ESPN SportsNation poll on the trade

[Fman99]

The poll can be found here.

Some interesting results:

1) If the proposed Johan Santana trade to the Mets goes through, which team would be getting the better end of the deal?

90.2% Mets (would receive Johan Santana)
9.8% Twins (would receive Carlos Gomez, Phil Humber, and two minor leaguers)

2) Would the acquisition of Johan Santana make the Mets the preseason favorites to win the 2008 World Series?

65.1% No
34.9% Yes

3) How will Santana perform in 2008 if he is traded to the National League?

54.6% 16-19 wins, 2.50-3.50 ERA
40.8% 20 or more wins, less than 2.50 ERA
4.5% 15 or fewer wins, greater than 3.50 ERA

4) Santana's strikeout and walk rates remained consistent in 2007, but his home run rate jumped significantly. What does this mean for his career going forward?

59.2% He's not untouchable, but still one of the best pitchers in baseball
36.8% Nothing; it's a one-year blip
4.0% Hitters have figured him out, and he'll have more trouble from now on

5) If Santana is traded to the Mets, would too much of baseball's elite talent be concentrated on the East Coast?

57.5% No
42.5% Yes

6) Is Santana worth a long-term (6- or 7-year) deal?

75.0% Yes
25.0% No

7) Will Santana make the Hall of Fame?

82.2% Yes
17.8% No

8) If Santana is traded, which high-profile Mets pitcher will end up with the better career?

54.6% Johan Santana
45.4% Pedro Martinez

9) If Santana is traded, who would be the best pitcher in the National League?

65.4% Johan Santana
14.1% Jake Peavy
5.5% Brandon Webb
3.0% Cole Hamels
2.3% Carlos Zambrano
2.1% Roy Oswalt
1.6% John Smoltz
1.2% Pedro Martinez
1.1% Dan Haren
1.1% Brad Penny
0.8% Ben Sheets
0.6% Matt Cain
0.5% Tim Hudson
0.5% Aaron Harang
0.4% Chris Young

10) If the trade goes through, would the Twins be contenders in the AL Central?

86.9% No
13.1% Yes

[Guest AG/DC]

Sounds like a lot of forsaken perspective there, particularly on (8). Santana's best ERA+ is 182 and his next best is 161. Pedro has had five seasons over 200. Take them away and his career has been comparable to Santana's.

I'm glad he's ours, but we're not in a particularly great pitching era when the discussion for the top pitcher includes Santana, along with Peavy, Halladay, and Josh Freaking Beckett.

[nymr83]

AG/DC wrote: Sounds like a lot of forsaken perspective there, particularly on (8). Santana's best ERA+ is 182 and his next best is 161. Pedro has had five seasons over 200. Take them away and his career has been comparable to Santana's.

i was just going to rip on the idiots who voted that way. Pedro is in the ALL-TIME discussion, Santana isn't close.

[stevejrogers]

Nymr83 wrote: ="AG/DC"]Sounds like a lot of forsaken perspective there, particularly on (8). Santana's best ERA+ is 182 and his next best is 161. Pedro has had five seasons over 200. Take them away and his career has been comparable to Santana's. i was just going to rip on the idiots who voted that way. Pedro is in the ALL-TIME discussion, Santana isn't close.

Yup. Another case of the ESPN Generation being completely in the NOW.

The only two ways POSSIBLE for Johan to have a better "career" than Pedro is a Metly only one, or if Santana suddenly becomes a smaller and left handed version of, well pick your favorite big long careered hurler, Ryan, Seaver, Clemens, Sutton, Blyleven, Johnson, etc.

[seawolf17]

Funny poll on Page 2 as well... "What was your reaction to Santana?"

The breakdown -- through 12,000+ votes -- by state:

"Mets got him on the cheap" -- most of New England, New York, VA/NC, assorted states in the midwest/south
"At least he didn't go to the Yankees or Red Sox" -- most of the country
"WE'RE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES" -- no state majority
"I just stabbed myself in the eye with a pencil" -- Twins country (MN & both Dakotas), Braves country (GA), Phillies country (PA).

Love it.

[metsmarathon]

espn/scouts inc's top 100 prospects is up there, and only two of the four players the mets gave up are on this list - gomez at #35 and guerra at #80. fmart is up there at #10.

i really, really like this trade, cannot fathom that santana seems to've come so (relatively) cheaply, and hope to hell the contract extension gets amenably signed sometime in the next 27 hours!