Mets Hot Stove: Sorry, No Press Conferences Today

I know, you thought it was going to be a regular occurrence, but I'm sad to report that the Mets have not signed anyone in the last couple of hours.

Newsday: How the Closer Was Won
David Lennon provides an interesting look at the way Omar and the Mets wooed Wagner. After correctly realizing that convincing Wagner's wife that she could be happy in New York was make or break to the deal; Tom Glavine and his wife played a key role in that effort. According to Billy Wagner

We came up here and I think it was a situation that my wife was definitely a little nervous of. I think New York opened up and she really enjoyed it. A lot more than I expected her to. So did Madison Avenue.

Once the Mets had Wagner and his wife convinced they could be happy in New York, and given the fallout of the B.J. Ryan signing, Omar felt it was time to move:

I felt there was a deal to be done here. That's when, as a GM, you've got to have instincts. You could just smell it.

Omar's sense of smell proved accurate, he and Wagner's agent Bean Stringfellow laid their cards on the table, and the rest is history. According to Lennon, one of Omar's first phone calls upon learning of Wagner's acceptance was a voice mail for Pedro, who came to the Mets on faith that Omar would keep his promise to build a better team around him.

New York Times: The Mets' Network
Richard Sandomir looks into the difficulties the Mets will face getting SNY off the ground before it becomes the cash cow Wilpon and company are hoping for. Among the difficulties to be faced:

• No Cablevison deal. As Sandomir points out, it was the advertising revenue lost by the failure to reach a deal with the notoriously difficult Cablevison that resulted in the YES network operating at a loss in their first year on air.
• No Satellite Carrier. If your local cable system opts not to carry SNY, you might consider switching to satellite -- if the network can reach a deal with DISH network or DirecTV.
• Low ratings. Even with their improvement last year the Mets TV ratings were 1/3 of the Yankees' ratings on YES.

Sandomir suggests that if the Mets had a network a few years ago, Mo Vaughn could have had his own cooking show. (Maybe they could have worked one out to combine his 2 big interests -- food and strippers. Nah, I won't touch that one.)

USA Today: A Look Back at the A-Rod Deal
Jorge L. Ortiz looks back at the record deal signed by Alex Rodriguez in 2000, and how the shock waves from that extravagant signing forced baseball executives to reassess the way they built their teams.

ESPN: Nuevo Riche Relievers
At ESPN, Jerry Crasnick looks at the shortage of bullpen help and the big contracts free agent relievers are receiving because of that. He looks in particular at the Cubs' $23 million investment in the twin signings of Scott Eyre and Bobby Howry. Crasnick quotes an AL executive

Howry and Eyre are both risky and overpaid. Look at their track records, and they're all over the map. You can't be confident they'll perform at their 2005 level over the life of those contracts. But when you add Ryan to the mix, he just takes it to a new level of shocking.

Crasnick also points out that the entire world champion Chicago White Sox 6 man bullpen made slightly more than $6 million in base salary this year, which is 2/3 of the yearly salary B.J. Ryan just signed for.

AP: No Place Like Home
If the Manny to the Mets is one soap opera that has become tiresome, how much more so the Washington Nationals' quest for a ballpark and an owner.