanks for the response. Now that you mention it, the 3/39 thing sounds familiar.
Maybe Mo Vaughn can chip in some $ if Johan gets hurt.
“He’s extremely happy. We’re all very happy,” Greenberg said. “We’re still kind of pinching ourselves to make sure this is really true. This is a match made in heaven.”
Omar is saying that this is the team we are going to spring training with, but the Pioneer Press is reporting the Mets and P Kyle Lohse may be discussing a one year, $5 million, which i’d say DO IT AS FAST AS POSSIBLE
I’d say do it just to keep Lohse away from Philly. Or at least drive his price up.
Why do we want to keep Lohse *away* from Philly?
They think he’ll help them. So I’d rather not help them.
{ioneer press?
when?
Link?
thanks.
Isn’t Lohse a Boras client? Hard to believe that any Boras client would accept a 1 year, $5 million deal, let alone one that was seeking a deal for 4 or 5 years at $10 million per year. Maybe Warren Buffett and/or Goldman Sachs sidestepped Boras again? (I know, I know–that deal is pocket change for those guys! Still kind of funny to think of them swooping in on Boras’ clents.)
i am alittle annoyed with minaya saying this is the team hes goin to spring training with, if its true, then im ok, im actually very happy, but dont say it to the public, say we are still looking for ways to continue improving our ball club.
I am pretty sure Omar has the same amount of desire to have sex with Rosie Odonnel as he does to make you happy rockets, so stop crying.
Look at it in the other way, maybe Omar said it, so as to sneak in and make another deal for a righty bat off the bench or another pitcher, without that expectation.
I’m sure Omar doesn’t quite have the Green Light from his bosses to spend too much anymore, so maybe he’s trying to get a deal.
On that subject, I wonder in Livan would take a one year, mega cheapo deal, perhaps even a Minor League, ST invite contract, JUST to play with El Duque, on a Championship team.
ReyesRocks–I certainly do not have any inside info, but I doubt Livan would take a minor league deal with a ST invite. He is nowhere near Johan’s level, but I cannot imagine that he will not be able to get a guaranteed deal somewhere. Maybe even a 2-year deal. At the very least, he is an innings eater. The quality of the innings may not be so hot anymore, but there is a value to a guy throwing a lot of innings and saving a team’s bullpen.
I understand the sentiment, rockets212, but I think we should presume that Omar–and every GM, for that matter–is always looking to improve the team. As an extreme example, do you think Omar would turn down a trade of Carlos Delgado for Albert Pujols? Of course not. But he’s not actively looking for a first baseman, like he was for an ace pitcher. Because he was actively looking for an ace pitcher, he had to give up 4 of the organization’s top 7 prospects, despite the fact that they also had to sign him to the richest contract ever for a pitcher. Imagine if there had been some competition for him? Now, Omar can look for ways to improve the team, but there is no pressing need, so teams have no leverage with him. That’s what this statement seems to be about, as far as I can tell.
For all the guys out there (Olney) that claims Johan lost velocity at the end of the year… I watched some highlights on mlb.com – in August he struck out 17 with heaters between 91-94, the same range as when he struck out 11 on Sep. 9.
Couldn’t really find video for the last two starts, but I think that whole angle has been drastically overstated by the talking heads.
You know, Nails, I think you will always have naysayers. Especially when a deal is so obviously good, like this one is for the Mets. They say what they do with enough equivocation that you can’t throw it in their faces when it doesn’t come true, but, if it does happen, they look like geniuses. Basically, they just throw things against the wall and see what sticks.
Is it me, or is it just a little scary that Greenberg was checking his watch every five minutes and Omar thought it might not happen? Whew. Glad things fell in place.
Just saving Heilman, Pelphrey and FMart for when Kazmir is available.
I would sign Lohse, cause he can be a good 5th starter AND a good reliever, hes very versatile, and proved a little of his guts in September…and if it really is one year $5 million, I would sign him easily to that
“Ex-Twin Kyle Lohse’s asking price – really -was $11 million a year early this winter. Don’t be surprised if he ends up with the Mets with a $5 million, one-year deal.
A little birdie says not only were the Twins rebuked when they asked for hitting prospect Fernando Martinez in the Santana deal, but the Mets also refused their request for left-handed pitching prospect Jon Niese.”
- Pioneer Press
there is now a link to the conference call on mlb.com
Don’t see it.
Never mind, listening to it now.
Matt, any way that we could find out if the press conference is going to be on TV
Its. On MLB. com its a conference call but you can listen to it
I like the idea of driving up the price on Lohse. Keep the Phils from doing other stuff.
Ok,Ok,Ok……..Now that the Santana deal is done………
Martinez, Pelfrey, and Heilman for C.C Sabathia!!!!
Lets Go OMar!!!! Go get ‘em!!!!
Love the Santana jerseys on mlb.com.
“Johan Santana and the Mets: a perfect fit.”
just got my black santana t-shirt at the mets clubhouse. XL and XXL just in case to wear at the SB party tommorow.
Matt – did you catch the Bill Simmons Podcast on Santana. He had Gus Ramsey coordinating producer for Baseball Tonight, a huge Mets fan who quickly threw up a big plug for Metsblog saying it’s a “great resource for all Mets fans”.
Great job.
Lets Go Mets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Santana’s vesting options include Cy Young Awards, Innings Pitched, and Silver Slugger Awards. He basically pulled a Benny and said, “Just stand out there and stick your glove out in the air. I’ll take care of it.”
funniest thing ive heard a philles fan say
lekh: Why do we need Bedard? We signed Chad Durbin
Have you guys heard the Twins conference call?
What a wreck. An XM radio station was in on the phone call cause they took over the phone call midway and the Twins office couldn’t get them off the line.
Weird and funny at the same time.
That was very weird. I was upset that the Mets conference call was cut short and Matt didnt get to get a question in.
Whats up fellas, first of all Id like to say we won the jackpot with Santana. Now speaking of the physical, was an MRI on Johan’s pitching shoulder included in this physical??
http://www.metsprospectus.blogspot.com
2008 Player Predictions: David Wright
David Wright AKA D-Wright AKA ddubs AKA Superstar
2007 season: Wow the beginning of the 2007 season seems so far in the past when reminiscing about David Wright. Think back to spring training.. Wright still has the curse of homerun derby over his head, and we’re all still wondering what happened to him in the second half. The Mets are playing around with Wright in the batting order; hitting him 2nd, 3rd, 5th, because they don’t exactly know what they have in the 23 year old. Well Wright hit .290 in Spring but hit just 1 homerun in 69 AB, causing us to worry.
Wright started the season hitting 5th in the lineup, but he looked like he deserved to be batting 9th after the pitcher. Wright hit just .244 with NO homeruns and 6 RBI in April. He just looked lost at the plate.. Not only was he struck out every time a pitcher threw a slider with two strikes, but his swing had changed from a perfect level swing to an uppercut that made Jeremy Burnitz’s swing look good. I’m not going to lie, I was extremely worried. Here is when the critics came in, and said pitchers finally figured Wright out.
Wright shut up critics by rebounding and hitting .294 with 8 homeruns and 22 RBI in May. I think the change happened because Wright changed his approach, and was more aggressive. I felt the success came from him being more aggressive at the plate. He actually had a lower OBP in May then he did in April, because he was drawing less walks AKA more aggressive.
Wright had a great June in which he hit .323 with a beastly .411 OBP. Then in July the Mets fired hitting coach Rick Downs, and promoted one of Wright’s favorite people Howard Johnson. I bow down to Howard Johnson. This guy did an amazing job with David Wright.. Though Wright was hitting much better in May/June he still had the uppercut, Howard Johnson worked with Wright and ultimately got rid of that uppercut.
David Wright was just a B-E-A-S-T after the all-star break; it was impossible to keep him off the bases. After hitting .333 with an OBP over .400 in July, the Mets moved Wright to third in batting order. Wright then hit .394 YES .394 (.394) in August. He had a god-like OBP which was over .500, and an OPS over 1.000. Not to mention he also hit 6 homeruns drove in 21 runs, and stole 6 bases.
September may have not been the best month for the Mets, but it was one to remember for Wright. Wright hit .352 with 6 homeruns, and 4 SB giving him 30 homeruns and 30 steals for the season, putting him in elite company. Did I mention he also won a gold glove?
Overall: Wright hit .364 with 14 homeruns and 56 RBI in the second half, putting him at .325/30/107 for the season. Take out that horrible April, and Wright hit .340 for the season. Batting in the 3rd spot in the order Wright hit .368 with 12 homeruns and 48 RBI in just 242 AB. David Wright is a complete player; he’s the golden boy, the player you want to build your franchise around. O yeah, he’s still only 25 years old.
Prediction: .330 34 homeruns 44 doubles 128 RBI 115 R 31 SB
Id also like to bring to attention that the scouting department in the twins organization recommended the trade that brought santana to the twins for many quality years and Johan was nothing special at the time the twins aquired him. Therefore, the package of prospects send for santana might be lower level, but if the twins scouting department might see the same signs in Guerra and Mulvey as was thought of at the time twins originally made a swap for santana when he was less than stellar. Plus a very promising OF in Gomez and perhaps a major leauge ready pitcher in 1st round draft pick Humber whos a injury recovery away from a superstar himself. The twins chances of seeing this trade a major success is remote, but judging the evaluators in the twins organization, very possible.
Absolutely, Captain. Bill Smith certainly botched this deal in the sense that he waited too long, and basically eliminated any competition factor (so the Mets didn’t have to worry about being outbid). But, considering that they really HAD to trade Johan, and really had only one option, Smith did what he could. And, like you said, I wouldn’t put anything past their scouting department–they have done a great job for a long time, so no reason to think they did not do so again, on this occasion.
Wow, they absolutely sweated bullets to get this done, after listening to the conference call. The great thing is that they all wanted it to work, plus Omar was very conscious what we wanted and what we were going through!!
Great work everyone, Omar and all the Mets and especially you Matt for keeping us up with everything. Do we all owe you shoes as well???
Oh, just bought my authentic snow white Santana jersey!! Couldn’t resist, plus my b’day is upcoming so managed to convice the wife we NEEDED this jersey in the house!! LOL!!
What an incredible week! Go Mets and Go Giants!!!!!
Can’t wait for opening day!
The word extension had me confused. It was not an extension, but rather they agreed to tear up the orriginal contract and start afresh.
2008 $19.0 million
2009 $20.0 million
2010 $21.0 million
2011 $22.5 million
2012 $24.0 million
2013 $25.5 million
OPTION
2014 $25.0 million OR $5.5 million buyout
I would think that 2008 was already insured and $ 39 million of the $41 million payable in 2009 and 2010 would be.
Yep, it is new contract with 2014 vesting option and he has full no trade clause
Saw this on Mets Fever (I said church should bat 3rd yesterday and everyone laughed at me) – I waited to complete this post until I saw what players from the major league roster were traded. Since none have been lost, I will present what I think would be the best line-up, when the everyday players are in the game.
I know most people expect Ryan Church to hit in the seven spot but I think that would be a waste of his hitting style. Church is a prototypical gap hitter with very little home run power, these type of hitters have been primarily slotted into the three spot in a traditional line-up. Before tuning out please hear me out. After the 2006 season I was one of the first to want Lo Duca moved down in the line-up, at the time it was heresy but as the season unfolded it became apparent that it was where he belonged.
Jose Reyes and Luis Castillo are the best table setting tandem the Mets have had since the late 80’s. A funkless Reyes with a high on base percentage, coupled with great speed is perfect in front of an injury free contact hitter like Castillo. Infielders tighten up and even if they don’t make an error it’s near impossible to double these two up. Castillo is extremely patient, allowing Reyes to steal second and move to third on a ground ball. With these two the pressure is on the defense, which can easily result in an error making it a first and third situation. I’ve heard some say that maybe Church should hit second and put Castillo in the seven spot but I think that would be a mistake.
Last year, in his first season as a regular player Ryan Church hit 43 doubles and only 15 HRs. With runners on base, a gap hitter like Church would have more chances to drive in runners and sustain rallies in the third spot. The only player with a similar hitting style that played for the Mets was Shawn Green and despite hitting almost .300 for the year, he drove in very few runners, because he was slapping the ball around with no one on base and then getting stranded himself. If Church hits in the seventh spot I believe he will be in the same situation. With Alou and Delgado in front of him, even if they’re on base they don’t have the speed to score from first on a double, then Schnieder and the pitcher will be up, leaving at least Church if not others stranded. But if he hits third, a double with Reyes and Castillo on base would score them both and he’ll be on second with four power hitters behind him.
I would hit Wright fourth behind Church to go lefty, righty. Wright has the power for the clean-up spot and can hit for average, he also has the demeanor to handle the spot. He has become a great situational hitter, knowing when to swing for the fence or just drive the ball into the outfield.
Beltran would be next, hitting fifth would take a little pressure off Beltran, who I think tends to tense up at times. He would still be in a position to drive in runners but not the focal point of the offense. He would be positoned in between Wright and Delgado where he would be protected, but as a switch hitter create a problem for managers regarding pitching changes at a critical point in the line-up. He is hitting for slightly more power then average compared to Wright, making them a good four/five combo.
I would have Delgado hit sixth, a pitcher on the rocks who already allowed a few runs off a Church double, Wright single and Beltran deep fly out could now be knocked out of the game by one mighty swing of Delgado’s bat. I do believe Delgado will rebound this year, but I still think at this point in his career he is an all or nothing home run hitter, who would fit perfect in the sixth spot. Delgado would get the protection he needs from Alou, while strecthing the line-up out even more, placing more pressure on the pitcher. Beltran between Wright and Delgado would put two tough hitters from the same side back to back depending on the match-up.
Alou is a hitting machine who is probably the only player on the team that doesn’t need protection. He has the greatest potential to be productive hitting in front of two automatic outs in the catcher and pitcher. As I said before, he would provide protection for Delgado and could drive-in anyone still on base, while having the best chance of driving himself in as a solo run. Alou hitting in front of Church would end up with him stranded at third because he doesn’t have the speed to score from first on a Church double and then Church would be stranded on second. Church hitting seventh seems like a waste of a great gap hitter while hitting Alou that deep in the line-up puts a tremendous amount of pressure on a pitching staff.
So here’s how my 2008 line-up would look
switch-Reyes- .280/ 36 doubles / 12 triples / 12 HR / 78 SB
switch – Castillo – .300 / 19 SB / 19 doubles
left – Church – .272 / 43 doubles / 15 HR / 70 RBI
right -Wright – .325 / 42 doubles / 30 HRs / 30 HR / 34 SB / 107 RBI
switch – Beltran – .276 / 33 doubles / 33 HR / 3 triples / 23 SB / 112 RBI
left – Delgado- .258 / 30 doubles / 24 HRs / 87 RBI
right – Alou- .341 / 19 doubles / 14 HR / 49 RBI
left- Schnieder – .235 / 21 doubles / 6 HR / 54 RBI
pitcher
Alou has said that when he is no longer batting in the top 6, he knows it’s time to retire. Also, typically you want your best true hitter batting 3rd, that’s Wright. Maybe after Alou and Delgado are gone, and Church shows he can hit, the Mets would do something like what you’re saying.
Well said, however I dont think the Wilpons would enjoy waiting for the 5 spot to see their bigest offensive investment hit? I would think that they would want Beltran to hit as much as possible, so 3, 4 spot max. I mean the 5 hole compared to the 4 hole could have Beltran still standing in the on deck circle when the final score comes up on the score board.
You don’t push your 2 best hitters (Wright and Beltran) down a spot to accommodate Church. There are many worse hitters around than Church, but you don’t want Reyes and Castillo getting on base for Ryan Church. You want them getting on base for Wright and Beltran–Alou, as well. I could see hitting him 6th, and Delgado 7th, given that Delgado is on the down side of his career, but that is as high as he can go on this team. Of course, that would raise other concerns, with Church and Delgado both being lefthanded hitters (as is Schneider, who would often be batting 8th behind them), but if that was not an issue, like I said, that’s the highest Church should be placed in the order. If he can’t hit when he is in the bottom part of the order, then he should be benched. They can’t put him in an undeservedly high spot in the order, just so he can get pitched to more, if it is going to cost Wright and Beltran PAs and RBI opportunities.
And, BTW, although Castillo was certainly the right choice to hit 2nd once he was acquired, it was not a good idea to have LoDuca hitting lower in the order before then. He has zero power. His only offensive attributes were his ability to take pitches to let Reyes steal, and his ability to make contact, for hit and runs, and to advance baserunners–the ideal #2 hitter. And since you do not want your stud hitters hitting second–where they would either deny Reyes stolen base opportunities by not taking pitches, or ruin their own opportunities by taking pitches to drive, just so Reyes can steal–Duke wasn’t cheating anybody out of PAs.
Ryan Church should not bat more times in a game than David Wright. That is all there is to it.
There was word during the negotiations that Santana wanted an opt-out clause after three years. Any word if he got this?
i cant open the conference call WTF!
Greenburg during the conference call: Johan’s first choice was the Mets, and this is a match made in Heaven.”
Johan was born to be a Met, Mike & the Angry Puppy need to eat their words.
Wish I could see the official press conference!! I don’t even know if ESPN cares enough to show it, but I’m sure SNY will [lucky New Yorkers, I love yous.]
SO EXCITEDD LET’S GO METSSSSSSSSSS :) :)
ok so now that omar minaya said we need to win now, can the people who refuse to believe we are a win now team please just shut up.
HEY GUYS…I COME TO EAT CROW I WAS WRONG AND I WANT TO SAY THAT I AM SHOCKED THAT THEY GOT IT DON, BUT NONETHELESS I AM HERE TO JUST EAT CROW AND SAY I WILL NO LONGER BE CALLING THE WILPONS THE COUPONS……I REALLY THOUGHT THAT THEY WOULD BLOW IT SOMEHOW…..I AM REALLY HAPPY AND SO IS MY 5 YEAR OLD SON WHO WILL NOW SEE MORE GAMES CAUSE I VOWED NOT TO GO TO ANOTHER GAME IF THEY DIDNT GET THIS DONE……I WANT TO TELL YOU ALL, LETS GO METS…..P.S. MATT YOU MUST BE REWARDED FOR BEING THE ONLY ONE KEEPING US POSTED CAUSE EVERY SINGLE RADIO SHOW HAS THE SUPERBOWL COVERAGE AND NO JOHAN COVERAGE ONLY LITTLE TIDBITS…MATT YOU ARE A GOOD METS FAN AND THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK…..
look just enjoy your bucket of crow wings and beat it, watch Johan at yankee statium this year.
LOOK CAPTAIN….AT LEAST O ADMITTED I WAS WRONG…..LIKE YOU DIDNT SWEAT….BS…….WE ALL HAD THAT THOUGHT AND I WASNT THE ONLY ONE THINKING IT WASNT GOING TO GET DONE
CAPTAIN YOUR A TRIP……AT LEAST I ADMIT I WAS WRONG I BET YOU KNEW ALL ALONG THEY HAD HIM SIGNED….YEA OK…..
lol apology not accepted lol
I WASNT APOLOGIZING TO YOU…I WAS APOLOGIZING TO THE TRUE METS FANS WHO KNEW WHAT I WAS GOING THROUGH
YEA LOL……..I WAS APOLOGIZING TO THE REAL FANS WHO KNEW WHAT I FELT
No more Freddy or Jeff Coupons, that title is now in the trash. They have brought here Martinez, Beltran, Wagner and Santana. Thanks to Omar, the Wilpons and to Matt Cerrone for his hard work he has put in to inform us of all that was happening with this Santana trade.
I know it must of not been easy, so I really appreciate that.
Only the Wilpons could say a deal with a superstar was hanging in the balance because of 5 million dollars over 6 years. less than a mill a year and they were begging for an extension. I don’t see how this organization, even with its own network and its new stadium, will ever be big time when it is owned by two pygmy brains like the Wilpons.
it was 5 mil a year first off
and come one the mets just got the best player in baseball and have one of the highest payrolls.
that is what business people do, they try to get the best deal possible but as they said there was no chance they weren’t signing him
what else would you like them to do at this point
and i love Minaya basically telling Willie if you can’t win with this team then you’re out of here
Any contract of this magnitude will effect the entire sport as a whole, future position players as well as pitchers, the only reason the contract was this high was because of the giants giving in to Barry Zito last season. The Wilpons realize their resposibility of setting the quality pitching rates for years to come.
agreed and i don’t think cc is better than johan so i don’t believe he will get more than santana btw excellent arcticle on johan in the daily news