Still Cold Here (not just talking about snow)

Well, it's officially hot stove season. Even though nothing major has happened, some moves are being made. The Yanks signed a pitcher they promised 4 years/$92 mill, now up to 5 years for $122M. The Dodgers are being sold. Remind me again how the Wilpons are still allowed to own their financially-accursed club? Theo Epstein fired his manager before signing a single new player. Rumors of a Theo-Tito reunion already abound. Oh, and R.A. Dickey has officially decided to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro: can't help but wonder what t-shirts might come of this?

This is all great, especially that last factoid, but I can't wait for contracts to get signed. With the recent initiation of Free Agency, we should start to hear a lot more rumors going 'round. Pujols, Fielder, and Mark Buerhle round out my top 3 FA's. By the way, doesn't it seem odd how under-appreciated Buerhle is these days...I mean, the guy has a no-no and a perfecto! and in that no-no he picked off the only batter he walked. Who was that batter? Answer below). Now, for all the anxiety, don't expect the Reyes to sign with the Mets any time soon - if at all. I heard Joe 7 Evan on 660 WFAN bandy about a 4 year 100 million dollar offer to Reyes. If the Mets are going to have a payroll around $100, I don't see how you can afford to pay (yea I'm rounding here) Reyes 25, Santana 25, Bay 17, and Wright 16. For those (not) calculating at home, that leaves $17 million dollars left to field 21 more players, including an entire pitching staff (with or without Johan, which remains to be seen). Ok, this post has turned from prospective to depressing, so let's move on...

Well, this is good to finally happen, though I'm still not clear as to how this will affect the Mets' offense vs. defense. At the very least, the walls will now be Met Blue instead of Suicidal Soot (yea, that's right, I said soot).

Here's to the hot stove season.
-Natron