Minaya's Big Fish

Tip your cap to Omar Minaya, he's caught a keeper if the reports ring true. He's managed to reel in Johan Santana for league center fielder Carlos Gomez and hurlers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra. In truth, Minaya has only really guaranteed himself the right to discuss a contract extension, but I doubt there would be a trade of this magnitude without Santana agreeing in advance to sign with the Metropolitans.

If you ask me, it looks as if the Twins ended up getting the raw end of this deal. Gomez, the only position player, looks about as average as average can get at the plate with a .278/.339/.399 line over his four years in the minors and nothing to write home about in his 58 games in the bigs. He does have speed, though, with 12 swiped bags in the majors and 141 in the minors.

As for the pitchers, Humber is the only one with any sort of major league service time. The five games he played for Willie Randolph were certainly forgettable, but he's got a surprisingly attractive walk rate for his time in the minors. After Humber, however, it becomes more of a guessing game. Mulvey saw nearly all of his action in the Eastern League but posted a WHIP of almost 1.3, which could be an early indicator of troubles later on; Guerra hasn't gone any higher than high A ball, and has put up the usual "learning curve" numbers to go along with it.

On the surface, at least, it appears as though the Mets came out of this one on top. Thing is, we all know how good that player development staff is out their in Minneapolis. Don't forget, they're the ones who got Johan as a Rule 5 in the first place, and most recently grabbed Francisco Liriano and Joe Nathan for a grumpy A.J. Pierzynski. Only time will tell.

And for those of you who may be sad about missing out on Santana, look at it this way: at the very least he won't be wearing pinstripes for the next 6 years.

And the excitement continues...

Ok, so, brand spanking new news to report! According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Johan Santana could be traded within the next 10 days! Seriously, only 10 more days and this could be over.

This has been a miserable offseason. Nobody cares about Andruw Jones, the Athletics and Diamondbacks made the only trade worth really looking at, and the Mitchell Report did nothing but tell Joe Fan that there was and may still be a problem in baseball, but nobody knows how to fix it. Add to that the fact that the last thing I really got excited about was the possibility of a Santana trade at the winter meetings that never materialized and it sure has been ho-hum.

The best part of all of this is that it appears as though the Sox have taken Lester out of the equation for good, meaning that they're more impressed with his makeup than with newly-minted Boras-ite (and $100+ autograph guru) Jacoby Ellsbury. Considering what Lester has gone through and the way he handled himself in the World Series, it would be nice to stick with the feel-good story. Plus, imagine what a vote of confidence it would be for Coco if we tossed the youngster and stuck with him?

I mean look, Santana would be fun to watch, but there's just way more that can be done with all of the pieces that would be sent to Minnesota over the next 4 years. Besides, when $20 million dollars is invested in just one player each season, he becomes the biggest liability ever.

Pitchers and catchers should just report now so that we all have something to read and write about.

Timing Is Everything

Isn't it interesting how one day after the Red Sox reveal that their uniforms will carry the EMC corporate logo for the opening series of the 2008 season in Japan, out comes a story describing how nearly all sources of revenue for the Olde Towne Team have dried up?

For so long, advertising has been verboten in the most sacred areas of the game. The ballpark walkways and scoreboards are alright, as are the programs and officially sponsored spray bottles, but when baseball tried to put movie advertisements on the bases to promote "Spider-Man", fans revolted and the gimmick never came to fruition. When ads were being discussed for the cleared sections of the ivy-lined outfield fence at Wrigley Field, the entire whole of Chicago's North Side worked up a frothy lather of outrage. So why is it deemed acceptable for the Sox to brand themselves with the mark of this sponsor overseas? Why, frankly, does it bother me as much as it does?

The world's biggest sport, soccer, has plastered its players with ads in abundance, so much so that a lot of teams have become more synonymous with the company emblem than with the team logo. That hasn't stopped the frenzy or tribal allegiances that soccer produces in its fan base. It makes sense for the team to maximize its advertising profits, even if it means using the logos to proclaim ownership over the players' bodies themselves. The Red Sox and every other team could certainly use the revenue, right? If it all goes to player development, then I should say "Go, team!", right? Only thing is we all know the money doesn't go straight to the players or farm system, so "Rah rah corporate logos!" will not be coming out of my mouth any time soon.

I think the root of my dislike stems from the fact that, unlike soccer (or any other sport for that matter), baseball has been recognized by government as more than just a game. That's why everybody gets so worked up about everything. Steroids, drug abuse, amphetamines, gambling, all of it has been attacked from the highest points of government. Of course, all of it is based on this completely false notion that baseball is something sacred and pure, but still, it's cute right?

That's why I don't like having corporate logos on the player uniforms or movie ads on the basepaths. I know it's imperfect, I know it's completely illogical, but when I turn on the TV at 6 AM on March 25 and see "EMC^2" on the shirts, I'm going to feel like I've just been turned out by baseball. Granted, only three games, but I'll feel used and just a little dirty.

Is the extra revenue worth more than that little bit of idealism?

Lowell and the Writers

Mike Lowell addressed the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, and here's what he had to say in regards to a blood test for human growth hormone, something Houston Astro Lance Berkman came out 100% in favor

"If it's 99 percent accurate, that's going to be seven false positives," the Red Sox third baseman said Thursday before the annual dinner of the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. "Ninety-three percent is 70 guys. That's almost three whole rosters.

"You're destroying someone's reputation. What if one of the false positives is Cal Ripken? Doesn't it put a black mark on his career?"

I have to admit, the guy's got a point. It was refreshing, in a way, to see someone like Berkman come out and unabashedly advocate a blood test to clear the sport's name, but leave it to a man like Lowell to be the cooler head prevailing. A blood test might work, sure, and it might not. The number of potential false positives is disheartening, to the point where it may not seem worth the effort. Yet, if handled correctly, a blood testing program could be incredibly beneficial.

Say they institute a test with the oversight of USADA and WADA. A positive test by a player could lead automatically to ameeting with both MLB and USADA, simultaneously. The player could then be given a chance to clear his name and explain his position. If it turns out to have been a true positive, the player, upon confession, could return to play without any penalty or stoppage of playing time on the condition that further positive tests would result in suspension. Players with false positives could be given a chance to disprove the test, with no immediate disciplinary action forthcoming. 

It isn't a perfect system, but at the moment it's better than the available options.

15 Minutes and a Congressional Hearing

Someone with no interest in the soapbox, that's what we need. And after today's congressional hearing with Bud Selig, Donald Fehr, George Mitchell and a room full of puffed-up elected officials, we need it more than ever. Today's hearing managed to do one thing, and that was get MLB and the MLBPA to accept at least partial blame. It's like getting caught in the act by your parents; you have to at least fess up, right?

But where do we go from here? The only thing, in my opinion (and this is my soapbox, so I'm not the man for the job) is to get the players behind reform. That's the only way anything will change. How do you get them behind reform? I dunno, but maybe it starts with (as Mitchell and el Señor Gammons have suggestedD) with an amnesty program. Come forward with your sins, say your ten Hail Mary's and five Our Father's and your transgressions will be forgiven, my son. We've already seen what the media has done to players who have come forward, and what they've done to those who've dug their heels in and denied three times before having their round in the spotlight. It makes more sense to promote healing than it does to promote fire and brimstone righteousness.

Yet that's what we got today, isn't it? He saids and she saids and "It is all under review, Congressman." It's somewhat entertaining to see the government take an interest in the national pastime. Makes it feel more, well, national. But in the end, Potomac meddling is just more spinning of the wheels. 

Isn't there anybody out there who hates soapboxes?