Santana's Farewell

I am a devoted Twins fan and i am still trying to grasp this. Here are my original thoughts:

1. In terms of names traded that didn't include the best pitcher in baseball, this may have not been our best deal that was on the table. Don't think that i am not hoping that Lester, Ellersby, Hughes and Cabrera all somehow get involved in a huge cat fighting ring and head to jail for a long time. Either that or hang out with Roger Clemens right before a drug test.

2. I would feel a lot more comfortable if Terry Ryan were making this trade.

3. Is Santana more valuable than the recent Morneau/Cuddyer signings? Looking at the Twins replacement value in terms of hitters and pitchers in the minors, i have talked myself into no. Also, there was no way we were signing Santana and if he said "no-trade" after spring training started, he would walk away without us getting anything.

So in the end, I guess i am OK with the trade. We do have some pitchers that are going to have to step up, Liriano is hopefully fully recovered, and we do look a little more potent on the offensive end so far from this off season.

Now onto my normal type of post. I got most of my information from here. And let me say, they talked me off a ledge as there is some real promise with these guys (all were ranked in the top ten prospects of the Mets by Baseball America, but that doesn't mean i can't make fun of them:

Carlos Gomez, OF: They say he is a 5-tool player. I guess those 5 tools must mean, Speed, Defense, Arm, Strikeouts and Breaking Your Hand. Currently he strikes out about 1 out of 5 times. Now the guy/Twins legend he is replacing, Torii Hunter, struck out a lot early in his career, so plate discipline is something you can teach and the Twins are good at. And a strikeout is better than a double play, that is of course unless Mike Redmond happens to be stealing on the play.

Phil Humber, SP: He was the 3rd overall pick in the 2004 draft. Well one Tommy John surgery later and he isn't considered as good a prospect. I guess the Twins wanted someone who was going through what Liriano was going through, someone to talk with about it, share an ice tub after the game with, or just that there chances of someone recovering from this injury has now doubled. They are saying he hasn't gotten back to his pre-surgery form yet, which was a 4.99 ERA in single A. Ummm, that's not a good sign. But he did have 120 SO's in 139IP last year, so there is hope.

Deolis Guerra, SP: He is the #2 ranked prospect in the Met organization and has a mid-90's fastball, a plus change-up and is working on a curve ball, all this and he is only 18. All that is good, but by all expectations, he will start the year in Ft Myers, FL. In April. Lets put two and two together and say: 18 (soon to be 19) year old prospect + spring break in Florida in April = Well, other than an awesome party with bikini clad chicks, but not the best place for a prospect to be. Ohh, and he has had shoulder tendinitis, any of these guys not injured?

Kevin Mulvey, SP: He was 12-10 last year with a 3.20 ERA in AA. He was also named the Minor League Pitcher of the Year for the Mets. This says two things. The Mets minor league system must really suck and he is probably the 15th rated pitching prospect in the Twins organization now.

Alright, so that was my day of many emotions and i think i will recover. Its hard to lose not only such a great team player, but also the best pitcher in baseball. But the Twins have a better offense than last year, and a wealth of young pitching and some of the group (Bonser, Liriano, Baker, Slowey, Blackburn, Humber and Mulvey) is going to have to step up.