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Jon Heyman at SI.com reports that Johan Santana was very close to becoming a Texas Ranger before being dealt to the Mets.
Heyman writes:
“Indications are that Texas’ trade discussions with the Twins progressed to the point where there was either agreement or near agreement on the young players going back to Minnesota. At that point, executives involved in the talks believed that the trade was very likely to be consummated if only Santana gave a more enthusiastic response when Twins higher ups quizzed him about whether he’d accept a trade to the Rangers. However, a diplomatic Santana is believed to have told the Twins only that he’d ‘consider’ going to Texas, an answer that was seen as less than enthusiastic.”
…more evidence that santana’s preference to play in the national league and with the mets was a key part in getting the deal done…
…added to by Matthew Cerrone…
…way, way back on December 11 i wrote, “From what I can gather, the Rangers are the third team in this mix, not the Yankees, Mariners or Angels, but I do not believe they have much of a chance to get him anyway.”…
…i am surprised to hear that discussions were further along than i anticipated…goes to show you, never underestimate any team when in the middle of hype and the Hot Stove…
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Happy he came here, that’s for sure.
The article gives the impression that he wouldn’t willingly accept a deal to go to Texas…I mean who would?
The Texas Rangers are the reason players ask for no-trade clauses.
Somewhere in an alternate universe, pizzaro world if you will, Johan is pitching for Texas while Arod decided not to opt out of his contract with the stros because he wasn’t interested in getting a big pay day neither did his agent Bott Scoras.
this is why you should never believe any of the media reports about trades and such, no one tips their hand, and the info you do hear usually has some sort of motive behind it. Fans eat it up, but most of the time its all fluff.
santana is not even on the mets. it’s an illusion. mike francesa insisted there would be no trade w/o reyes in it. period.
Can’t blame Johan for not being enthusiastic over the possibility of playing in that Arlington bandbox.
OK, call me very biased and I apologize in advance to any Texans who may be offended, but I just don’t see how anyone would prefer to live in the hot inhospitable environment of the Arlington TX area over someplace like NY. Not to mention how atrocious that stadium is for pitchers.
If the Rangers ever want to win a WS, they better build a new stadium more friendly to pitchers and one with a retractable roof. Otherwise fugheddaboudit.
And I’m happy Santana put his foot down.
There’s one and only one real way to lure an athete to Texas, no state income tax.
Other than that, anyone picking the quality of life in Arlington over NYC is certifiably insane.
I really don’t get this type of philosophy. *BOTH* teams’ pitchers have to pitch in the park. BOTH teams deal with the fact that it’s a hitters park…there is NO disadvantage to a given team playing home games in a hitters park….unless they don’t have any hitters.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is simply not thinking it all the way through.
There’s no disadvantage to a team, per se, but pitchers don’t want to pitch in bandboxes because they would rather not acquire the inflated ERA.
But it is a huge disadvantage to the stats of a home team pitcher who has to play half the season in the bandbox.
the disadvantage is that the team with a hitters’ park uses it’s bullpen a lot more over the course of the season. 81 games in that park kills their bullpen. their opponent recovers going home to their pitchers’ parks
Granted both teams are hitting in the hitters park it balances out. However, in terms of stats which ultimatlely is what the pitchers salary is based on, most pitchers would rather win games 4-2 as opposed to 8-6. Sure their win/loss record may be the same, but they will no doubt have a higher ERA.
Here’s the difference — only one of those pitchers is pitching almost all year round in that atrocious park.
It’s like Coors (before the humidor). Pitching year round in a helluva hitters park puts more stress on your arm all year round. And on the rest of the pitching staff too. It also inflates your stats unnaturally so you’re less likely to get honors like Cy Young awards or All-Star game selections. And along with those honors often comes bonus money written into contracts.
For example, if Shea were like the Arlington Park, Maine and the rest of the starters are likely to throw more pitches earlier in games. They’ll tend to be pulled earlier from the games and that puts more stress on the bullpen too.
So there are really two reasons why a team with a severe hitters park is less likely to win a WS. One, such a park puts a lot of stress on pitching staffs so they’re more likely to be over-stressed by season’s end. And, two, for that reason and the other reasons of awards, honors and money mentioned above, elite pitchers will generally avoid signing with those teams.
It’s pitching that generally wins in the postseason. So the teams with a severe hitters park won’t ever be able to build the type of staff that the Mets have now. I shouldn’t say ever. But it might be once in a blue moon.
It’s not just the ballpark. Don’t forget the DH which also inflates a pitcher’s era.
This Saturday, Johan and Padro will pitch in the same game.
Who’s Padro
LOL…check the birth certificate…Maybe we missed that one.
No Pepper Games….its not about one pitchers advantage over another…the reason a pitcher like Johan, or anyone else wouldnt want to pitch in a band box like texas is because he will give up more hits, more runs, and as a result be able to pitch less innings, gets less wins, have a crappier ERA, and be looked at as less of a pitcher.
Why even publish this. Really. Does it matter?? He is a NY Met and will be for several more years. I guess Heymann has nothing else better to write about.
slow news day?
Two words: Who cares? It’s in the past. Santana is a Met and probably will be for the rest of his career.
Sorry to change the Subject, but does anyone else feel like John Maine is about to break out, i mean really break out as a superstar pitcher this year? I feel like hes ready, confident, seasoned and will take it to the next level. Im talking like Cy Young calibur.
Absolutely. It makes me happy in the pants. I have hopes that this could be the first team since 1924 in the NL to have 3 20-game winners, esp with Maine mostly going against teams’ #3 guy. Wishful thinking? Of course. But it helps me get past last september.
I was gonna post that had it not have been for you
Yep. Last year he had stretches where he was one of the best pitchers in the NL. This year, all he needs to do is increase his consistency and focus which I think he is already doing. I think a 19-7 3.25 season is very attainable.
I feel like both Maine and Perez are ready to hit the big time. Both have CY-caliber arms, so it’s really a matter of being mentally and emotionally prepared for it.
No no no! He was gunna go to the Yankees! YANKEES!!!!!!! He WANTED TO GO TO THE YANKEES!!!!!!!!!
…..Sorry, Mike and the Mad Dog moment….
Totally unnecessary comment…we all know EVERYONE wants to play for the Yankees. But only the truly blessed, like Billy Crystal and Shelley Duncan, get to.
What was most interesting to me about the article, is that it seems Johan would have gone to Texas had Hunter been signed there too. Johan seems to be a guy that values friendship very highly. Nice to have a guy like that on the team. I’m not saying that anyone else is a ME guy but it’s still nice.
I guess Texas would have traded Reyes for him, that’s how they almost got him…
Why do people post “who cares” on a news article?
Seriously – it happens a lot, and I don’t get it.
I mean, when I see a news article, I don’t ever think “who cares” because it just seems like an arrogant thing to say… News articles appeal to different people…
And it is rude to say it for the people that run this site as well.
./rant
Dude, who cares?
How does one understatement something?
You have a crap spell check on your blog editing tool, that’s how.
lol
spring training is pretty meaningless. that being said humber has looked good for the spring: 3 no-hit innings today giving him 9 innings 3 hits 0 runs for the season.
never been big on the kid. interested to see if he makes the twins.
milledge is going to have a very nice year.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see Humber succeed out of the NY spotlight, but he never did much to inspire during his time with the Mets to have me fret about losing him, or to fret about not using him more while he was with the organization. For a guy with his “stuff” he never really dominated any level in the minors and he flopped in his one golden opportunity to compete for a rotation spot. His numbers were good last season, comparable to the rest of the league, but it wasn’t like his performance was demanding attention.
definately wasn’t impressed despite being in the top 10 in wins and era for most of the year in new orleans.
even if he ends up being very good along with mulvey and gomez, the trade was a must for the mets.
if milledge is as good as i expect then i’ll be very disappointed by that trade.
Ayatollah Go-Mainey!!!!!!!!!!!!
Could John Maine be the “Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah?”