I am so amped. My reaction was similar to Rod Tidwell's in Jerry Maguire when he went on Roy Firestone's show at the end of the movie.

Whoooooooooo! Whooooooooooo! (clap clap) YEEEEEEEEAH!!!!

Keith,

I can certainly understand that you are happy to get a pitcher of that caliber, but aren't you afraid that the prospects they gave up might hurt in the long term?

No. Not at all. And here's why (WARNING: I am about to sound a bit like an obnoxious New Yorker).

Johan: 29, Maine: 26, Perez: 26. These guys are going to form our rotational core for the foreseeable future. This deal allows Pelfrey (who I still feel is our best pitching prospect) to take his time in AAA after being rushed (well, until Duque goes down at least) and should be in this rotation to stay by 2009. So that means we only have one spot to worry about in 2009. From what I've read around the net, it seems like the Mets have some pitching depth right behind Mulvey and Humber, so by 2009, those guys may be in AAA/AA.

As for the starting lineup: Reyes, Castillo, Wright, and Beltran are all signed for the next 4 years. If Church shows us anything, I think he'll be extended as well. The best prospect in our system, Fernando Martinez, should assume Alou's spot in LF in 2009. I believe we have Schneider and Castro through 2010, so we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

The only real spot of concern is 1B, with Delgado gone after this season. Then again, this is probably a good thing, since he seems to be in decline. Now is where the NYer in me comes out. We're a big market team. We have our own cable network and we're moving into a new stadium in 2009. This deal makes us the front runners in the NL East, which means one thing: playoff money. And you know Shea is selling out this season with it being the last year, plus the addition of Johan. So, in short, hello Mark Teixeira.

Lastly, the Mets have two first rounders and a supplemental in the upcoming draft. They've been telling any reporter who will listen that they're done with playing according to the slotting system. It seems like the Mets are finally going to start exerting their financial muscle to reflect their true capabilities.

Ok, one more thing. In 2005 Minaya put more of an emphasis on Caribbean scouting and I think they opened a camp in the DR. That was roughly 3 years ago. I would assume the Mets may start to see the fruits of their labors very soon. I remember reading somewhere that some graduates of their camp will be coming over to the minors this season. So that is yet another avenue for talent.

One more thing Dave.

While I liked the prospects we dealt, they all had their flaws.

Gomez has shown no propensity to develop power. His swing is all arms and no legs. Humber blew his elbow out 2 years ago and while he will be entering his 2nd post-TJ season (usually the big one), I'm not sure what to expect from him. I was excited to see Mulvey compete for a rotation spot this spring, but he isn't exactly a stud. He's probably another Brian Bannister type. Deolis Guerra is a total wild card. He's only 19 and hasn't pitched above A ball (to my knowledge), but he supposedly has a very advanced changeup, which is a good sign. But he's so far away from the Bigs, you can't let him stand in the way of Johan.

While this does hurt our depth some for 2008, we still held onto Martinez and Pelfrey, who I feel are our best hitting and pitching prospects, respectively. As mentioned above, I've heard some buzz that the Mets have talent in the lower levels of their system, so perhaps we'll have our own version of Joba come out of nowhere this year. You have to think the Mets have an idea of players they expect to take the next step up (from lower minors to AAA/AA).

The bottom line is this: without a front line pitcher, our staff looked a bit pedestrian, and while organizational depth is great, I don't see any of the guys dealt being impact players this season, if ever. So we get Johan, which makes Pedro, Maine, Perez, and Duque that much better (since they all move down a slot), it takes pressure off the pen, and we still keep our top two prospects (imo at least). Remember, Glavine is being replaced by Pedro, so while you may lose innings, I expect Pedro to provide better quality innings. Johan is essentially replacing the Pelfrey/Lawrence/Sosa 5th starter debacle. That is a HUGE upgrade.

Ok, last one, promise.

The Mets can also easily supplement their pitching depth by signing guys like Josh Towers, Mike Maroth, and Tony Armas Jr. I'm particularly intrigued by Towers and Maroth. I would love to see them get into camp on a minor league deal, let Peterson work with them, and then stash them at NO for the inevitable El Duque injury. Also, I wouldn't rule the Mets out of the running for guys like Colon or Freddy Garcia just yet. This is pure conjecture, but the Mets, even after signing Johan, have a ton of cash. Signing a guy like Garcia, then letting him rehab at AAA does two things: it gives you some insurance for mid year should Pedro/Duque go down, or if the rotation is healthy/ Pelfrey shows he has the goods, then Garcia is a nice trade chip at the deadline. Too much pitching is a good problem to have.