In other news...

PLD is injured for at least 6 weeks, Nats need to find another catcher. What a lousy last few months for him. First, busted in Mitchell Report. Next, injury. Now, Mets pick up the best pitcher on the planet, and he's not on the team.

METS LAND SANTANA!!!!

This, I think the saying goes, changes everything.

Humber, Mulvey, Guerra and Carlos Gomez for Santana. We still have to work out the $ with Johan, and the years.

We hold onto F Mart and Pelfrey.

I love it.

BTW, not much to say other than that this is mad redemption for Omar. I mocked him after we traded Lastings and then didn't have the pieces to get Johan. Except we did have the pieces, and apparently Omar guessed right. Good on him.

Mets getting closer to Johan?

According to Buster Olney, action is imminent. He says that Boston is backing away, taking Lester off the table. He also cites this Joel Sherman column, that thinks the Mets are rising as a possible destination because the Twins tried to squeeze too much out of the Sawx and Yanks, both of whom seem to be pulling back from Santana Sweepstakes.

All is not yet lost with this offseason.

Focus

This Post article has Delgado repeating the Mets '07 story.

"We need to stay focused an extra six weeks," Delgado said yesterday of his team that choked away the NL East to the Phillies. "We kind of assumed that we were going to win. If you look back at 2006, it was kind of a magical year for us, maybe we thought it was going to be the same way (in 2007)."

"We kind of didn't play it out the last few weeks," Delgado said.

"If I see it next year, we definitely are going to be more aware of it," he said. "We are going to make it better in 2008. No one is going to hand you anything on a silver platter. In this game you have to go out and get it."

This reasoning behind the '07 meltdown has been offered by multiple players on the Mets. Bottom line: this is inexcusable and speaks volumes about the character of the players and coaches. GOOD players and coaches already know this to be true, they don't sit back and wait for victory to come to them, they go after it EVERY SINGLE GAME. Did you ever see Michael Jordan ease up on the gas? How about the Patriots? Red Sox? Or even the Yankees despite an onslaught of early injuries this year and a hideous start out of the gate? Those teams, unlike the Mets, had the proper character in their players and coaches. I could excuse a lack of focus on a young team, but with as many veterans as the Mets have and with one of the oldest teams in MLB, there is no excuse. This to me is a culture that must be ingrained in every player from the top of the organization down, from ownership to GM to coach to player, and it just disgusts me that it is not taking place on the Mets. It doesn't really bode well for '08, unless they make some major personnel changes.

Santana still in play

While it doesn't sound great, at least the Mets are still in the hunt. Omar must've made his best offer and hopes that no one else will pony up the players + $ needed to land Johann. If it turns into a buyer's market, maybe the Twins reconsider the Mets offer. From Buster Olney's blog:

The Twins continue to stay in contact with the Red Sox, Yankees, Mets and Mariners about a Johan Santana deal, but those talks have moved so slowly it's now possible a trade may not get done "for several weeks," a source with knowledge of the discussions told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.

The most surprising aspect of those talks to some baseball people is that the Mets remain in the mix. It may be because the Twins would like to move Santana to the National League if possible. But while the Mets have made a four-for-one offer built around center fielder Carlos Gomez, indications are that the teams remain far apart.