Just what the Mets needed after introducing Johan Santana to the media. Pedro Martinez appears in a YouTube video attending a cockfight in the Dominican Republic. You can read the Newsday story here. Apparently, its legal and part of the Dominican culture. After the Michael Vick animal cruelty situation, the Mets really don’t need this negative attention. We’ll see how understanding the American public is of this “cultural” phenomenon.
Month: February 2008
Rain On The Parade
There was rain on the Giants victory parade but it didn’t damper the spirit of the fans in attendance. On Monday I told you that I was going to review the rundown on the other $100 million pitchers in anticipation of Johan Santana’s arrival in New York.
Well… I changed my mind. Although Santana didn’t say much today at his press conference. You can hear what he had to say to Mike and the Mad Dog here. On the left side of the page you can listen to the interview.
I won’t rain on Santana’s parade today by dissecting the disasters that precede him in the $100 million pitching club. Let’s just celebrate the day. There will be plenty of time to worry about his contract becoming an albatross before spring training starts.
In case you missed it you can watch the press conference here.
Why I’m Scared of Johan Santana’s Contract
Johan Santana is currently Elias‘ highest rated starting pitcher in the AL, ahead of the likes of C.C. Sabathia, Josh Beckett, and Roy Halladay. He’s a two-time Cy Young Award winner, and the 2007 Gold Glove Award winner. He’s a three-time AL All-Star. He’s an incredible pitcher and probably the second best the Mets have ever had. Don’t forget about Hall of Famer Tom Seaver.
I’m thrilled that Santana’s a Met, but his contract frightens me and you should be scared too. Exceeding the $100 million mark hasn’t been done often in baseball, especially for pitchers with good reason. Look at the historical examples of Kevin Brown, Mike Hampton, and most recently Bary Zito. Do you think the Dodgers, Rockies, and Giants have been happy with the way those contracts worked out? I don’t either.
The Mets now have two players whose contracts exceed $100 million. This is nothing new to the likes of the Yankees, but breaking new ground for the Mets. Carlos Beltran isn’t the only mega millionaire in Queens now.
In the coming days we’ll look in depth at the performance of Brown, Hampton, and Zito. We’ll talk about the impact that the money has on players. It’s one thing to be scraping by on $14 million/year and quite another to have $137 million guaranteed for Santana. We’ll also look at the worst Mets current contracts and try to forget about the past transgressions of Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar, and other high priced under performing Mets.
Welcome to the New York Mets Report
Some of you may have been familiar with my site at WordPress “Mets Bullpen Session”. Building this site on my own gives me more flexibility than I had in the hosted environment at WordPress. I hope you enjoy it.Many thanks to Ben Cooper of Launch Photography for letting me use his excellent panorama of Shea Stadium on the old site.
Santana Contract and Physical Finalized
Johan Santana took his physical examination in New York today and passed. The contract terms were finalized as a six year deal with a team option for a seventh year. The last year could become guaranteed based on performance marks. The total value of the contract could exceed $150 million.
Of course, the value of this contract seems ridiculous. The only method to determine Santana’s value is based on players with similar skills that have recently signed contracts. The closest source of comparison is Barry Zito and his 7 year $126 million contract. That had to be the starting point for the negotiations. In the end, the total value of Santana’s contract is relatively reasonable.
It’s not often that a team gets a shot at a 29 year old two-time Cy Young Award winner. As a matter of fact, it almost never happens. Most of the top performing pitchers that are still in their prime playing years (28-32) never get to free agency. Just look at the Padres contract extension with Jake Peavey. The Mets had to jump at this opportunity.
Even though the Mets will be married to Santana for longer than they probably wanted to be, I believe that it’ll be looked at a successful trade for the Mets. They have plenty of revenue to start with, their own TV station, a new stadium next year, and several big salaries are going off the books after the 2008 season: Delgado, Pedro, Alou, El Duque, and Billy Wagner goes off the books in 2009.
The Mets are in a position of financial flexibility from my perspective. Nice job Omar!
The Mets Report 