2008 NY Mets Thread

[admarc]

With the trade and hopefully soon to be completed contract extension with Johan Santana, its a good time to kick off the 2008 NY Mets thread.

Schedule (http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/schedule/index.jsp?c_id=nym)

I pass by Shea/Citi Field every day on my way to work so I'll try to take some pictures to post of the stadium construction. Its really starting to shape up.

[admarc]

Mets, Santana working on extension (http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080131&content_id=2361341&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym)
Friday deadline for negotiating of 5 p.m. ET approaching

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/webtools_print.gifprint this page (http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/content/printer_friendly/nym/y2008/m01/d31/c2361341.jsp) | <script type="text/javascript"> var email_date = '01/31/2008 10:20 PM ET'; var email_headline = 'Mets, Santana working on extension'; var email_byline = 'By Marty Noble / MLB.com'; var email_team = 'nym'; var email_url = '/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080131&content_id=2361341&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym'; var email_blurb = 'With a 5 p.m. ET deadline on Friday to negotiate an extension with Johan Santana, the Mets and the All-Star lefty\'s representatives are still working on an agreement. Santana\'s numbers indicate the urgency that the Mets have to make something happen.'; </script>e-mail this pagehttp://newyork.mets.mlb.com/images/webtools_email.gif (javascript:emailThisPage(email_date, email_headline, email_byline, email_team, email_url, email_blurb))
• Mets notes: Santana is talk of baseball (http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080130&content_id=2360485&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym)
• Mets think Santana will fit right in (http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080130&content_id=2359771&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym)
• Claire: Santana looking at big payday (http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article_perspectives.jsp?ymd=20080130&content_id=2359809&vkey=perspectives&fext=.jsp)
• Come see the Mets at Shea in 2008 (http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/ticketing/index.jsp?c_id=nym)
• Complete Hot Stove coverage (http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/mlb/news/hot_stove/y2007/index.jsp)


<!--sphereit start-->NEW YORK -- Doors are closed, words are whispered, inquiries are denied, millions are at stake. And the kingdom of the Mets frets like an expectant father. Until the Mets satisfy Johan Santana financially and until they are satisfied he is in good repair -- that is, until the two become partners contractually -- the kingdom will squirm almost as much as it celebrated Tuesday when the conditional agreement with the Twins was struck. The rest of the baseball universe watches without worry. An agreement is almost assumed by those not involved in the negotiations, their common sense of the situation being this: Each side has so much to gain if the trade is finalized and so much to lose if it isn't that an agreement is the only logical end result.
Neither side will get everything it wants, but each side will get so much that it won't be distressed by missing some of its targets. Still, the Mets and Santana's representatives, particularly agent Peter Greenberg -- are no doubt squirming, too -- and perhaps not sleeping. It comes with the territory.
The assumptions are that before 5 p.m. ET on Friday, the end of the 72-hour negotiating period granted by the central baseball office, the Mets will emerge with the best left-handed pitcher in the game on their roster and in their plans for the next six, perhaps seven, seasons. And Santana will have a guaranteed income comparable to the GNP product of a Third World nation. Industry projections put the value of the contract at between $140 and $150 million, factoring in a signing bonus that would increase Santana's 2008 earnings to at least $20 million. He is to earn $13.25 million according to the terms of his current contract.
Precisely how much the extension will be is critical to those who measure baseball value with dollar signs, a practice begun some 32 years ago when free agency took hold of the industry. And make no mistake, though a trade was involved, the Santana-Mets situation has the most critical trappings of a free agent scenario -- millions of dollars and multiple seasons. Neither is unfamiliar to the Mets.
Some 13 months ago, the Mets took a look at Barry Zito -- also left-handed, also expensive. He was a free agent, however, with more than one club negotiating with him. The Mets were willing to pay $75 million for five years of a pitcher who, at the time, was 28 and who had won 55 times and lost 46 times in his previous 138 starts.

[admarc]

http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/art...=.jsp&c_id=nym (http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080201&content_id=2361909&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym)

Mets agree to terms with Santana

NEW YORK -- An offseason that had been all about who wasn't on the Mets' roster has executed an about-face and now is distinctive because of who almost certainly will be. Unless Johan Santana flunks his physical Saturday, he soon will become the starting pitcher the Mets desperately had needed, as well as the wealthiest pitcher in the game. A contract that will secure the latter distinction is in place. The Mets and Santana's representatives struck a deal Friday more than an hour after the original 5 p.m. ET deadline imposed by the league office Tuesday, when the Mets and Twins agreed to an exchange of players that, when completed, will recast projections for the 2008 National League East race and restore the Mets' image as a genuine contender.
Neither the value not the length of the contract is known, but executives in the game had said since early Friday afternoon that they expected Santana to have a contract through 2014 worth $139 million. That figure would reflect annual salaries averaging about $22 million and a signing bonus of about $7 million that would increase the 2008 earnings of the two-time American League Cy Young Award winner to about $20.25 million. The average annual value of the deal would be about $19,587,000.
The contractual agreement leaves the physical examination as the final hurdle before the Mets can link the Super Bowl and Super Tuesday with the addition of a superlative athlete who they hope will lead them in the World Series.
Santana was expected to have his physical this weekend or early next week at the latest.
The contract exceeds the value of the seven-year contract Barry Zito signed with the Giants 13 months ago and the $119 million the Mets agreed to pay Carlos Beltran from 2005-11.
Until the Mets' offer of four prospects was accepted Tuesday, their offseason had been consistent with the final days of their 2007 season -- a series of attempts that didn't accomplish the primary objective. Efforts to obtain a No. 1 starter were unsuccessful, and the public seemed to focus more on the departures of Lastings Milledge and Paul Lo Duca than on the acquisitions of their respective replacements -- Ryan Church and Brian Schneider.

[admarc]

Santana agrees to $150.75M, seven-year deal with Mets (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3226412)


NEW YORK -- Johan Santana (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6441) and the New York Mets (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=nym) agreed Friday to a $150.75 million, seven-year contract, a record for a pitcher and the last major step needed to finalize the team's blockbuster trade with Minnesota.
After the sides were granted an extra two hours to work on a deal, the Mets announced about 30 minutes before the new 7 p.m. EST deadline that negotiations had concluded. The pitcher was scheduled to take a physical Saturday.
Terms of the agreement were disclosed by a baseball official with knowledge of the talks who spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.
Santana's contract topped the previous mark for pitchers, set when Barry Zito (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6394) received a $126 million, seven-year deal from the San Francisco Giants (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=sfo) last offseason. Santana was due $13.25 million in the final year of his contract with the Twins, and would have been eligible for free agency after the World Series.
The only players with larger packages are New York Yankees (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/clubhouse?team=nyy) third baseman Alex Rodriguez (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5275) ($275 million), Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter ($189 million) and Boston outfielder Manny Ramirez (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5132) ($160 million).

[admarc]

I am barely old enough to remember the Tom Seaver trade but this feels like the Mets finally reversed their fortunes with the Santana deal.

[Orange Nation]

7 years is a big risk.

His Avg salary for the duration of the contract is like 21.6M. Thats only 1.6M more a yr the Minny was offering. I know this contract is longer and he has more security with this deal also. It just seems if they were that close on money and just off on years, the you'd think if Sanatana wanted to stay he would have. a comprimise of maybe 5 yrs with 2 vesting option or something.

[Downinfloflo]

:rockon:

[admarc]

EYES ON PEDRO

MARTINEZ METS' TOP SPRING QUESTION MARK




http://www.nypost.com/seven/02102008/sports/mets/eyes_on_pedro_250209.htm

This winter, Mets (http://shots.snap.com/explore/19900/?key=06028f986cd52d8275d29a0001c8914b&svc=Snap_Shot_Custom%257CNew_York_Post%257CNYPost_ Sports_Teams&tag=New%20York%20Mets&src=&cp=&tol=engage) New York Mets http://i.ixnp.com/images/v3.13.1/t.gif David Wright (http://shots.snap.com/explore/26614/?key=06028f986cd52d8275d29a0001c8914b&svc=Snap_Shot_Custom%257CNew_York_Post%257CNYPost_ Sports_Players&tag=David%20Wright&src=&cp=&tol=engage) David Wright http://i.ixnp.com/images/v3.13.1/t.gif and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon had said the NL East's team to beat remains the Phillies. But as the Mets return to Port St. Lucie for spring training this week and ace Johan Santana joining them for the first time, the truth is they are almost certainly the favorites in the NL East.Here are five questions the Mets - seeking to redeem themselves after last season's historic collapse - need to answer in spring training:
How effective will Pedro Martinez (http://shots.snap.com/explore/32296/?key=06028f986cd52d8275d29a0001c8914b&svc=Snap_Shot_Custom%257CNew_York_Post%257CNYPost_ Sports_Players&tag=Pedro%20Martinez&src=&cp=&tol=engage) Pedro Martinez http://i.ixnp.com/images/v3.13.1/t.gif be?
Even with Santana's addition, there's no arguing that Martinez still is critical to the team's hopes. The Mets hope he can be the team's No. 2 starter, meaning he ideally is going to provide approximately 30 quality starts this season.
Last year, Martinez made five starts. He was sidelined for most of the year, because of a torn rotator cuff. He finally took the mound for the Mets on Sept. 3 in Cincinnati, won that game and finished 3-1 with a 2.57 ERA in his five outings. The question for 2008 is whether Martinez can remain healthy to sustain that level of success for not just five outings but more like five months.
The other question is how Martinez is going to handle Santana's arrival and his own walk season. Martinez is about to finish his four-year $53 million deal and his agent, Fernando Cuza, told The Post recently the 36-year-old wants to pitch past this season. Martinez is apparently a big fan of Santana, but it will be interesting to see how he handles the fact that Santana has a contract worth about $150 million, especially considering he will be looking for a new deal after the year.
What will Santana's first Mets spring training be like?
Johan Santana's true impact will begin to be measured when the regular season starts. His actual Grapefruit League performance barely matters, though every inning still will be scrutinized.

[ksl66]

I expect by year's end Pedro will be the number three or four starter, Maine is going to take a huge step up this year. I like the way he came back in September after a rocky July and August. He will be the number two starter, not sure about Perez I don't feel so good about him going into the year, but he is in a contract year so maybe he'll come through.

The big question for me is not the rotation or even the bullpen, but can they get enough production from their 6, 7, 8 hitters to prolong innings and really put their foot down when they have it on someone's throat. Too many times last year they let teams off the mat, when they had them down, I know a lot of that looked like the bullpen, but instead of having 4 or 5 run leads they would have a 2 or 3 run lead, much smaller margin for error.

Who knows? But I do know one thing heading into the first day of spring training, Thank God were not the Yankees! It is what is.

[admarc]

This is a bit dated, but it was a pretty good read and gives some details on the Santana deal. I like how confident Santana was about the Cy Young clause.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/tom_verducci/02/07/verducci.santana/index.html

Walk Hard

Santana's firm stance nearly imploded deal with Mets


Pitcher Johan Santana gave the Mets a preview of his competitiveness last Friday, five minutes before the initial deadline to their contract negotiations. With the two sides just $5 million apart, Santana personally informed Mets owner Fred Wilpon that he was walking away from $135 million, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.
Santana, through his agent, Peter Greenberg, had informed the Mets earlier in the day that he wanted $140 million over six years. The Mets were holding firm at $135 million. Santana flew from his Florida home to New York and joined negotiations in Wilpon's office at about 2 p.m. At 4:55 p.m. -- five minutes before the Major League Baseball-mandated deadline -- Santana told Wilpon that he was leaving and was prepared to pitch one more year for Minnesota before becoming a free agent. Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon, general manager Omar Minaya and vice president Tony Bernazard were among those in attendance.
"I told you I wasn't backing off my number," Santana told Fred Wilpon. "I appreciate your offer, but I'm passing on it."

[admarc]

A BIG LEAD

REYES REPORTS 3 DAYS EARLY

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02162008/sports/mets/a_big_lead_97919.htm

- Jose Reyes (http://shots.snap.com/explore/58339/?key=06028f986cd52d8275d29a0001c8914b&svc=Snap_Shot_Custom%257CNew_York_Post%257CNYPost_ Sports_Players&tag=Jose%20Reyes&src=&cp=&tol=engage) Jose Reyes http://i.ixnp.com/images/v3.16.1/t.gif kept shrugging off his September From Hell at the time, even as he was taking the Mets (http://shots.snap.com/explore/22654/?key=06028f986cd52d8275d29a0001c8914b&svc=Snap_Shot_Custom%257CNew_York_Post%257CNYPost_ Sports_Teams&tag=New%20York%20Mets&src=&cp=&tol=engage) New York Mets http://i.ixnp.com/images/v3.16.1/t.gif' playoff hopes down with him. Just part of baseball, the Mets' All-Star shortstop would say calmly, enraging Mets fans with his nonchalance as the month dragged on.
Yesterday, though, the truth came out.
"I'd never struggled like that in my career,'' Reyes said here yesterday. "I thought about it a lot. I take a lot [of responsibility]."
MORE: Mets Blog (http://blogs.nypost.com/sports/mets)
Reyes went on to admit his disaster at the plate the last month of the regular season - when he hit just .205 - haunted him much of the offseason.
Reyes was so eager to turn the page that he reported three days ahead of the deadline for position players, refreshed and intent to regain the form he once had as one of the game's most celebrated young players.




http://www.nypost.com/seven/02162008/photos/sports048a.jpg

[admarc]

I hope being on the cover of MLB 2k8 doesn't come with a Madden like curse:

http://kotaku.com/assets/resources/2007/12/mlb_2k8_boxart.jpg

[Chrispy56]

:jlb:Mets Baby!

[lavuuk153]

Santana is on the hill...I can't wait. Also, since the mets are going with a 5 man rotation to start the season it looks like I'm going to get to see Santana pitch on teh 12th!!! Cmon no rain.

[Chrispy56]

Mets Win!

[phishhead220]

Santana looked awesome

[Chrispy56]

cool!

[phishhead220]

Pedro Martinez is hurt already, hamstring injury.

[Orange Nation]

If he goes on the DL (looks like he will) it will be the 4th time on the DL since being a Met, he was on the DL a total of 5 times before that (15 years I believe).

His FB was only topping out at 86.

Glad Sox didn't resign him for 4 years, and used that pick to get Buchholz/Ellsbury.

[Orange Nation]

Pedro going on DL, out 4-6 weeks.

[stepsukie]

:mets: thats what happens when you put mets in 2 ":"s

[Chrispy56]

hehe

[BDNS]

Jesus, it sure would be awesome if 'Dro could actually spend the better part of a season healthy.


Bah, at least we don't have Guillermo Mota anymore.

[RunDHW]

Go Dodgers!

[Buffalo87]

Wow, this thread died down quickly. Nice to get the last one from the Dodgers, especially in that fashion.

[RunDHW]

I'll take a 12-1 drumming and 2 out of three games anytime. Plus, you guys needed the offensive explosion.

[Buffalo87]

I'll take a 12-1 drumming and 2 out of three games anytime. Plus, you guys needed the offensive explosion.

Well that was very kind of Brad Penny and the Dodgers to allow the Mets to break out of their slump like that.:winksmile

[Buffalo87]

God help me, this is brutal.

[admarc]

This may say more about the state of the Yankees than the Mets but it was still nice to win 2 against them. Hopefully they can start building some momentum.

I can't believe they blew that homerun call. Thank God it didn't matter.