Johan Mania finally comes to an end

Hey Sportsflow readers, I am back again for another baseball personnel post. FINALLY, Johan Santana is officially not a member of the Minnesota Twins. I can’t believe the Red Sox finally gave up Lester and Ellsbury to get it done! Wait… I mean, I couldn’t believe it when I heard the Yankees gave up Melky, Hughes, AND Kennedy. Damnit… the Mariners gave up Adam Jones and Sherrill?

Nope. As it turns out, in the end it wasn’t the best offer that won the BINGO for Johan, but the most persistent. The New York Mets were in these talks from a bit after the get-go, but they were far and away the most persistent. The Yankees vs. Red Sox For-The-Best-Player-In-The-Game II (Last decision: NYY gets A-rod, BOS gets the 2 championships) turned out to be a dud. Not only was it a dud, but it was probably meant to be a dud from the beginning. Let’s face it, the REAL reason either of these teams were in this sweepstakes was so the other team wouldn’t get Johan. They were both really gung-ho about it from the start, but then this realization hit the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, and Mets all at the same time: Johan wanted a HUGE contract, biggest in history for a pitcher, on TOP of the whole selling the farm to get him thing. It wasn’t worth it, not the money PLUS the prospects, and the offers slowly dwindled to one A+ prospect and a few mediocres.

Except for one team: you got it, the Mets. The Mets took advantage of the new way of thinking, pulled Martinez from the table, and STILL got Johan. I read what they gave up (contrary to ANY report, and repeat after me: there was NOOOO way the Twins were getting Jose Reyes. No way… no how.) and it was just shocking. The most shocking thing about it? I am a firm believer than the Twins didn’t have to trade Johan. It wasn’t mandated by Carl Pohlad. Thanks to the revenue sharing now enjoyed by MLB teams, every team starts off with over $70 million per year. Carl Pohlad is the RICHEST owner in baseball. I do repeat clearly, there is no one in the MLB richer than Mr. Pohlad. But even Pohlad’s wealth is irrelevant, because it’s not about that. Slowly, the Twin’s payroll has been going up. It was simply a matter of choosing the way to go. They chose Morneau and a rebuilding effort over keeping Hunter, Johan, Morneau, Mauer and Liriano together to see what they really could do with a full year of Liriano as a starter. They CHOSE not to… Bill Smith wasn’t forced to. They had the money… they chose to save it and rebuild instead. Smart? Maybe… they probably weren’t going all the way with that group in this climate of a STACKED American League for the next few years (fyi: The Yankees have $80 million coming off the books next offseason… I hate New York teams.) However, I’m blaming this more on a poor strategy (Twins fans DESERVE to have a good team to cheer for consistently… not one every 5 years) rather than baseball economics.

So I’m sorry Twins fans… I know a LOT of them, and I really feel sorry for you. As a Tigers fan, I knew that feeling. Here’s a toast hoping that Phil Humber is going to be a stud…

What an offseason

Hey TSF readers, I am back to lay some more baseball insight into this fine fine blog. Back in July I wrote a post judging the trade deadline deals, and I'm back to look at what has gone on this offseason so far, and what could potentially take place.

Santana Mania
We all know that the best pitcher to throw a baseball since Roger Clemens was in his prime is on the market, but where will Johan Santana end up? This whole situation is about to get very interesting, because not only are the Red Sox and Yankees the only realistic options out there, but no one knows if they're actually trying to trade for Johan or just jacking up the price for the other team.

I say that the Yankees and Sox are the only real contenders because unlike anyone else on the current trade market, Johan Santana controls his own destiny. He can veto a trade if the team the Twins agree to terms with doesn't give him the extension he wants (rumored at around 23-25 million per year for 5-6 years). This makes this trade difficult in two ways - sure the Angels and Dodgers have the prospects to get a deal done, but they then have to sign Johan to a long term deal. If I were to guess, the Yankees eventually cave in and give up Ian Kennedy AND Philip Hughes, with Melky Cabrera and another minor leaguer (possibly Eric Duncan?) and get Johan. Trading that many prospects is completely against Theo Epstein's and Brian Cashman's philosophy, but the difference will be that Cashman isn't running the show anymore, and Theo is.

WTF White Sox?
What in the world were the White Sox thinking in giving Scott Linebrink that ridiculous contract? No one knows, but what we do know is that it has skyrocketed the reliever's market, and that is shown by Francisco Cordero's contract with the Reds. My prediction: They work out for a year, and then the contracts become albatross's hanging around both team's necks for the remainder of them. Thanks for setting back baseball a few years Kenny Williams.

Twins get a bat, Rays get an arm
Yes the Twinkies finally got another bat to stick in the lineup I like to call M&M and 7 random guys. Morneau and Mauer power that offense now that the Angels overpaid for ANOTHER aging center fielder (let's not forget Gary Matthews Jr.'s ridiculous contract from last year) when they signed away Torii Hunter. The problem is, Mauer doesn't hit for power, and while Cuddyer has been solid, they stil found their offense to be anemic at times even with Hunter having a contract year. Delmon Young will be for real, and he will help the Twins for however long he can keep his head on.
I still give this trade to the Rays, however, because the shortstops traded in this trade dramatically favors the Rays, and the prospect the Rays got will eventually be a solid 10th or 11th arm in the bullpen. The two players the Twins got back are bench players at best. Matt Garza also isn't too shabby, and I think Garza and Kazmir will make a solid 1-2 punch for the Rays.

Really LAA?
I already mentioned my thoughts on this signing above, but I will say this: If Torii Hunter is worth 90 million over 5 years, I'm good for about 750,000 over 3, and I didn't even play baseball my senior year of high school.

Cabrera Sweepstakes
Not since the Clippers and the Lakers fought to sign Shaq have two L.A. teams fought for the right to complain about how overweight a player on their roster is. Eating habits aside, Cabrera is a STUD, and while the Dodgers and Angels are being leveraged against each other by the Marlins (ask the LA Angels' owner how he feels about that), I think the Angels come out on top. Another reason why the Angels don't get Johan - they will trade their prospects to get Cabrera.

With so much happening so far this offseason (I didn't even delve into the Yankees re-signings drama), this offseason has promised to be a great one. When was the last time we saw two teams trade top prospect for top prospect like the Rays and Twins did? And when was the last time THIS MUCH top pitching talent has been available (make the right offer, the A's will give you Joe Blanton and Cy Young runner-up Dan Haren). As a baseball enthusiast, I am loving this offseason, and with the Winter Meetings around the corner, it should just get even better.