The Evil Empire of the National League, namely, the New York Mets, acquired Johan Santana from the Minnesota Twins for basically nothing. Of course, now they are on the hook to pay him the 2nd richest contract in the history of baseball......2nd only to Alex Rodriguez's $250 million deal a few years ago.
The Mets now have the 2nd highest payroll in Baseball, behind the Yankees. These two teams together now make up close to 15% of the entire Major League baseball total payroll (all 30 teams combined). Don't get me going on the disparity of major league payrolls.
The Mets fans now feel they are the team to beat in the National League. We've all heard that before ! There are still alot of questions regarding the Mets team. Remember, Mets' fans, you have two geriatric, injury prone pitchers in the starting rotation (Pedro Martinez and 'El Duque). In addition, Carlos Delgado and Moises Alou are in the twilight of their careers.
The Mets now have the 2nd highest payroll in Baseball, behind the Yankees. These two teams together now make up close to 15% of the entire Major League baseball total payroll (all 30 teams combined). Don't get me going on the disparity of major league payrolls.
The Mets fans now feel they are the team to beat in the National League. We've all heard that before ! There are still alot of questions regarding the Mets team. Remember, Mets' fans, you have two geriatric, injury prone pitchers in the starting rotation (Pedro Martinez and 'El Duque). In addition, Carlos Delgado and Moises Alou are in the twilight of their careers.
Before this move, the Phillies were probably the team to beat in the N.L. East. The Phillies lineup 1 to 8 is still better on paper than NY's lineup, but the Mets have the advantage in the bullpen. However, in 2007, the Phillies were better defensively than NY and also scored more runs, more base-on-balls and more extra base hits. Also, don't forget the mental aspect of the game. The Mets faded in September last year and many questioned their mental toughness.
As always, it will all come down to who stays healthy and who has injuries. If Cole Hamels and Brett Meyers stay reasonably healthy, and Rollins, Utley and Howard are close to last years numbers, Santana's presence won't be able to overcome that and the Mets will be looking up in the standings at the end of the season.
Play ball ! It's going to be an exciting year for NY and Philadelphia !
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