Beltran blue and Gonzalez glum.

It seems like every body is super morose about the Cardinals signing Beltran and the Nats trading for Gio Gonzalez. Another day went by and big deals got made while the Mets signed fringe back up catchers. I get that it isn't fun to watch, but let's just accept it for it what it is. We have already covered that the Mets would need to make astominical signings to contend next year so why get upset that we were not in the hunt for Gio Gonzalez.

I read several tweets from a few prominent sports writers and bloggers alike that said the signing of Gio Gonzalez is the nail in the coffin for the Mets finishing in last place. Let's try maintain a facade of realism here. It is entirely likely that the Mets will finish last, however this has nothing to do with Gio Gonzalez as that fate was cast long before his trade. Don't get me wrong, Gio is a good pitcher, 3.16 ERA and a 3.64 FIP with almost 9 strike outs per nine innings. He had an excellent 2011 WAR of 3.5, thats a great number, but let's be clear, its 3.5. It's not 15, like some people seem to think. Gio Gonzalez is an excellent tool to add to a pretty good rotation, his signing will make the Nats a better squad but is by no means a Met killing game changer.

The Oakland A's are actually my second favorite team and my go to AL squad and I have to say I like what they are doing. They are not going to win next year most likely (even though they play in a weaker division and could theoretically have less of a long shot than the Mets) so they are dumping players while they have value and getting prospects to build a better team long term. This is what the Mets should be doing. I think we need to admit that David Wright will probably never be a part of a World Series Mets team and trade him for some guys we can use in 2-3 years when it will matter, same for Santana.

As for Beltran, this just seems wrong. It's like if Bill Buckner had gone to play for the Mets in 1990. Beltran now must play for the team and with the player that delivered his greatest failure. It's like in pro wrestling when a good guy turns heel and joins the bad guy stable. I can just imagine Beltran wearing a Mets jersey, turning to stone cold stun Fred Wilpon then ripping it off to reveal a Cardinals jersey underneath, then the Cardinals music starts playing while Adam Wainwright and David Freese come out and start doing DX chops, man Jim Ross would be going nuts: I CAN'T BELIEVE IT...