Mets forever

[sonny10305]

I'm just hoping to read tomorrow that they have signed Santana.They are playing it awfully close with tomorrow's 5pm deadline to work out an extension...but I expect it to be done.Six more years,around $145 million.The Mets have worked out the trade,and they cannot afford to be holding fast to a rigid five year only extension.They owe it to the fans who were so let down by their historic collapse last September.When it's done,the Mets can officially move on and start anew in the eyes of their fans,but only when it's done.

I am swinging that way as well. I think the Mets wanted 5 and
Santana wants 7 so a 6 year compromise seems like the way it's gonna go. I think you got the money right as well. Keep your ears on the news today, should be done by tonights deadline

 

[Sausy]

I am swinging that way as well. I think the Mets wanted 5 and
Santana wants 7 so a 6 year compromise seems like the way it's gonna go. I think you got the money right as well. Keep your ears on the news today, should be done by tonights deadline

There apparently has been a two hour extension to the contract negotiations.....the Mets will earn the eternal emnity of their fans if they blow up this opportunity to get the best pitcher in baseball in his prime,because this will not happen again soon.Either the Mets fucking give Santana the sixth year,which they seem unwisely reluctant to do,or hope Santana can accept an easily achievable option year.Both sides have too much riding on a succesful outcome to this negotiation to screw it up because either side takes a shortsighted hardline view about money.It will be a record breaker no matter what,no time to get anal!

 

[Sausy]

According to ESPN News,the Mets and Santana have reached a deal!Yay!

 

[sonny10305]

According to ESPN News,the Mets and Santana have reached a deal!Yay!

Suasy, I posted this in your thread but I thought news as great as this it should go here as well

The Mets finally landed the best pitcher in baseball. They came to an agreement with Santana, signing him to a contract that would make him the
highest paid pitcher in baseball history.

All that's left is his physical exam, which is scheduled for Saturday.

The Mets and Santana agreed to a six-year, $137.5 million contract through 2013, with an option for the 2014 season,
Santana had one year and $13.25 million remaining on his contract, but instead of negotiating an extension, the sides worked out a new deal.

Sooooooooooo what took so long?
The Mets and Santana’s agent were haggling over the length of the contract. The biggest problem was the Mets’ reluctance to give Santana six guaranteed years. They preferred a five-year deal with vesting options that could be reached relatively easily.
But in the end, the Mets relented and awarded Santana a contract that eclipsed the $126 million deal Zito signed with the San Francisco Giants before last season.

Whew!!!
Ok, lets all shout it out together now

LET'S GO METS!

 

[syam24]

Great news! Now if the Giants can knock off the Pats on Sunday it will be a great celebration on Monday/Tuesday in the NYC area!!

 

[sonny10305]

Great news! Now if the Giants can knock off the Pats on Sunday it will be a great celebration on Monday/Tuesday in the NYC area!!

Actually the parade is already planned for Tuesday

New York police commissioner Raymond Kelly says the parade would start at 11 a.m. near Battery Park, followed by a City Hall Plaza ceremony at 1 p.m.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg refused to talk about parade plans, saying he didn’t want to jinx the Giants.

 

[sonny10305]

Now this is a happy sight

 

[sonny10305]

Now that the superbowl is over, it's time to concentrate on baseball.
Pitchers and catchers report next Thursday, and that includes Johan Santana

 

[Sausy]

Yes indeed it is!Didn't get a chance to watch the press conference this afternoon(had some errands to run)but I'll try to catch some pieces of it tonight.And to think...we not only get Johann Santana but have an opportunity to reload quickly the higher levels of the farm system!Tom Glavine's jumping back to the Braves gives us as I noted once the Brave's first round pick(#18 overall) and a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds.We can get two highly developed college players ready to help in a year or so.Hopefully the beginning of very good days for the Mets organization and their fans!

 

[sonny10305]

An intersting story in todays NY Daily News

Questions Mets must answer to erase historic September swoon

So, what needs to get sorted out beginning when pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Port St. Lucie on Thursday? Enough to occupy six-plus weeks:

1. Is Duaner Sanchez healthy?
The Mets' bullpen proved a vital cog during the 2006 division-title season, with Aaron Heilman and Sanchez serving as an effective late-inning tag team leading into Billy Wagner during the first half, and Heilman and Guillermo Mota - okay, an admitted steroid user - filling that role later on. Sanchez hasn't pitched in a game since a July 31, 2006 taxi-cab accident on I-95 in Miami resulted in a separated shoulder. GM Omar Minaya said Sanchez is now healthy and should be treated like any other reliever this spring. If that's the case and Sanchez can regain his pre-injury form, there might not be much competition in what's usually a seven-man bullpen, which would otherwise figure to include Wagner, Heilman, Pedro Feliciano, Scott Schoeneweis, Jorge Sosa and ex-Brewer Matt Wise. Joe Smith, Juan Padilla, Ruddy Lugo, Nate Field, Brian Stokes, Carlos Muñiz and Steven Register (Rule 5 pick/Rockies) will also be in camp.

2. How will Santana fare as a Met?
It bears noting that Santana's second-half numbers (5-7, 4.04 ERA) weren't exactly Cy Young-esque. And, for that matter, the Mets' new ace did allow an American League high 33 homers as a Twin in 2007. Regardless, the upshot of the trade should be that Santana flourishes in Flushing for several reasons. He'll face softer lineups in the NL. Shea isn't exactly a hitter's park. And, finally, pitchers get the advantage the first year facing unfamiliar batters. One illustration: Ted Lilly's ERA dropped from 4.31 in '06 with Toronto to 3.83 in '07 with the Cubs. As for how Santana handles the transition to New York, by all accounts he's said to have long relished performing on the Big Apple stage. That would make his personality suited for a quick start - and a far cry from Carlos Beltran, who most certainly needed time to adjust to the scrutiny and intensity of playing in New York.

3. Will Willie Randolph tighten the reins?
During the manager's first year at the helm, he left a two-page, typewritten set of rules - standards, using his terminology - that set the tone for a tightly run camp. The facial-hair restrictions may have been relaxed since 2005, and music may now be played in the clubhouse, but it would appear likely that Randolph will run a more disciplined ship this spring despite having a veteran squad. Carlos Delgado suggested the Mets played with a lack of urgency and fire down the stretch last season. We'll add “lack of attention to detail” - remember those ill-advised steals of third? - to that list. Randolph, who was left to twist in the wind by Omar Minaya for 24 hours after the collapse, before the GM affirmed he would return, figures to pay close attention to detail to guard against a repeat.

4. Can Delgado bounce back?
Delgado suggested last spring that his goal for 2007 was to lift his batting average, which dipped from .301 in '05 as a Marlin to .265 in '06. Instead, the downward progression continued, with Delgado producing career lows with a .258 average, 24 homers and 87 RBI. Because Delgado played on artificial turf in Toronto for much of his career, and because he played catcher before reaching the majors, there's speculation the 35-year-old first baseman may be fading. Randolph, who dropped Delgado to sixth in the order, behind Moises Alou, believes his first baseman needs to be more disciplined at the plate and realize he's no longer as capable of catching up to high-and-tight fastballs he turned on in his prime. Delgado also will need to demonstrate he's healthy after suffering a broken left hand in the devastating - disappointing, if you're Tom Glavine - Black Sunday debacle in the regular-season finale against the Marlins. Delgado is in the last guaranteed year of his deal; he's due to make $16 million. The Mets have a $16 million option for '09 with a $4 million buyout. (Florida will give the Mets $4 million this year.)

5. Are Brian Schneider and Ryan Church really better than Paul Lo Duca and Lastings Milledge?
Minaya, who had a sleepy winter until the Santana acquisition, was widely criticized for his Nov. 30 trade of Milledge to Manny Acta's Nationals for Schneider and Church after a free-agent deal with Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba fell apart. Schneider is four years younger than Lo Duca, as well as a clear defensive upgrade over the fan favorite. Schneider threw out 31.2% of runners last season, compared with 23.4% for the ex-Met. Lo Duca, who signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Nats and then was subsequently skewered in the Mitchell Report, already has a knee injury that required surgery and will sideline him into next month. The lefty-hitting Church, a 29-year-old outfielder who just avoided arbitration by settling for $2 million, hit .272 with 15 homers and 70 RBI in 144 games in D.C. last season and is slated to play right field in Flushing. But Church hit just .229 against southpaws. The Mets' projected bench is Ramon Castro, Marlon Anderson, Endy Chavez, Damion Easley and Ruben Gotay, which means the righty-hitting Easley could spell Church against some lefthanders. Former Met farmhand Angel Pagan, a switch-hitter who had 148 at-bats last year for the Cubs, also is in camp after being acquired last month for two minor leaguers. However, Pagan hit 53 points lower against southpaws (.236 vs. .289).

 

[sonny10305]

Next friday 2/29 SNY will televise the first pre season Mets game against the
St. Louis Cards at 1 PM live from Florida.
I am so excited I sometimes have trouble breathing just thinkin about it.

looks like Oliver Perez won his salary arbitration case against the New York Mets on Friday and will be paid US$6.5 million this year rather than the team's offer of $4,725,000On the field at Mets camp. Go get um Oliver.
Ya know all this talk about Santana, but we have to remember we have these two kids Perez and Maine in there as well, both of them are capable of an awesome this year.

Speaking of Santana, he threw batting practice to some of the boys this week,
David Wright walked away impressed, especially since he knew which pitches were coming and still had trouble picking them up.
I remember seeing the two square off in the 2006 all star game, ya know after after Wright homered in his first at bat.

David said "I think I faced Johan in my second at-bat and I'm feeling pretty good about myself and he throws that 95 m.p.h. cutter right on my hands, explodes my bat and I hit into a double play. I went up there kind of knowing about his changeup and I'm sitting on his changeup and he throws a 95 m.p.h. fastball on my hands. You can't go up there and sit on one pitch."

I knew David would have to be impressed with Santana, after all, Santana's changeup is considered one of the best in the game. Have you noticed how
he can maintain the same arm speed and motion regardless of whether he's throwing a fastball or changeup.

One note, and only one, about the disturbing shit coming through the media regarding this rivalry brewing between the Mets and Phillies.
Now the talk is about a potential, if not inevitable, fight on the field between the two teams. WHAT!!!
OK, so Beltron made a comment about the Mets being the team to beat, perfectly
innocent remark, in fact it was nice to hear him speak out , since he never says anything at all. But then shit-for-brains Rollins came back with some crap about Beltran and "plagiarism,'' WTF is he talking about, what, he owns that term
(team to beat) now?? how lame is that??

So to the media and others involved in this BS, quit the crap girls, we are not here to watch those two teams battle on the field, except in scoring runs and performing amazing defence. Oh ya, and kick ass pitching.
I have no desire to see them in fist-a-cuffs on the field, NONE.
Save that crap for hockey.
I am all for a little rivalry with the Phillies, as long as it doesn't get ugly.
I mean we had it for years with the Braves, and it was fun. This year, unless the Braves come back, it may very well be all about the Mets and Phillies.