A firiend of mine told me this week that this is as exciting as the baseball season.  I have to agree.  Rumors flying around like snowflakes in a blizzard, and things you don't see coming hit you like a ton of bricks.

For example, did anyone know that the Tigers would land BOTH Cabrera and Dontrelle from the Marlins?  WOW.  It's no surprise that they traded both of them, but to the same team.  I give a lot of credit to the Tigers front office for pulling this coup off.  For their sake, I hope the Dontrelle of a couple of years ago is the Dontrelle they get, not the Dontrelle of last year.  As a Mets fan, I'm glad to see Dontrelle out of the NL East.  He's a Mets killer...

Now for the big prize in Johan Santana.  It appears that this is now a one-team race with the self imposed Hank deadline come and gone, but those deadlines don't mean anything...just ask Pay-Rod.  What I don't understand is why Boston is going so hard after Santana.  The package rumored including Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Bucholz, Jon Lester, Coco Crisp and others for a luxury more than a need.  The rotation is still very solid.  Beckett may be the best in the game right now, Schilling is very crafty, Dice-K and the two young arms I mentioned earlier provide a very good rotation.  Both NY teams need Santana far worse than the Sox do.  The Mets need to make a harder push for Johan, although they may not have all the chips the Twins want.  The Yankees need him badly as well.  Assuming the pinstripes hold steady, and the rocket stays on the launchpad, include Wang, Pettite, Hughes, Joba (assuming he starts) and Kennedy?  Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm not all that impressed, although the back end has potential, and I think Pettite is very overrated.  Just another aging overpaid ballplayer in the Yankee rotation.

The Mets also lack any depth in the rotation.  As of now, the boys from Shea are looking at Pedro, El Duque, Maine, Perez and either Pelfrey or Humber.  Two you can't count on for a full season for health reasons, Perez has issues finding the strike zone, and the 5th spot would be going to a pretty young guy.  As it sits now, this rotation won't win any pennants, and didn't win an NL East crown this year.  Omar Minaya must find a way to get a front line starter, whether it's Santana, Bedard or Haren.

Boston showed how pitching wins...and having a stud at the front of the rotation is a huge advantage.  The Mets need to make this move.