In Acquiring Santana, the Mets Would Win the Arms Race

There's been some talk recently -- in this space and other places -- that even though the Phillies have not significantly upgraded their roster this offseason, it might not matter too much since neither has the rest of the NL East.

But, that could all change quickly if the New York Mets are able to win the sweepstakes for Johan Santana, one of the top three pitchers in all of baseball.  Of course, given what the Twins are reportedly asking for in return, its almost like winning the lottery but finding out you have to pay more than half of the winnings in taxes.  There's no doubt that the Mets would be a better team in 2008, but their future would be severely mortgaged.

But that is all water that is a long way from passing under the bridge, what's more pressing is how Santana would match up against the Phillies if he wore a Mets uniform.  He's a lefty, and as we all know, so that the Phillies best hitters -- Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Geoff Jenkins -- Jimmy Rollins excluded, typically fair better against right-handers.

As loathesome as it may be, rooting for the Red Sox and the Yankees in the Santana Sweepstakes is certainly preferable to seeing Ryan Howard shaking his head in disgust after he walks back to the dugout time and again after whiffing against Santana.  Let's hope the Mets have to settle for fat Jon Lieber.

-----------------

Linkology...

...Last summer, my brother and I started a fantasy baseball site, Roto Front Office.  Life got a little out of hand for the both of us and we took a little hiatus.  But we're up and running again, so stop by!

...Looks like Roger Clemens is fighting back against accusations made in the Mitchell report about him allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs, even hiring private investigators.  At first I thought it would be cool if Thomas Magnum was hired, but that's crazy.  After all, he's a Tigers fan.

...Squawking Baseball observes how Major League Baseball has deftly managed to accomplish what the NFL Network hasn't: obtain viewers for its fledgling TV channel.  Incidentally, I don't know how the NFL, now that it has capitulated and will allow this week's Patriot's game to be shown on network TV rather than exclusively on the NFL Network, will have any leverage in future negotiations with cable providers.  Basically, they blinked.

...Alan Sepinwall recaps the year in television (along with copious links to youtube.com).  Not too shabby.

...Speaking of TV, Kate Flannery, who plays Meredith on The Office, is a Philadelphia native and was a guest on Sports Radio 950 today [have a listen].  Who knows, you may bump into her at her family's saloon in Center City, T.A. Flannery's.

...For more links/suggested reading, visit the Linkology page or the Phloggers Pheeds page.