From the Winter Meetings

To my dozens of readers:

The last few, and next few days are hectic for me, as they are the last of my academic career. Posts will appear more frequently starting Friday. Terrible timing with the winter meetings and all, but such is life. A few comments so you can get your fix:

1) I'm extremely dissappointed that the Ravens didn't pull off the upset last night. They badly outplayed the Patriots, and seemingly had the game won on 3 different occasions. However, as much as the Ravens want to blame the refs, they have no one to blame for themselves. After taking a 7 point lead, they had the ball inside the Pats 30, and Boller threw an awful interception. They had two more chances to eat clock after that, and went 3 and out both times. The holding call on Scott was a very tough call, but not necessarily the wrong one. It looked like holding, but I don't agree with making that call in that situation. Nonetheless, the Ravens need to stop whining and learn how to close out a game.

2) I can't stand the Santana rumors any more, and don't believe anything you hear until there is a press conference. I still think the Twins are holding out to get Ellsbury and Lester, and I think that's why a deal has not been struck. And although Steinbrenner claims the Yanks are "out of it", if the Twins call and say they are willing to except Hughes, Cabrera and Prospect X, we'll see how out of it they are. However, I do think its a two team race.

3) Kudos to the Tigers for pulling off a deal like that. They get two studs in their prime for a group of prospects of which it would be shocking if two of them approach level of Willis and Cabrera. This puts the Tigers right at the top of the AL with the Red Sox, and if Willis returns to form, have fun facing Verlander-Willis-Bonderman in the playoffs, not to mention a middle of the lineup with Cabrera and Magglio. Yikes.

4) Sadly, it's beginning to look bleak for the Mets chances of acquiring an ace. The fact is simple, our prospects are weak, and no one wants them in any combination. Let this be a lesson to the team. As I stated in one of my earliest posts, the Mets need to spend more focus on scouting, and with 2 first rounders and a sandwich pick, what a great year to start. Nevertheless, I'm still holding out hope Omar pulls something off..

- Scott
That's all for now. Check back on Friday for more.