I really don't want that guy in my division. And that's ALL the Twins can get for the best lefthander on the planet? An extremely overrated CF (Melky's numbers are not only not impressive, they are downright horrid) and a couple of pitching prospects? Guh, I say. Guh. This rookie Twins GM is a moron. Getting Delmon Young was no great deal either. Again...overrated.

Sure, both figure to improve, but improve to what? They're both starting in a hole.

The Yankees once again will try to get the shiniest toy off the shelves in the offseason.

Maybe he becomes the next Andy Pettitte.

Then again, maybe he becomes the next Carl Pavano.

Santana will take a 5-6 year deal to land. To get him, the Yankees will mortgage Hughes?

Fine by me. We're not going to contend for at least two years. Two years from now, I'd rather face the 31 year old Santana (and hope he wilts in the NY glare in the meantime) than the 25 year old Hughes, who has already proven he can pitch under the big lights.

negotiating through the media.  Normally, if something like this happens I would say that their interest is bluff in order to get Boston to raise their offer.  But I believe the Yanks are geniunely interested in Santana.  Maybe the Twins are leaking this information, in which case, the Yanks will be pissed.  

Why is the Sun running a Newday column by Wallace Matthews on why the Yanks must get Santana?  It's this type of crap that contributes to a NY centric mindset.  How about running a column on the Orioles acquiring Santana?  Sure, it's highly likely.  The O's don't have much to offer and they may be reluctant to pay Santana's price for a contract extension.  But it's sad that a young pitcher in his prime is on the market and the O's are sitting on the sidelines.  Santana is the exactly the type of pitcher any team needs if they plan to compete in the next few years.  If the O's want to compete soon, well, extending Bedard and acquiring Santana would make a major statement.  Get a three way trade going by trading Tejada and Roberts and then flip those prospects for Santana.  So for MacPhail, do something, and for the Sun, stop running Yankee columns.  

...that we could get prospects for Tejada and Roberts that could = Santana, who do we put at 2B and SS behind this awesome left-handed 1-2 punch we would now have? Whatever else the Twins get, they definitely want a CF (Ellsbury or Cabrera) and a SP (Hughes, Lester, Bucholz) and then a 3rd player as a prospect. Where are we going to get players like that for Tejada and Roberts?

Speaking of Roberts, are we only not trading him because Grumpy Pete wants to keep his favorite lil' 2B? Roberts isn't going to sign long term here (I don't blame him)and I like him enough to want to see him play for a winner. Ah well. Compensatory pick, here we come.

"MacPhail doing what all the scuttlebutt appears to suggest he IS doing...which is trade Tejada, Bedard, etc, for players who are young, cheap, and under team contractual control for several years. Santana is none of those."

You can do both.  Acquire young cheap players and complement them with expensive vets in their prime.  Actually, MacPhail BETTER do both if he hopes to succeed.  

In any case, this just in from the Post.

[i]Perhaps the best of those is left-hander Erik Bedard of the Baltimore Orioles, who is definitely available now that, according to league sources, he has informed the team he has no interest in signing an extension to stay in Baltimore beyond 2009, when he hits free agency.[/i]

This might be top shelf news but this just blows.