In this life, one thing counts / In the bank, large amounts
It looks like Santana's gone. That sucks, huh?
Well, the last two steps between Santana and the Big Apple are a physical, which won't be an issue, and the contract negotiation window. I hope Santana gets every last penny possible.
The Mets are getting a new stadium in 2009, so I expect a bit of a spike in their payroll with that season, and then I projected a $5M/year growth on top of that. I pulled those numbers out of my a$$, but I think that they are plausible. (For instance, the ratio of the Mets' 2007 to 2000 payroll is about 1.44, and the ratio between a 2014 payroll of $170M and a 2007 payroll of $115M is 1.48, and the Mets didn't get a new stadium from 2000 to 2007.) I got all of my contract info from the incomparable Cot's baseball contracts, and for the most part, I only listed the guaranteed amounts that the Mets are on the hook for.
Say the Mets are able to get Santana for a relatively modest 5-year, $125M extension. This is how their budget would look:
| Projected | 130 | 145 | 150 | 155 | 160 | 165 |
| Committed | 127.25 | 86.8 | 63.25 | 72.5 | 43.5 | 30 |
| Remaining | 2.75 | 58.2 | 86.75 | 82.5 | 116.5 | 135 |
| Dude | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
| Santana | 13.25 | 20 | 22 | 25 | 28 | 30 |
| Wright | 5.0 | 7.5 | 10.0 | 14.0 | 15.0 | |
| Reyes | 2.5 | 4.0 | 5.8 | 9.0 | 0.5 | |
| Beltran | 18.5 | 18.5 | 18.5 | 18.5 | ||
| Castillo | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | ||
| Others | 82.0 | 30.8 | 1.0 |
Now say Santana is able to get a 6-year, $150M extension. This is about how their budget would look:
| Projected | 130 | 145 | 150 | 155 | 160 | 165 | 170 |
| Committed | 127.25 | 86.8 | 63.25 | 72.5 | 40.5 | 28 | 30 |
| Remaining | 2.75 | 58.2 | 86.75 | 82.5 | 119.5 | 137 | 140 |
| Dude | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Santana | 13.25 | 20 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 28 | 30 |
| Wright | 5.0 | 7.5 | 10.0 | 14.0 | 15.0 | ||
| Reyes | 2.5 | 4.0 | 5.8 | 9.0 | 0.5 | ||
| Beltran | 18.5 | 18.5 | 18.5 | 18.5 | |||
| Castillo | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | |||
| Others | 82.0 | 30.8 | 1.0 |
I would guess that Santana will get something between 5/$125M and 6/$150M, but there's a slight chance something outside that general range is possible. Either way, I would say that Santana fits in the Mets' budget, even though they will be paying him an outrageous sum of money.
For the record, this is how the rest of the Mets' contracts break down:
| Dude | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Wagner | 10.5 | 10.5 | 1.0 | ||||
| Schneider | 4.9 | 4.9 | |||||
| Delgado | 16.0 | 4.0 | |||||
| Schoeneweis | 3.6 | 3.6 | |||||
| Castro | 1.9 | 2.5 | |||||
| Chavez | 1.8 | 2.1 | |||||
| Pelfrey | 1.3 | 1.3 | |||||
| Anderson | 1.1 | 1.2 | |||||
| Humber | 0.8 | 0.8 | |||||
| Pedro | 11.0 | ||||||
| Alou | 7.5 | ||||||
| El Duque | 6.5 | ||||||
| Perez | 5.6 | ||||||
| Sosa | 2.2 | ||||||
| Church | 2.1 | 2nd arb | 3rd arb | ||||
| Wise | 1.2 | ||||||
| Heilman | 1.2 | 2nd arb | 3rd arb | ||||
| Feliciano | 1.1 | ||||||
| Easley | 1.0 | ||||||
| Sanchez | 0.9 | 3rd arb |
Those numbers look totally plausible, given where the Yanquis and Red Sox are.
Man, 4/$24 for Luis Castillo. Oof.
mebbe Pohlad had a secret agreement with Minaya to back up the Castillo trade with something even more outrageous.
A Rounders quote in the title there, Ubes?
It is indeed.
You can shear a sheep many times but skin him only once.
Mike: I feel like Buckner walking back into Shea.
When I see someone rich / take Johan I start to b!tch