The Zo Zone

I can already hear the wild-card chatter....

C'mon, Zo. Edge to the Mets in the rotation, but edge to the Phillies everywhere else. Better lineup (don't give me this Carlos Beltran-Carlos Delgado bullceap), better bench, better bullpen (at least at the top 4) and a better manager (you have to give the edge to Uncle Chuck the way Willie let the Mets collapse last year).

And still, yes they got Santana, but what else? Pedro Martinez?!?!?!?! This is not 1999. John Maine and Oliver Perez are frauds.

The Phillies will win the East in 2008, mark that down, BUCKO.

P.S. How about bringing back Kyle Lohse at a discounted price? Add him to the Phils' rotation and it doesn't look so bad, especially if Hamels can equal Santana in win total. Nothing is screwed here, we will be fine.

Ouch. This'll take a few days to recover from.

And Todd, that was funny how you just casually slipped in the joke about Mike Hampton being a part of the Braves pitching staff next year.

Hilarious.

You have to do it on the field....hey Johan you're not in Minnesota anymore...

Great acqusition by the Mets, but lets not buy into the hype and throw in the towel just yet. We've heard about the Mets invincibility the past 5 years whenever they added a glavine, pedro, wagner, delgado, beltran, etc. Yet the Phils won the east last year while fighting through injuries. Divisions and pennants are won in April-October not in the offseason.

Sorry Kevin, The Phils lineup isn't better. Rowan had a career year so you need to replace that. I love J-Roll but he had a career year too. John Maine should have made the All-Star team before Hamels.

Please bring Kyle Lohse back.

The Mets bullpen still sucks, there's your edge.

Yeah getting Santana isn't a good thing. The Mets a little thin in case of injuries but that sounds like a Phillie fan reaching for straws. I personally think the Braves starters are still better. We'll just have to wait and see how things turn out. I still think the Phils win the NL east easy. The Mets have an old beat up lineup. Delgado appears to be really at the end of the line. Alou has got to be 40. I like Ryan Church but I don't know if he'll help that much. The Mets still look like an old team, prone to injury with 1 real good starter. Pedro deserves respect but he's not the same pitcher he was. Can he stay healthy? I stand by my opinion that it looks like Ed Wade is running the show. The Mets don't get quality guys to fill out their roster. Another year of Endy Chavez? I'm personally more worried about the Braves.

Uh oh!

I forget to say the Phils waited out Feliz who wanted 3 years. He's actually making less than last year. Maybe with the Mets out of the picture Lohse lowers his demands and the Phils can scoop him up for 3 years. He would help. Let's pray Hamels and Myers stay healthy all season.

A 18-10 April, good years for Lidge and Myers and not too many injuries mean Jimmy was right - 100 wins. I don't care if the Mets have Santana, Gibson and Walter Johnson, it won't make a difference.

Calm down folks. The Mets just went from a 3rd place team to one that can compete with the Phillies in 2008. Hamels isnt that far behind Santana and Myers could easily have a better year than gimpy old Pedro. 3-5 starters is a tossup, and I will take the Phillies offense. bullpen and bench depth over NYM.

The Phils should take a real good look at their highly regarded prospect Carlos Carrasco in spring training. He might be ready for the big leagues. Some may argue that he has only pitched against hitters at the double A level. I could simply argue against that by looking at how well Kendrick turned out for only having pitched against hitters at the double
A level. If Carrasco turns out to be the real deal maybe that will fix our 5th starter problem. We would have one of the youngest rotations in the league with the exception of Moyer. A rotation of Hamels, Myers, Kendrick, Carrasco, and Moyer wouldn't be bad. Our bullpen could be better, but we have a good bench, and one of the best lineups in the league. Other than Santana, I think the Muts rotation is way too old and will struggle becasue of it. There bullpen is even worse than ours in my opionion, one of the reason why we swept them last season. Other than Wright and Reyes(who is very overrated in my opinion)their lineup is way too old. Like a poster said above this isn't 1999.

Todd! Todd! Todd! Have faith, man!

Or in the immortal words of The Tugger.....

"YA GOTTA BELIEVE!!!"

I am a Phils fan in Mets country so I am afraid to say this:

Bring it on.

We have a trio of players comparable to any team's trio in the game. WE have a Johan clone who is 4 or 5 years younger than Santana. Our bullpen compares to New York's.

If we want to win a World Series, we can't hope the NY teams take a few years off and hope for the best -- we need to take it! Beating the best make you the best!

With that being said, it's even more important the progress of Carrasco, Savery, the Canadian and Outman. One of them needs to turn into a top of the rotation starter in order to keep up. And I wouldn't mind seeing Mattieson throwing smoke in a Phils uniform by July.

The Phils' front two can match the Mets'.

The rest of the two rotations are a wash, who gets lucky and stays healthy. Old timers. Junk ballers. Corner painters.

When I first heard the Mets got Santana, I was bummed. But seeing those names: Pedro Martinez, John Maine, Oliver Perez and either Mike Pelfrey or Orlando Hernandez, nothing scary there.

Let's get it on!

Mathieson-Please! It's very much a shame that we as Phillies fans are grasping at straws like that. It will be very interesting to see what happens next season. Per Zo's comments I think it is more likely the Phightins will end up in 3rd than 1st. You phanaatics keep saying how thin the Mets staff is-Myers missed 2 mos last yr with a "strain". Hamels was shut down during the most important part of the season b/c his back and elbow have become connected somehow. He is so fragile not only physically but psyche wise that he wouldn't have pitched a fourth gm in the playoffs. My over under on Hamels is 25 starts and 14 victories which is excellent for a 3rd man in the rotation not an ACE. Either way it will be interesting and who ever is counting on an 18-10 April is absolutely nuts......

Either way I gotta say Lets go Phil's....

This means Pat G will have to earn his money and cred. Get a starter who can win 12 games and all will be fine. Eaton can pitch one inning and allow Lohse, Colon, even a Phillie rook from their minors to start. Other teams do it and so can we. The Roberts-Simmons years was just like that.

Doesn't this now mean that the Phils have to go out get a quality number 3 or 4 starter such as Lohse or Benson or possibly even Livan Hernandez. With the Mets making such a bold move we have to counter with something don't we? Personally, I'd like to see the Phils grab two of the previously mentioned starters. We are right on the cusp of greatness and you can definitely see that this ownership is starting to feel the pressure. I mean with the Mets getting ready to dish out a huge amount of money for the best pitcher in baseball, how then can our ownership say that 3 years and $33 million is too much for the likes of a Kyle Lohse. These are the moves that winning teams make. I say let's go Phils! but most of all let's go Pat Gillick!

for those of you that think the phillies starting rotation is better then the mets your nuts. Santana is better then hamels.Pedro Martinez and Brett myers is a push they both need to prove themselves. pedro needs to prove he will be healthy and myers needs to prove he will have the stamina to be a starter the whole season after being in the bullpen for most of last season. Maine is better then kendrick maine had more strikeouts, wins. Oliver perez is much better then Jamie Moyer. Perez had more wins and strikeouts and a much lower ERA. If anything Moyer will get worse not better.El Duque is better then Eaton. Plain and simple Eaton stinks. Basically maybe other then brett myers compared to pedro the mets starting 5 is much more reliable and better then the phillies have fun finishing #2 in the NL East. The mets are back and motivated.

the phillies will sign lohse,santana is a bigger question mark,health wise,than cole hamels,hamels will win 18 to 20 games this year for the phils.....the phils are stronger in every area,most importantly,mentally.........

I dont get why you guys think Kyle Lohse will be your savior of the rotation he is at best a .500 pitcher. Also both our bullpens stink. Wagner is better then Lidge though. Lidge is a disaster.

Santana to the Mets. Look besides the Mets collapse the last two weeks of the season, they were hands down the best team in the NL. Now they get Santana, whose world better than anyone in the NL (Peavy and Oswalt can be a close second...not too close). You just never know...just like what happened last year. But right now, the Mets are hands down the best team in the East. Remember they also got Duaner Sanchez back in the bullpen.

let's not throw in our white homer towels yet. Santana may have been a goodpick up for the Mets. However there were times in the past for the Phils that an off season signing was supposed to be the piece of the puzzle that they needed...von hayes, danny tartabull, lance parrish...just to name a few. Picking up feliz at third could be a good pick up for the phils, but the pitching after myers, hamels, and kendrick is a little shaky... I think overall, with the lineup, bench and defense, the phils if healthy could very well be the team to beat. just play hard, coach correctly, and lets see who is there in the end. Go Phils

Santana's a great pitcher, but let's not get carried away here. Last I checked he was 15-13 last year. Hamels may be just as good, each rotation has question marks throughout, and I'll take the Phillies' lineup and bullpen. Defense is a wash, and Uncle Cholly and Willie cancel each other out.

In other words, on paper they're very evenly matched. Should be another fun season.

It's time to take a deep breath and relax --
Santana has to adjust to the National League
hitters and to the support by the Mets bullpen.
Although the Phils have quietly added Jenkins
and Feliz to the offense, they need to be proactive in signing Howard (later Hamels)
to a large ($) long term contract. That will be
a real jolt of enthusiasm to qwell the Mets and
Braves.

It's time to take a deep breath and relax --
Santana has to adjust to the National League
hitters and to the support by the Mets bullpen.
Although the Phils have quietly added Jenkins
and Feliz to the offense, they need to be proactive in signing Howard (later Hamels)
to a large ($) long term contract. That will be
a real jolt of enthusiasm to qwell the Mets and
Braves.

Nice to see that some of the Met fans have crawled out of their holes, finished their 3-11 shift at their minimum wage job and decided to talk some trash. Amazing how quiet you morons were after your team completed the biggest choke job in the history of baseball.

Let's be clear:

1. The Phillies were a better team than the Mets at the end of September, today and they will be this September.
2. New York sucks, the Mets suck and the Met fans suck.

Thank you

P.S. metssuck metssuck metssuck metssuck metssuck metssuck metssuck metssuck metssuck metssuck.

Relax. Once Santana gets that big fat overpayment from the Mets, Santana's elbow and/or shoulder will be begin to ache. It'll start as a "twinge" in May, by July it'll be "strained." Perhaps "rotator cuff" or "Tommy John."

Whenever the Mets hand out the big money, expect the Mets to be disappointed.

Mets have been trowing money around for years. Where'd it get them ? I'm watchin the Braves. LETS GO METS, CHOKE.

Realistically this move just bumped the Mets up to favorite to win the division. I think it'll be real close though and you never know that's why they play the games. The Met's rotation has the edge. Santana slightly over Hamels, Maine slightly over Meyers. El Duque and Oliver Perez both had really surprisingly good years last year. Can they do it again? Kendrick had a really surprising year last year. Can he repeat? 3-5 you have to give the Mets the edge. The Phils lineup is better but everyone saying that the Phillies have the better bulpen?? As much as I hate Wags and the Muts, their bulpen is better. Wagner's down year was 34 for 39 saves and a 2.63 era. Lidge was 19 for 27 in saves and a 3.36 era. Aaron Heilman has had an era of 3.62 or lower each of the last 3 years and Pedro Feliciano had a 3.09 or lower in the past 2 years. The Phillies need everyone in their bulpen to have career years to match the Mets bulpen. Will Romero match last year? Will Madson put together a complete season? The bulpen is my biggest concern entering the season. The Mets just stepped up their game and the Phillies need to counter. Go Phils!

It's going to be a close race in the Eastern Division all year long. I doubt the Phils will continue to sweep the Mets but they really have to get off to a good start.

If both the Mets and Phils get to the post season, I favor the Mets pitching staff. I'm not sure that Lohse or Benson are going to make a difference except potentially adding depth in case of injury.

It will be an exciting year. GO PHILS!

Fortunately, there are 162 games left in the regular season. Besides, I think the Phillies could take the Mets in the NLCS.

So before Yesterday the Mets sucked, now they sign Santana and you're already handing them the NL East title? Get real. He'll pitch every 5th day.

The Phils lost to Colorado last year because of a lack of hitting, not pitching.

Utley and Burrell own Billy "The Rat" Wagner and the Phillies in general own Aaron Heilman. So bring on that Mets bullpen. The more dramatically the Phils win over the Mets, the better!

We need a very strong bullpen in '08, and we need another reliable starter. So far, I think we have filled holes, but the pitching is still a concern as Moyer is ancient and Adam Eaton flat out stinks and should be no more than a long reliever.

Maybe I'm nuts.

Am I thrilled with the signing? No. Absolutely not. But this is a move the Mets HAD to make after last year's historic collapse. With Pauly "the Weasel" now gone and Billy "the Rat" on his last legs (did somebody say Pedro? Alou? El Duque? the bullpen?), complete and total dysfunction in Beltran and Reyes and Delgado... Wright is a stud, no doubt about it. Plus, sorry, $140 million is a lot of money, Santana or not. There's that first baseman we need to sign, remember?

It's really not going to be so bad.

Why wouldn't the Phillies try to get this guy?

Is it the money or would a great pitcher not want to play in our "little league" ballpark? I'll never give up on the Phils, but why weren't we making an offer for Santana? 4 prospects from the Mets got it done and we still need pitching help...

The Phillies won't ever get this guy because 1) they never cough up the prospects and 2) they certainly won't be the team to step across MLB's status quo. Remember how precious Gavin Floyd was? Myers and Hamels are actually rarities because they survived the Phil's minor league system more than anything else. They over-hype their own prospects in their own mind, meaning they get cold feet about trading them and no one else wants to give them what the Phils think they're worth.

Secondly, they won't cause waves in MLB's financial set-up. Best recent example? Ryan Howard. They won't pay him a cent over what has already been established because that would be establishing a new high, which is something Mr. Montgomery does not want to do (wharton law dictates against it). Get him and get a real owner, who won't mind spending real money to fill out a roster (tell me a real owner would still let someone who can help your club like lohse stay out there while the mets get santana).

OK, the Mets are now a little tougher. I ain't happy, but I'm not scared either. Good stuff on the board, looks like the goosebump brigade is alive and well. Ya gotta love this blog, can you beleive only two weeks till pitchers and catchers report?

I tend to agree with Eric. Sanatana, based on results to date, is better than Hamels, who needs to pitch a whole year injury free and show he's an ace. Myers and Martinez, if both can pitch a full season, might be a push. Maine vs. Kendrick, can Maine recover from tanking in the 2nd half and is Kyle more than a .500 pitcher? Moyer and Perez, slight edge to Mets. El Duque vs. Eaton, no contest. Overall edge to Mets. If we can sign Loshe or give Carrasco a real chance, it could even out.

All that being said, what Santana probably gives the Mets is the guy who will stop losing streaks. Not sure that we have that person yet. But I like our bench and position players better, but think we are still behind in the bullpen. I don't see a runaway by either team, unless we do our usual killer April. The Braves will be a pain in the butt but a no show in the end.

Where is Mr. Met or MetsFan, thought for sure they would chime in and break our stones. And welcome back Pat H. And John in LA, I know you have some thoughts.

V, 3 of the Mets prospects in that deal were more highly regarded than the Phils top prospect. Secondly, Lohse is a sub .500 pitcher with a near 5 ERA, giving him a 3 yr $33 mil deal is insanity.

Sorry John, I must have been typing while you were posting.
Hope that the boys practice how to lay off changeups in spring training. And remember that with the Mets moving into a new stadium and the collaspe last year, they had to make a splash to fill the seats (we did the same with Thome).
V you are so right about Montgomery's style.

so what can we get for wes helms to retaliate? haha

http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2008/01/30/wes-helms-to-be-dealt/

Remember that Glavine had 13 wins last year for the Muts, and Santana had 15 for the Twins. So they are replacing a 13 game winner with a 15 game winner. That's 2 games. It would have been enough to win the East last year, but lets not get ahead of ourselves and act like they just became a team thats a lock to win 100 games. That's assuming that with switching leagues, Santana can have the same success (or better). Pedro is old and a shadow of his former self, Maine is solid, but the rest is a crap shoot.

If the phillies had new owners then the Phillies - Mets rivalry could compare to the Yankees - Red Sox.

The Phillies will not counter or go one up on the Mets' latest move.

RG, you're right on both counts; Met's prospects were better and giving Lohse that kind of money is a bit crazy. My main point is the Phils, even when they do have a strong farm system, are loathe to give up a bunch of prospects. My second point is they are simply content to try and reach 90 wins every year. They're just like the Eagles in that putting out a fiscally responsible team that is competitive is better than spending more to try and actually win a (gasp!) championship. While I acknowledge they aren't the Yankees (and who besides the red sox are?), one thing I've always admired with the Yankees is price is no consideration. Will this player help us? If so, then go get him. They're the main reason money has skyrocketed for players in the past 15 years. But they also have 4 rings from the past 15 years, and you might as well add the 2 from Boston, because it wasn't until Boston tried to keep up with them that Boston won also.

Ok, V I agree with you on some points.

And to go back for a sec, the Mets prospects are perceived to be better than the Phils ones. IMO, the Twins took a bad deal, banking on two teenagers to be the centerpiece for the best pitcher in baseball. At least we aren't Minnesota, trading away KG, Johan, and Randy Moss!

As for the Yankees, they won those rings w/o the insane additions of free agents. They won with Paul O Neil, Brosius, and alot of homegrown talent. Since they went nuts with adding big $$ FAs after losing in 2001, its been nothign but hype and disappointment. Thats why they were loathe to give up their prospects for Johan this time around.

I'd liek to see ownership spend more $, but it won't always equal rings. I want them to invest heavily in scouting and signing draft picks, and then resigning their own players like howard. We can't change ownership, though, so constantly fretting about it does no good.

In the end, if I'm Gillick, I'm still on the phones tryign to get Bedard, maybe Blanton, or seeing if Kazmirs contract will become an issue, etc.

Don't worry about the Mets folks. Think of it this way, can Pedro be the pitcher he once was? If the answer is no, then I think we'll match up well. I think Santana and Hamels match up pretty well (although not perfectly) , and Brett and Pedro can be about even if Brett that number 1 or 2 that he was projected. I honestly think the only match up problems we could have will be with the number 5 spot in the rotation where we have the unknown pitcher and they have Hernandez and possibly with the number 3 spot with Kendrick vs. Mayne (just because we don't know if Kyle will be the same pitcher as last year).

Maybe it's me, but this looks like the next pitcher in a long line of Phillies slayers to come down the pike. One of the most dominant pitchers on the planet (and he's left-handed!) against a lineup of, you guessed it, left-handed hitters.

I love the Phills, but it's another year of the phans hoping that "Pat-the-Bat" pulls us through. Scary.

oh yeah, as one of the writers wrote, I think Matt Morris would be a big upgrade to our rotation regardless of how he's been the last few years (on horrible teams). If we plugged him into the 3 spot and bumped Kendrick and Moyer down a notch I think we'd be fine.

"I'd like to see ownership spend more $, but it won't always equal rings. I want them to invest heavily in scouting and signing draft picks, and then resigning their own players like howard. We can't change ownership, though, so constantly fretting about it does no good."

RG, couldn't have said it better myself. It goes through the entire organization. Even the draft: Why take a pitcher with a history of arm injuries (Savery) when you could have had someone who was compared to Josh Beckett (Porcello, or even Blackman)? The difference between them is less than Eaton's contract this year alone. I understand the draft is a bit of a ceapshoot so it's an extreme example, but time and again we see the Phils settle for second (or third) best. I'm really tired of settling, thats all.

And really, I'm worried about the Mets. I'm sure Santana will have a great year, and their lineup is old once you get past wright and reyes. At this point, though, Maine is better than Pedro and always comes up big against the Phils. Pedro just needs to eat innings, as does Hernandez. And O. Perez is like Padilla; if he ever gets it, watch out. And I don't know if it's been said, but the fact that Santana is a lefty doesn't bode well for our left-leaning lineup.

It took a magical year last year to beat them by one game. It'll take more this year. Let's start with Eaton's ERA dipping below, say, i dunno, 5?

With the Mets getting Santana, it looks like there will be even more pressure on the Phils' right-handed bats. Realistically, Howard will not be able to handle Santana (or many good left-handers for that matter) while Utley will be average at best. That's not to say the right-handed bats will do much better...I mean, he is the best pitcher in baseball. I do think it gives the Mets a psychological edge at this point, though.

Ok, this Santana thing has been so over-hyped by the media and Mets fans. Here is the reality of it: The Mets made a real nice addition to their very shaky pitching staff. Period. He isn't the best pitcher on the planet,as some Mets fans (and seemingly some sports commentators) are raving. For comparison sake, Hamels was 15-5 with a 3.38 ERA last year, Santana was 15-13 with 3.33 ERA. Here are how some other non-Johans did last year:
J Beckett 20-7, 3.27
J Peavy 19-6, 2.54
C Sabathia 19-7, 3.21
F Carmona 19-8, 3.06
J Lackey 19-19, 3.01
C Wang 19-7, 3.70
K Escobar 18-7, 3.40
J Verlander 18-6 3.66
B Webb 18-10, 3.01
R Halladay 16-7 3.71
B Penny 16-4, 3.03
T Hudson 16-10, 3.33
C Hamels 15-5, 3.39
A Harang 16-6, 3.73 (218 K's)
Santana the best pitcher on the planet? I don't think so.
And finally, the Phillies clearly have a better offense than the Mets. Offensively, go position for position and we are better at 1B (by a mile), 2B (not even close), SS, RF, and a push at C and LF. They are better at 3B and CF (CF ONLY if Beltran is healthy).

remember in the past the phillies got guys like millwood, freddy garcia, eric milton and jon lieber, and of course andy ashby... all those guys came off good seasons and had pretty good careers until they came to the phillies. only jon lieber won 17 games for us his first season here i think. some names look and sound good on paper but when it comes to perform, they don't get the job done especially pitchers going to different teams, it's a big adjustment and a lot of those guys put too much pressure on themselves to fit in and remain the same pitcher that they were before they were traded. every eye , not only in newyork, but in the nation will be on santana expecting him to have a great season and earn all the money he got to go to newyork. if he pulls an adam eaton they'll have his head. so with that said, i wonder can santana perform effectively with all that spotlight on him or will he be pressured into a bad season. if my theory is correct, then Adam eaton should have a better year than santana. that's a very bold statement but, i can't wait till the season gets under way

The Phillies won't go out and get Bedard but I just want them to add a nice bulpen piece as a counter. I think our rotation will be alright. Our rotation should be better than last year with Meyers but the bulpen is the same. For the sake of argument, say Lidge is as good as Meyers was last year and stays completely healthy. (which would be best case scenerio) If that's a push then the rest of the bulpen is the same or worse. We lost Geary who gave us about a month of good innings. We lost Alfonseca who had a good month and we didn't add any relief pitchers. Granted, the bulpen pitched better in the last month when Charlie was pitching Romero, Gordon and Meyers every night. That kind of workload isn't sustainable for a season. They need at least one more guy Charlie can count on.

Anonymous - I love the optimism! I agree that Adam Eaton will rebound this year (considering he can't get much worse, is there any alternative?). I believe Santana will end up on the DL anyway. I think the past 4 years of 200+ innings is bound to catch up with him (hmmm...perhaps more bone chips in his elbow which tend to be a frequently recurring problem). I hear they are thinking about moving back the fences at the Mets new ballpark for Santana. I guess they're already worried about him giving up too many long-balls to the Phils potent line-up after this year. I can't wait to see one of Santana's pitches get knocked onto the Scoreboard Porch at "The Bank". IMHO I just don't believe he has the mentality required to pitch in a sports city with vocal fans like New York, Philly, or Boston.

damn. this hurts. this has definitely tempered my enthusiasm for the upcoming season. living in New York and being a Phils/Eagles fan is very tough this week with the giants in the superbowl and with Santana going to the mets in exchange for slop.

15-5 15-13
3.39 ERA 3.33 ERA
177 K 235 K
1.12 WHIP 1.07 WHIP
Hamels vs. Santana

Pretty close numbers between Hamels and Santana in 2007...Hamels missed several starts which explains the lower strikeout total. Also, Hamels is still developing while Santana is in his "prime years." Additionally, this might have been a down year for Johan or could be in line with future expectations. He should also expect a boost from the shift from AL-NL, which will help some...Should be a fun race this year. I really believe that Myers vs. Pedro is a wash or edge Phillies at this point. I also believe the division will come down to 3,4,5 in the rotation. As crazy as it sounds, signing Kyle Lohse may make all the difference.

Mets fans may indeed suck but the Mets baseball team is quite formidable. Barring injuries to either side, the Eastern Division will be a dogfight all the way. I wouldn't be overconfident of the Phillies winning the division but they have a good chance.

Santana really helps the Mets in the same way he would have helped the Phillies had we acquired him.

Will you people stop whining! The last time I checked, the games weren't played on paper but out on the field. Things happen. Maybe Santana IS a horse, but wasn't Millwood, Garcia and Glavine supposed to be cut from the same fabric? Who knew Carlton would be better than Wise? When that deal went down I cursed John Quinn (truth be told, I don't think Quinn even knew what he was getting). Some guys can handle the NY fans and media. Johan ain't gonna be in "Kansa anymore, Toto." If Stand-Pat trys to match every Mets move, then there's a couple of teams in the rear view mirror that will pass him by. Throw out the first pitch and lets see where the chips fall.

For a nice image of Johan Santana as Darth Vader- http://pabaseball.blogspot.com

The question now become who becomes the primary competition for the wild card, I assume St. Louis, San Diego, Los Angelos Chicago and the Braves. If your Phillies can be w/in 4-5 gms when the end of July hits there is a chance they can pull there usual and at least make it exciting. They will probably fall 1-2 gms short due to a lack of pitching.

Prediction K. Kendrick wins 10 gms in 35 starts this yr.

Johan will be injured for half the year anyway.

I hate to say it, but Pedro pitched pretty good when he came back last year, and the few starts Myers had were pretty bad,remember? The most games Pedro has ever lost is TEN, twelve years ago. The only good thing about Myers is that he was never hurt while being a starter, so hopefully that continues. The Phils can put a decent lineup out there full of righties for left handed starters. Obviously Howard and Utley being the only lefties, so thats not so bad. I've said it before,and so have ya'll,we HAVE to get off to a good start to keep from getting to far behing to early. The Phils must have a good April!!!!

The Phillies need to sign Lohse and trade Helms, Gordon and Bruntlett or a mid-level prospect for a good set-up man.

And I wouldn't be surprised if Santana dissapoints or pulls a Freddy Garcia and is damaged goods. Santana's ERA is Sept was over 5.00 and his overall year was down from his previous years. Did he just have a down a year or is he hurt from throwing over 200 innings a year for 4-5 seasons?

Santana being hurt could also be why the Red Sox and Yankees pulled their bigger deals and be why the Mets managed to get Santana for significantly less, not even their top prospect.

Once again the naivete on this board is shocking---
The guy is not hurt he is 24 yrs old. He is not Pryor or Wood. The Dominicans throw the ball all day day long from age 5-until. 200 innings is nothing.
Garcia didn't just lose gms he lost velocity.
The Met's got Santana b/c they are wqilling to pay 20 million a year.
The Sox have invested in their staff(remember the 50 mil for the rights to talk to talk to dice k) Beckett, Schill et al.
The Yanks just spent 300 mil on Rodriguez. They can't spend 50 mil on two players in one year, even by their standards that would be folly..

Get a grip Sheeple and deal...

What makes you boys think the Mets are through, after the Santana signing? They will beat the Phillies