Well, the Mets had a great month of June. They won at home and they won on the road. David Wright's bat came alive and no one hit better during the month. R.A. Dickey and Mike Pelfrey stifled opposing batters. Now it's July and the Mets seem to be back to their old losing ways. Johan Santana pitched much better but got little run support. K-Rod is blowing games again.

The news that Jose Reyes suffered another setback has tempered the optimism I was feeling after the Mets won five in a row earlier this week.

omar is not doing much. getting puts and k-rod is nice, but we're not done yet and he needs to wake up. the yankees are spending like crazy, getting CC, Burnett, and teixara. to put it in perspective, the royals and marlins' payrolls COMBINED equal less than 15 million dollars. the yankees' is 209 million. wow. anyway, assuming the yankees are finally done spending, the red sox still have a lot of money and could use a pitcher, which means they will probably be our main compeition for lowe. we should wait until febuary when he is desperate and then resign perez for cheap i think to bolster that rotation, but as long as we get one of wither lowe, perez, or ben sheets i am happy with our rotation.

The Mets pulled off a pretty wild trade that has netted the team a guy who looks to be the setup man for Francisco Rodriquez.

The Mets picked up J.J. Putz a 31-year old relief pitcher from Seattle as part of a three team, 12-player trade. When the smoke cleared three signature Mets players were gone.

Aaron Heilman and Endy Chavez were shipped to the Mariners. Joe Smith was shipped to the Indians. Three minor league players, including Mike Carp, were shipped off by the Mets as well.

The New York Post weighs in on the deal and Putz:

Now that the World Series has ended the serious business can start. And it is starting.

The Mets have signed Fernando Tatis to a one year deal. It's a good thing in my opinion.

Mets sign Fernando Tatis to a one-year contract

Tatis, 33, who hit .297 with 16 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs and 47 RBI for the Mets separated his right shoulder diving for a double by Nationals' pitcher Odalis Perez in the fifth inning on September 16th at Washington. Fernando underwent an MRI the next day and the test revealed a Grade 3 shoulder separation.

Three Mets (Oliver Perez, Damion Easley and Matt Wise) have filed for free agency. We all knew that Perez would be going for the pot of gold. Whether or not the Mets should try to sign him will be a point of argument among Mets fans this winter. People either seem to love Ollie or hate him.

A few more hours of waiting to see if the Mets buy some help. The White Sox picked up Ken Griffey Jr today. There's a huge rumor that Manny Ramirez is headed to the Marlins in a three-team trade with the Pirates.

The Yankees are probably done with their shopping, picking up Xavier Nady from the Pirates and Pudge Rodriquez from the Tigers. Let's see what the Mets will do.

The loss today was a tough one folks. Billy Wagner blew his second save opportunity in as many days. And the Mets offense (or what's left of it) failed to produce in key scoring situations. Bases loaded with one out should always equal at least one run!

A quality start by Johan Santana got tossed out the window. Just like Mike Pelfrey's quality start last night almost slipped away. No matter. It goes back and forth just like it has all season long. One night it's the starting pitching, the next night it's the relief, sometimes it's the defense and many time's it's the hitting. Choose your poison with the 2008 Mets.

I'm not one to go to negative this early in the season. I'm very disappointed though. I fear that we have a team that is potentially headed sideways for a while. The Mets have the highest payroll and the oldest roster in the National League. Our reward for that special sauce is barely .500 squad. It's not good enough.

It’s all Johan Santana on this episode. The Mets have acquired the best free agent pitcher on the market. The cost in dollars is high but he’s worth it if this gets the Mets to a World Series win.

MP3 File

Chalk one up for Omar Minaya. He as made the deal that many teams wanted to make in acquiring Johan Santana.

From The New York Times report:

"In exchange for Santana, the Mets are surrendering four young players: outfielder Carlos Gómez and pitchers Philip Humber, Deolis Guerra and Kevin Mulvey. Each is considered a solid prospect but none are judged to be outright can’t-miss players."

I can live with that. There are a couple of more hurdles before the deal is finalized according to the Times' report.

"The trade hinges on Santana’s passing a physical exam and agreeing to a contract extension before a 72-hour window expires at 5 p.m. Friday."

Word is that Mr. Johan is looking to get $20-25 million per for 6 to 7 years. Ouch! No doubt Omar will have his work cut out for him in those negotiations.

Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reports:

"They get a pitcher who immediately becomes the best left-hander in their history (sorry, Kooz, El Sid, it's not even close), who'll go back-to-back opening days at Shea Stadium and Citi Field, who'll stand on a mound in late September and stop dead the most horrifying losing streak they'd ever worn."

Santana turns 29 in March so he has at least six more prime seasons left. All in all its a very good move. Sorry to see Humber and Gomez go but the Mets needed someone to at least replace Tom Glavine. The Mets have done that and then some with this trade.

From MLB.com:

"A person with firsthand knowledge of the club's dealings with the Twins acknowledged Tuesday that the Mets have received a "best offer" request of the American League club, an indication perhaps that the Santana trade scenario has moved into its final stage."

From The NY Daily News:

"Mets seem poised to grab Santana - I'm pretty optimistic about the Mets' chances of landing Johan Santana soon, so I figured I'd share this quote I collected at the end of last season from Braves first baseman Mark Teixeira about the ace."

We're getting close to spring training folks. And the Twins know its a risk to have to wait til mid-season to trade Santana. What if he gets hurt? What if he's not pitching so hot? It wouldn't surprise me if the Twins hadn't re-evaluated their requirements for making this trade.

Would you give up Mike Pelfrey for Santana? You have to think that this would cost at least a young pitcher, a position player and a prospect.