As Thursday became Friday the Mets and Johan Santana had yet to reach agreement on a contract extension. The trade that nobody thought could happen that actually and finally did happen on Tuesday is about 17 hours away from falling apart. I'm just being alarmist; I have little doubt that the two sides will come to a deal with time to spare. It sounds like it'll be six guaranteed years at $22 million per, or thereabouts. If we include the $13 million Santana is already set to earn in 2008, we're talking about the most money ever given to a starting pitcher. The total years (seven) would match the preposterous deal gifted to Barry Zito by the Giants last offseason, though the annual salary would best Zito's $$18 million per.
Santana at 35 probably won't be much like Santana at 29 (or Santana at 26, for that matter), but the Mets are going to pony up big time to get the lefty ace and his good stuff for the next three years or so. Assuming good health (always a dangerous assumption), and the current rate of inflation (economic recession notwithstanding), even solid numbers at the downturn of Santana's career won't be a terrible investment. If he can lead them to multiple playoff appearances and -- dare I say? -- a possible world title, well Fred Wilpon would have written him a blank check if he knew that were in the cards. You can be sure that the millions of Mets fans who are ecstatic about this deal would gladly chip in a few bucks apiece, too.
I've been hesitant to talk much about it until the deal is official. We have the extension to hammer out and then the requisite physical, and I don't want to be the one to jinx the deal by going on about how Santana is going to improve this team in untold ways. Not that I believe in jinxing or curses or whatever, but I'd like to keep my distance from them just in case I've been wrong this whole time.
I'm going to sleep now, hopeful that my dreams will be filled with rotation stalwarts, Cy Young awards, sugar plums, et cetera. I'll wake up tomorrow and head off to work just like any other day, knowing that, in all likelihood, this whole thing will be wrapped up with a $140 million bow before I leave for the day.
I'll try to get a link dump and maybe another installment of Who Am I? tomorrow morning to help get y'all through what will probably be a loooong Friday.