Johan is the Dictator of the deal, and the Twins Can Decide Whether they want Draft Picks or Players

Enough already. I am sick and tired of hearing possibilities of Johan Santana going to Yankees...No wait...it's the Red Sox, Johan is going to pitch in Boston next year...No no no no, It's the Mets. Yeah. The Mets are the front runners now.

Make up your minds already, everyone is tired of this. Essentially, Johan Santana is the one who can force the deal, and here is why:

He is the one who has said he wants to be traded before Spring Training. All he has to do is say to Twins GM Bill Smith, "Listen, Billy, here's the deal. You offer me one, or you trade me now, because I am not talking contract mid-season, and I don't want to be traded mid-season, so if you don't trade me now, I will veto whatever deal you make at the deadline when the Twins are in last place and then walk at the end of the year."

Even though Johan Santana would never do that, because he is regarded throughout baseball as a stand-up gentleman who shows respect for his organization, this is clearly what he is thinking.

He has, in fact, expressed the feeling that is he is to be traded, he would prefer it to be done before he has to report to Spring Training.

Now that the Yankees have taken Phil Hughes off the table, and the Red Sox have taken Jon Lester out of the equation, that leaves the Mets and their offer of the good prospects.

It has yet to be determined the exact deal, but it has been reported that is something along the lines of Kevin Mulvey, Phil Humber/Mike Pelfrey, Delios Guerra and Carlos Gomez. The Twins, all winter, have wanted to get Jose Reyes, who was deemed untouchable, however once that was shot down by the Mets brass, they started requesting Fernando Martinez; the teen-sensation that is sweeping the nation.

Personally, I would acquire Santana with a deal of Mulvey, Humber/Pelfrey, Guerra and Gomez. Those guys, especially Gomez, have careers that look promising; however Santana already has a career that is established; a pretty good one, too.

That offer, while it may not be exactly what the Twins are looking for, is MUCH better than having Santana walk after the season, and then the Twins getting two compensation draft picks.

Boy would Minnesota fans be mad if that happened.

Bill Smith keeps mentioning Major League-ready talent, however, the Mets do not have much of that to offer, and the Yankees and Red Sox took the two most intriguing pieces of their puzzle out of the deal. So it is now up to Smith to decide whether he wants to take a little heat from the media now, and acquire the prospects from the Mets or get CHASTISED once they realize they cannot afford to resign Johan Santana next off season. That is essentially what would happen.

Personally, I would love to have Johan Santana pitching Queens, and I would love to wear my #57 shirt to Shea. However, if the Twins ask too much, i.e. include Fernando Martinez, I can just wait until we sign him this off season, and watch him pitch at Citi Field for 7 years after that.

The Knicks STILL Are Embarassed by the Celtics

Ok, so, with the Knicks winning four of five, you MUST have been thinking, 'wow, perfect timing, seeing as how we are playing the Celtics coming up....maybe now since we are on a hot streak, we can stick it to those jerks!'

Well you were wrong. The Knicks lost 109-93 at home.

Oh, and the best part, is Isiah Thomas, as usual, with his team getting killed at home, sitting on the bench, SMILING! I SWEAR, ISIAH, IF WE EVER MEET, I WILL HAVE SOME WORDS TO SAY TO YOU!

Kendrick Perkins went out, and just ANIHILATED Eddy Curry an Zach Randolph, scoring, not only a career high, but career high IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE GAME! KENDRICK PERKINS, WHO AVERAGES 6.8 POINTS PER GAME SCORED HSI CAREER HIGH, 22, IN THE FIRST HALF! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

"The Lard Blunder Down Under" (Eddy Curry) got absolutely burned every single time on defense, and didn't fight over a single pick, and rarely even contested a single one of Perkins' shots.

Ok, that was bad, we can all admit that, and we all know that Eddy Curry doesn't defend well...scratch that, Eddy Curry doesn't DEFEND, PERIOD!

But the worst of everything, the absolute WORST of everything is Jared Jeffries. He is the worst professional basketball player to wear a Knicks uniform since CHRIS DUDLEY! YES, I WENT THERE, CHRIS DUDLEY LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

I mean, my god! They RAVE about his defense, and how good it is, and maybe it is good, I won't take that away from him, but when you are a LIABILITY on the offensive end, it just doesn't balance out.

The Knicks were down by five in the second quarter, and were looking to get even closer, nearing half time. Right then and there, it became Jared Time; and THAT is when the Knicks lost the game.

Jeffries came down the court, and took a jumped, which he has yet to hit this season, and missed so short off front rim that it karimed out, and started a fast break for the Celtics. They would obviously score.

After that, Jamal Crawford dishes it to Jeffries down low, and everyone thinks it's an easy layup-to-be. No. Wrong. Not with Jared Jeffries. He dribbles, and it goes off his knee, and starts yet ANOTHER fast break!

Next possession, Jared decides "I'll toss the ball to that fan, over there, he looks like he is good at catching passes, better than I am at least." So he throws the ball, seemingly to no one on the court, and it flies into the crowd. He just stood there with a dumb look on his face, like he always does, looking like an ape.

So now the Celtics have moved their lead from five, up to 11, and you think, 'well...this is important, if they get it to 13 or 14 at half time, it's bad. We need to score here.'

Again, YET AGAIN, it was Jared Time.

Jeffries thought it to be a good idea to get a pass, not dribble, and take off from two steps in front of the free throw line. He got rejected by the rim, and it started ONE MORE fast break for the Celtics, that ended with Rajon Rondo hitting a shot at the buzzer to increase the half time lead to 14. That was it, the Knicks never REALLY recovered from that point.

They cut it to eight with four minutes to go, and then they decided to stop scoring. No big deal, we can win, especially against the Celtics, by playing 1-on-1, selfish basketball, and by taking horrible shots.

No, you can't. Morons.

Knicks suck, they are awful, end of story. I don't care how many they have won in the past 5 games, they are a dreadful team, they COULD be a good team, BUT THEY WON'T BECAUSE ISIAH THOMAS IS AN IDIOT.

I will stand by that until he is gone, Isiah Thomas, you are an idiot.

Hey Oh! That's 3 In a Row!

The NEW New York Knicks look awesome. I'll say it, they are even fun to watch! These last 3 games have been by far the most entertaining of the year. First the Pistons by 24, then the Wizards, and now the Nets?

WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!

Oh, I've got it: They are playing as a TEAM. A TEAM. Not 5 guys on the court, all looking to shoot the ball as soon as they get it, and are OK with the opposition scoring, because then the Knicks get another chance to shoot.

No. Not anymore.

It has even come to the point that ZACH RANDOLPH, the "black hole" of basketball, the "Stacy Patton" of this Knicks team, had a career high 4 assists in last night's victory on the road over New Jersey.

A week ago, Isiah Thomas Did what Eddie (Whoopi Goldberg) did to Stacy Patton in "Eddie". She pulled him off the floor, and sat him down on the bench until he was ready to become part of the "team."

Team...TEAM...it has a nice ring to it.

This Knicks TEAM is playing great basketball. The bench is being used perfectly, Team Energizer: Nate, Lee and Balkman, seeing significant minutes and really helping this team. They are playing hard, they are playing unselfishly and they are playing DEFENSE.

In a way, this Knicks team is exactly like the Knicks in Eddie. They have a bunch of ball hogs, with huge contracts, that aren't performing. They have a bench that can get it done, but just don't get their chances.

Instead, lately, all of that has been reversed; oh, and Jamal Crawford having back-to-back 30 point games has helped a little bit, too.

All I can say is, no matter how long this goes on, the Knicks are fun to watch, I will be tuning into every game during this streak, because you never know when they will lose another 12 in a row.

BREAKING NEWS! KNICKS TRYING SOMETHING NEW: WINNING

WOW! DO MY EYES DECEIVE ME? THE KNICKS, THE NEW YORK KNICKS, STILL OF NEW YORK THAT PLAY AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, HAVE WON TWO IN A ROW! AGAINST TWO SOLID TEAMS NO LESS!?

I'm in shock. So is the rest of the NBA and world for that matter. It seems to me that the only person NOT surprised is Isiah Thomas, "The Prophet." Apparently, Zeke knew that the Knicks would somehow pull off the miracle blowout, "Fluke of 2008", 24 point victory over the Detroit Pistons, and then even win the very next night against the ailing Wizards.

Let's be frank here: Both of those teams playing their 7-12 men on the roster could beat the Knicks on any given day, which is why these 2 straight wins are so special.

Could it be the correct usage of the bench? Possibly. Could it be that the Knicks are ACTUALLY moving the ball, (except for when it is in Randolph's hands)? It could be. Could it even be the fact that they are playing defense for the first time since Van Gundy was in charge of the team?

WELL HERE'S A HINT, IT'S ALL THREE!

The Knicks are moving the ball, getting open shots, playing defense, and for the first time in a while, are not only playing hard, but could actually be referred to as a "Professional basketball team."

I mean, about freaking time! Isiah Thomas, way to utilize the bench, and guess what? I AM NOT BEING SARCASTIC! I am one of the biggest Isiah Thomas haters, but lately, he has been utilizing his bench very nicely, giving hard workers such as Renaldo Balkman and Nate Robinson playing time, and it is ACTUALLY paying dividends! Who knew!

Now, for this team to climb out of the cellar, it is going to have to do a few things, the most important of which is to keep playing tough, hard nosed, TEAM basketball.

Another is split up Randolph and Curry for good. It's gotta be done. I'm sorry, they have failed. In theory, it was a good idea, but it just hasn't worked out. When Curry is in, the other man down low should be David Lee, who continues to contribute.

The same goes for Zach Randolph. His partner down low needs to be David Lee. Lee isn't a ball hog like either of the two I just mentioned, and is OK with not being the first scoring option. Curry or Randolph have to be dealt, for something, ANYTHING! GET A WATER COOLER! All I can say is the tandem has failed, and one of them needs to go.

Starbury, Q-Rich, who is just DREADFUL, and Jared Jeffries all need to go, as well. Starbury is...well he's Starbury, which is now being written into medical books as a type of Cancer. Q-Rich is just awful...he cannot shoot the rock any worse than he has this season without becoming Jared Jeffries, bringing me to why Jeffries must go...he is even WORSE than Richardson.

The other thing I want to see is Wilson Chandler, the rookie who seemingly never sees time, and Randolph Morris, the second year man who has played a total of 9 minutes this year, also see more playing time. Assuming Randolph is traded, because Isiah is in love with Eddy Curry, a rotation should consist of Nate, Crawford, Balkman, Lee, Curry, Chandler, Morris, Freddy Jones and on occasion when all else fails, Mardy Collins.

If you were not just listed, please vacate Madison Square Garden immediately, and please leave your jersey; it costs money.

Point is, the Knicks are playing hard, and Isiah Thomas is starting to realize who goes out to win, and who goes out there to just go out there.

Biggets Fluke of this still Very Young 2008: Knicks beating the Pistons, at the Garden, by 24

...Did anyone else see that? Am I imagining things? The scoreboard is upside down...They have the symbols wrong...The score for the Knicks must be backwards. These are all things that crossed my mind when I saw the score of the Knicks most recent game against the Pistons.

Seriously, I was speechless, and anyone who knows me will understand what has to happen for ME, "The Shmoozer", to be rendered speechless. The Knicks, beating a good team...ney, ANY team would do it. But beating an ELITE team? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!

The Knicks beat the Pistons, yes, the Pistons, 89-65. Yes, the Pistons were playing 4 games in 5 nights, and yes Rip Hamilton and Tayshon Prince shot a combined 1-17 from the field, but doest that make this win any less fulfilling?

Yes...yes it does.

BUT WHO CARES! THE KNICKS WON A GAME FOR A CHANGE! CELEBRATE, IT WILL BE THE LAST ONE FOR A WHILE!

Big surprise, that the bench provided all the spark.

Oh gee, look who realized that the bench can be a little bit effective! HEY ISIAH, HERE'S AN IDEA, PLAY THAT TEAM, THE GOOD ONE, INSTEAD OF THE ONE U START EVERY NIGHT!

He quickly limited Curry's minutes tonight, after Antonio McDyess toasted him on back-to-back-to-back possessions to start the game, and about time!

Randolph was solid, as usual, and even passed the ball tonight! It was glorious! The ball left Z-Bo's hands, and DID NOT, repeat, DID NOT FLY TOWARDS THE HOOP, but towards an open Knicks player!

Renaldo Balkman. What a guy, huh? Always hustles, always works hard, always dives on the floor for looes balls, always plays defense, now if only he could make foul shots...Don't worry about it Renaldo, we still think you deserve more PT, and showed why tonight.

Only 7 points, but had 3 steals, 3 rebounds and a blocked shot, but hey, stats aren't everything, intangibles are important, too.

Oh, that's right, only the people who quite often sit on the comfy chairs wearing their warmups all game know what those are. Huh...interesting.

Anyway, I'm sorry, call me a pessimist, or whatever you want to, but this does not mean the Knicks are suddenly good, because the next game they play will most likely be a loss, and it doesn't matter who they play.

In fact, it's almost even worse if they begin to win a game here or there because with every win it makes two things happen that no Knicks fan wants:

1) Gives Isiah reason to believe he still is good for this franchise (blanent lie)

I Hate you >>>>>

2) It lowers our potential to get the lottery pick we so DESPERATELY need.

Ah well, I'm gonna enjoy it while I can, because they used 12 games worth of effort...so can't wait till we win again a month from now...

The Year That is Shea: The Nationally Adopted and Official Pre-Game Mix

Once again.

Forget the discussions and debates.

It's time to celebrate.

One more time...

Song 1. MEET THE METS/Mets Originals
-Need I say more?
Song 2. BLEED IT OUT/Linkin Park
-"Yeah here we go for the hundreth time, hand grenade pins in every line. Throw 'em up and let something shine, going out of my f-ing mind." If this song doesn't get you pumped up for what's in your future, then damn it man, you have no soul!
Song 3. START ME UP/Rolling Stones
-Entrance songs for our Mets in the 2005 season. A classic song that reminds you, "Oh yeah, it's Mets baseball time."
Song 4. PARADISE CITY/Guns 'n Roses
-"Take me down to the paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty. Oh please, take me home..."
Song 5. STRONGER/Kanye West
-"N-n-now th-that don't kill me, can only make me stronger. I need you to hurry up now, 'cause I can't wait much longer. I know I got to be right now, 'cause I can't get much wronger. Man I've been waitin' all night now, that's how long I've been on ya..." Try and sum up the transition from 2007 to 2008 any better than Kanye. I dare you. You know why I dare you? 'Cause i know you can't.
Song 6. HEY BABY/DJ Otiz
-Pepsi Party Patrol. End of story.
Song 7. LAZY MARY/Lou Monte
-Thank the lord for John Franco and the 7th inning stretch.
Song 8. GUERILLA RADIO/Rage Against the Machine
-"It has to start somewhere, it has to start sometime. What better place than here, what better time than now?" Forget politics, Rage was speaking straight to the Met fan with this line.
Song 9. ENTER SANDMAN/Metallica
-Billy Wagner. Stage right.
Song 10. THE BEAT KICKS/Breeze & Styles
-At this point in our trip, we are in New York and quickly approaching the cathedral of Shea Stadium. Turn up the techno, get me pumped up. The beat kicks.
Song 11. EVERYTIME WE TOUCH/Cascada
-Not only a great pump up song for Shea, it is the track the Shea stereo blasts whenever Endy "The Catch" Chavez hits a double.
Song 12. ONE MORE TIME/Daft Punk
-The Song of 2008.
Song 13. SEE THE LIGHT (SY AND UNKNOWN REMIX)/Paradise
-The Song of 2006. Simply never gets old.
Song 14. DANCE ME/Heaven-7
-Bringing back the classic from the '06 mix. Keeps your blood pumping after the 2 stalwarts of the mix.
Song 15. SANDSTORM/DJ Darude
-Cue Noise Meter.
Song 16. MANIAC/Hits of the 80's
-For John Maine. Simply put, he's a maniac on the rubber.
Song 17. WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT/Twisted Sister
-For all those doubters out there that think the Mets can't do it. Screw You.
Song 18. REMEMBER THE NAME/Fort Minor featuring Styles of Beyond
-Entrance song for '06 that still speaks volumes.

The Mix. The Mets. The Shea. 2008.

The Year That is Shea: The Nationally Adopted and Official Post-Game Mix

No more changes.

No more discussions.

If there is one thing I certainly am, it's a overly-addicted Mets fan. And I will not settle for any more talk, debate, or discussion to what will be on my creation i stress over for months and months after every Mets season:

The creation of the next year's Mets pre and post-game mixes.

Now, I'm starting you all out with the post-game mix. Because, simply, the pre-game isn't finished quite yet. That's how long it takes me to make it perfect. I go to no ends to make the mix everything it is. Last year, I openly take some blame for the Mets struggling and my disappointing 20-21 Win/Loss record at Met games. I never was satisfied with one mix, and constantly changed the mix. This year, not the case. Consistency and awesome is the game. The Mets are my name.

THE MIX AND REASONS WHY: I hope you have a change of pants. This is going to get messy...

Song 1. TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS/Bachman-Turner Overdrive
-Why? Easiest question in the world. The goal is to see the Mets win. What do the Mets play after a win...
Song 2. YOU SHOOK ME ALL NIGHT LONG/ AC/DC
-Making its second appearance on the post-game mix, this AC/DC classic is a solid representation of what Shea Stadium does to the Pinch Hitters after every Mets game.
Song 3. ROXANNE/The Police
-A simple, easy song that compliments You Shook Me All Night Long very well is also a good song to play under any circumstances that brings us back down to home.
Song 4. LIVIN' ON A PRAYER/Bon Jovi
-If you can think back to the dream year of 2006, the Mets used to alternate between Sweet Caroline and this as the 8th inning sing along. Personally, i prefer this. It's more...Mets baseball.
Song 5. DANCIN'/Morillo, Romero and Nunez
-The techno remix to Metallica's Enter Sandman, a song I and noted Mets analyst and devoted fan Ted Youngling still believe to this day should be Billy Wagner's entrance song from the 'pen.
Song 6. KING OF ROCK AND ROLL/cKy
-This song defines a car ride home with the Pinch Hitters from Shea. There's usually a huge tractor-trailer involved as well...
Song 7. TRIBUTE/Tenacious D
-"He asked us: (snort) Be you angels? And we said 'Nay. We are but men. ROCK!"
Song 8. WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN (KARL G REMIX)/Artic Monkeys
-The perfect song to keep you amped and awake after a thrilling Mets win. As Youngling would say: "The bass is just...powerful."
Song 9. SCOTTY DOESN'T KNOW/Lustra
-We dedicated this song unjustly at first to Scott Schoeneweis for his inability to record outs in the beginning part of the year. Since then, we have reformed the dedication to Scott's inability to ever seem happy on the mound...
Song 10. VIOLENT PORNOGRAPHY/System of a Down
-Maybe the funniest song of all time that also keeps the adrenaline pumping. And not the way Roger Clemens kept his adrenaline pumping...
Song 11. B.O.B./Outkast
-"Get back home, things are wrong. Well not really, it was bad all along, before you left adds up to a ball of power. Thoughts at a thousands miles per hour, hello, ghetto, let your brain breathe. Believe there's always mo', OWWWW!"
Song 12. JUMP AROUND/House of Pain
-"I'll serve your ass like John McEnroe" also, take a trip down memory lane with me. During the Clincher of the Division in September of '06, the 'Stache provided the power for the Mets with 2 home runs. Now I ask you, of all the songs the Mets could've played, which did they play after his 2nd homer...
Song 13. CRANK THAT/Soulja Boy
-Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Song 14. CHACARRON/La Yanta
-The greatest walk-up song ever for Jose Reyes, who desperately needs to bring this classic back.
Song 15. ROMPE'/Daddy Yankee
-We, the Pinch Hitters, continue to support Carlos Delgado. If we don't, we'll have no chance next year.
Song 16. PROMISCUOUS/Nelly Furtado & Timbaland
-The music video Shea always played in '06 along with Snow to kill time. And maybe the hottest music video of all time. A little riske on the Mets part, but I'm not complaining.
Song 17. RED ALERT/Basement Jaxx
-"And the music keeps us playing on and on..."
Song 18. HELICOPTER/Bloc Party
-Always needing that one song that connects the Mets to the other national pastime: Guitar Hero
Song 19. THE IMPERIAL MARCH/John Williams
-Where would we be without a little Ramon Castro in our lives?
Song 20. 19-2000 (SOUL CHILD RE-MIX)/Gorillaz
-"It's the music that we choose..."