Mets land Santana

I am currently on cloud nine, given the news that the Mets just hit the Johan Santana jackpot. It's going to cost them an arm and a leg, but they'll get a good arm in return, of course. They're parting with Chris Gomez, whom tons of people are high on, including me. Lately, though, more critics have surfaced when it comes to his maximum potential, but I'm certainly not one of them. You can't teach speed. I really don't know much about the three arms they're dealing, pitchers Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra, but I seriously have to wonder if the Twins aren't getting robbed in the deal.

They passed up players like Ellisbury and Lester of the Red Sox and Hughes and Cabrerra of the Yankees. With Santana's departure, you would think that Minnesota would be interested in filling a void in their starting staff immediately, but they certainly didn't do so with the deal with the Mets. I don't know many front offices would have chosen the deal the Twins took, but I'll take it. Now the Mets are a legitimate World Series contender without a doubt. I'm not putting them up there with the ranks of the Tigers, whom in my opinion will be the front runners out of the gate, but I feel thoroughly safe about the Mets' playoff potential.

You have to figure that Santana is a lock for 15-17 wins this year considering what he did last season with terrible run support. The Mets on the other hand, have a much more potent offensive attack and will give at least a run better per game. A pitcher of his caliber has the potential to win 22 or 23 games in New York - maybe more. With Pedro Martinez, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Orlando Hernandez to round out the staff, New York figures to have one of the best rotations in baseball.