[Dork.]

Hey everyone,

Now that it looks like the deal is actually done, I can talk about it without jinxing it. Take care of Carlos Gomez, he is faster than Jose Reyes and, with a little more work, he can really be something special. Part of me hopes that the Twins think he's not quite ready yet, so I can see him play here in Rochester for a little while.

The pitchers you got in the deal are all going to be fine, come 2009 or 2010 you'll (hopefully) have at least two spots in your rotation come from this trade, and you'll be happy about it then. Besides, the Mets have a history in the last 10 or 15 years of ruining young arms. These guys could have turned into the Isringhausen, Pulsipher, and Wilson of the 2000's, if we held onto them. (Heck, Humber's already had his Tommy John surgery...)

We'll take good care of Johan for you. Our ticket price increases will help feed his kids, I'm sure. And we're hoping he helps knock this team into shape, and not be a team that folds too early. New Santana jerseys are going to be available this week in New York, and rumor has it that they're going to be flying off the shelves! (I wonder f I can find an old Rafael Santana jersey somewhere....)

Here's to meeting in the 2010 World Series! (After the Mets win the next two, of course! )

[besson3c]

I'm glad that Santana is out of the AL and wasn't signed by the stupid Yankees or stupid Red Cocks

[Dork.]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

I'm glad that Santana is out of the AL and wasn't signed by the stupid Yankees or stupid Red Cocks

Watch your language, besson3c! There are kids who read this forum! Call them the "Y**kees" instead....

[turtle777]

Heck yeah, I'm a fan of my wife's Twins.

-t

[moonmonkey]

WTF has this got to do with naked twins?

[Dork.]

Yeah, this thread is going places....

[besson3c]

Dork. forgot to make this thread official. I sure hope nobody writes an official (or hyper official) open letter to Twins fans, that would not end well.

[besson3c]

So, what other changes have been made on the Mets this offseason, Dork.? How are their chances this year? My Blue Jays have improved themselves too, so here's to a Blue Jay/Mets world series!

[KeriVit]

I like Pez.

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by KeriVit 

I like Pez.

I like you. I always have, and I always will.

[Dork.]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

So, what other changes have been made on the Mets this offseason, Dork.? How are their chances this year? My Blue Jays have improved themselves too, so here's to a Blue Jay/Mets world series!

The only other change is that they (essentially) swapped right fielders and catchers with the Nationals. The Mets' new catcher is good defensively, but can't hit very well. Their new Right Fielder can't hit lefties.

Watch out for the Nationals this year! They contributed to the Mets' demise by not rolling over in the final two weeks of the season. They have a good team, and some new players with an axe to grind with the Mets. They're not an easy win by any means.

[besson3c]

Your catcher was Paul LuDuca, right? Some people wanted the Jays to pick up LuDuca as a backup catcher... We instead picked up Rob Barajas as our backup, the guy that bailed on becoming our starting catcher in the twelfth hour a couple of years ago in a very underhanded way after switching agents.

You also won't be playing against Scott Rolen or David Ekstein anymore either, although I suppose the Cards weren't really a huge concern to you last year.

[LeftWingLock]

Here is an email sent out from the Twins the other day addressing the trade ...

February 2, 2008


Dear Twins Fans:

On behalf of the entire Minnesota Twins organization, I'd like to take this opportunity to follow up regarding today's announced trade of Johan Santana to the New York Mets in exchange for outfielder Carlos Gomez and pitchers Deolis Guerra, Philip Humber and Kevin Mulvey.

Trading a pitcher of Johan Santana's stature and character was a very difficult decision for the Twins organization. Since being acquired as an unknown 20 year old by the Twins in the 1999 Rule 5 Draft, Johan has emerged as one of the game's elite pitchers, as well as an ultimate competitor, teammate and role model. The Twins organization is incredibly thankful for Johan's significant contributions to this franchise and wish he and his family all the best going forward.

As the club has stated many times, our first choice was to sign Johan to a contract extension ensuring he remained in a Twins uniform for years to come. Despite the largest multi-year offer in Twins history - one which would have rewarded Johan with the highest annual salary among all pitchers in Baseball - the team and Johan's representatives respectfully were unable to reach agreement. Only at that juncture did the team and Johan's agent begin considering trade options.

As has been well documented, the Twins organization has a rich history of acquiring quality players via trade. Examples include the acquisitions of Joe Nathan, Francisco Liriano and Boof Bonser from the Giants; Eric Milton and Cristan Guzman from the Yankees; and Rick Aguilera and Kevin Tapani from the Mets. With that history in mind, Bill Smith and talent evaluators such as Mike Radcliff, Rob Antony and Terry Ryan engaged in a process aimed at helping ensure the long-term competitiveness of the franchise.

With hopes of repeating that trade success, the deal brings four high quality young players to the Twins system:

Carlos Gomez - OF - 22 Years Old - Ranked as Mets' 3rd Best Prospect by Baseball America
Native of Dominican Republic is a true five-tool athlete with game-changing speed and an above average arm ... Made Major League debut with the Mets in 2007.

Deolis Guerra - RHP - 18 Years Old - Ranked as Mets' 2nd Best Prospect by Baseball America
The Venezulean native was the Opening Day starter for Mets' Class A Port St. Lucie club at the age of 17 ... projects to be an impact starter ... pitched in the 2007 Futures Game

Philip Humber - RHP - 25 Years Old - Ranked as Mets' 7th Best Prospect by Baseball America
Won championship game of 2003 College World Series for Rice ... Was the Mets first round pick - third overall - in the 2004 draft ... Has a great curve ball.

Kevin Mulvey - RHP - 22 Years Old - Ranked as Mets' 4th Best Prospect by Baseball America
The Mets top pick in the 2006 draft, throws four pitches for strikes ... Was the Mets Minor League Pitcher of the Year and pitched in the 2007 Futures Game.


These acquisitions only add to the Twins impressive nucleus of young, impact players. Ron Gardenhire can take comfort in knowing he has a lineup anchored by some of the game's best young offensive stars in Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Delmon Young; a veteran bullpen led by all-star closer Joe Nathan; and a young emerging starting rotation featuring Scott Baker, Boof Bonser, Kevin Slowey and the return of Francisco Liriano. The pitching rotation will be young, but talented, and we are confident that Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson will mold this group into a successful unit.

Once again, thank you for your incredible support of Twins baseball. We look forward to seeing you at the Metrodome again this spring.

Win Twins!!!

Dave St. Peter
President

[- - e r i k - -]

The who now?