It Could Be A Long Summer

In baseball, an active winter usually results in an exciting summer. When the hot stove heats up and players start changing addresses, you know that the summer is going to be interesting, if nothing else. Well this winter, it seems like the pilot light in the stove went out.

So far the Yankees (go figure) have made the most news by letting Joe Torre go and ending the A-Rod soap opera by re-signing him. To this point, there have been no blockbuster deals and there won't be any huge free agent signings because there just aren't any big names out there. It's looking like the Jon Garland deal that sent him to the Angels could be the biggest deal of the winter.

But with the lack of activity this winter, we should see a very out-of-the-ordinary summer in NY. Unfortunately, I don't think Mr. Steinbrenner and Mr. Wilpon are going to be happy with the results.

Unless something drastic changes for both the Mets and Yankees, I don't think you can expect either team to have much success this season. The Mets certainly haven't done much to improve. Johnny Estrada is hardly the upgrade at catcher they were looking for and the rest of the team is almost the same as the group that blew a big lead in September. Unless Omar Minaya is able to pull off a big trade and drop some dead weight (ie: Delgado, El Duque and the entire bullpen), let's start talking about the wild card.

At this point, I would welcome any trade that doesn't involve Wright or Reyes. At least it's an attempt to avoid the same disappointing fate. But sitting back and hoping to get better results from the same group is not a good plan. Omar, hope is not a strategy!

As for the Yankees, they are actually making some changes. It looks like they finally realized that Roger Clemens isn't Roger Clemens anymore. They signed Posada, Rivera and the forementioned A-Rod. But they still have a lot of holes, most notably in the pitching department. They're going to be going with a few rookies in the rotation, they are still stuck with Giambi and who knows what to expect from this coaching staff?

I hate admitting this but you have to give the Yankees credit for at least trying to make progress this offseason. The Mets have done nothing but lower expectations for themselves and disappoint their fan base. I'll be the first to say it: Red Sox in 2008. This is what we'll be faced with unless Cashman and Minaya do something.

As a Mets fan, I hope I am wrong and that they make some big moves to improve. As a Yankees hater, I hope I am right and they are terrible in 2008.

But this is why they play the games.