Okay, now that we've finished one month of baseball, is it too early to appraise the winners and losers of the Johan Santana winter sweepstakes?
Well, yes. In passing on Santana, the Red Sox and Yankees sided with youth, and, by definition, we'll have to wait a while to see if they made the right call... and it was the Mets who went for instant gratification when they landed the ace.
But this is Red Sox/Yankees. There is no tomorrow. They kept the kids because they thought the kids would deliver now. So how are they doing?
Last night seems like a good yardstick marker, since the two pitchers mentioned most often in Santana trade talks last winter -- the Sox' Jon Lester and the Yanks' Philp Hughes -- started. And for that matter, so did ace that got away...
Well, Yankee Universe, this one goes to the Sox.
It's popular to say Lester, 24, will never develop into a front-line ace. And the way he nibbles around the plate can make his starts agonizing to watch. But that wasn't the case yesterday, as Lester matched zeroes with Toronto ace Roy Halladay, allowing one hit -- ONE HIT -- over 8 innings.
Lester didn't get the decision in the Sox 1-0 win. But it was obviously his best start of during up-and-down year. His numbers through the first month: 1 win, 2 losses, with an ERA of 4.31 in 7 starts. And the plate-nibbler is averaging just over 5 innings per start.
Meanwhile, there's been nothing good this season from Yankees wonderboy Philip Hughes, the 21-year-old Hank Steinbrenner pulled off the table during the Santana talks. At the time, Hank told the New York Times, "I'm going to pay attention to the opinion of our top baseball people."
These are the same baseball people Hank called 'idiots' last week for keeping Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen. (Tick...tick...tick...) Largely, of course, because of the pitching of Hughes, (0-4) and Ian Kennedy (also pulled out of Santana discussions, also winless.)
Last night, Hughes was shelled again. This time it was the Tigers. More troubling than his 9.00 ERA and 0-4 record is the fact that Hughes is averaging 3 2/3 innings per start...And so while the debate last week was whether the Yanks would add one of their phenoms to the rotation, now the debate is whether they'll pull one from the rotation...
We all know Mets fans have been impatient with Johan. But he's been the ace they needed - and a better hitter than Robinson Cano. Last night, he left with a lead against the Pirates. (A lead the bullpen blew). His numbers: 3 wins, 2 losses, 3.12 ERA in 6 starts.
So who are the winners? Well, I'm guessing the Mets won't regret trading for Santana any time soon. And in the winter staring contest between the Red Sox and Yankees, the Sox have the edge after a month.
But maybe the real winners are the Tampa Bay Rays, who wouldn't get a whiff of first place, even in April, if Johan was around.
-- Dennehy