Benjamin Grimm

He's now asking if "statistical anomalies" would trigger testing of individual players. Selig again looked dumbfounded, but then said "of course!"

Rep. Mark Souder (R, IN) is pressing Selig about "gene doping" and Selig is groping for a response. I'm not sure he knows what "gene doping" is. (I'm not either.)

They're also talking about Sen. Mitchell's recommendations and which ones they'll implement.

Fehr concludes by saying "mistakes were made." In retrospect, the union should have acted sooner, and he personally takes some of the responsibility.

Don Fehr urges everyone to go to Google and search for "where can I buy hgh?" http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=where+can+I+buy+hgh%3F&btnG=Google+Search (His point is that the multitude of results shows that it's not just a baseball or a sports problem, but a societal problem.)

It's on C-SPAN 2.

Is this on C-SPAN? Let me check...

Frayed Knot wrote: One would suspect that the rate of deaths will start to increase over the next number of years before eventually leveling off. Guys who were young men 40-some years ago are just now getting to be old men which will signal an increase in mortality for the same actuarial reasons that WWII vets are dying at a faster rate now than they were even during the war itself. At some point the number of dead will catch up to, and then exceed, the number of living players. I don't have an accurate estimate as to when that might be. My guess would be about 30 to 40 years from now. Any actuaries in the house?

I hear that shaking his hand is better than having sex.

Now there are 45 dead Mets players, and 776 who are still living.

I know they're talking about Star Wars, but beyond that I'm lost.

I just noticed that his UMDB hits were going through the roof all of a sudden. I searched and found this page: http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ/MGArticle/WSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1173354208469

AG/DC wrote: As a former Dodger whose name was bigger than his skilzz, it's practically an historical accident that he was never a Met. I was subconsciously thinking the same thing. When I heard that he had died one of my first thoughts was that I'd have to update his UMDB profile. But the thought was a fleeting one.

Good news!

Clemens really seems to be positioning himself between a rock and a hard place, isn't he?

I know what you're thinking: "At least it doesn't rhyme with 'shitty'."

They could choose this Eddie: except that he's too busy suing everyone.

So the Mets urn is available, but the casket not yet. Any Mets fans who die before the casket comes out will have to opt to be cremated, I suppose. I think that's too much for me. I'd like to think that there are things that mean more to me than the Mets. (And there are!) But being buried in a Mets casket makes it look like your devotion to the team is all-encompassing. I'll pass.

There's just so much in that article that I prefer not to comment on. Instead, I'll just ask: Does Mike have a job for next season? Is he still with Oakland?

="New York Daily News"] Mets: Report on trade offer for Johan Santana is off the mark BY IAN BEGLEY and ADAM RUBIN DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITERS Friday, January 11th 2008, 4:00 AM While the Yanks seem to be out of the race to land Twins ace Johan Santana, the Mets look like front-runners, but a team insider dismissed a report out of Minnesota that the Mets could land Santana for a five-prospect package. The source said the Mets are still in negotiations with the Twins, but Minnesota hasn't told them a package of prospects including outfielders Carlos Gomez and Fernando Martinez, and pitchers Philip Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra would seal the deal for Santana. The Mets have said in the past that they wouldn't include Gomez and Martinez, their top outfield prospect, in the same deal. If they included both outfielders and all three pitchers (Guerra is an 18-year-old righty who is considered one of the organization's top pitching prospects), it would basically wipe out their farm system. Regardless, the Mets seem to be the leaders in the Santana sweepstakes because the Yankees' interest in the two-time Cy Young winner has cooled in the past few days. Hank Steinbrenner told the Daily News on Wednesday that the Bombers were "leaning away" from making a deal for Santana because of the high asking price in both dollars and prospects for the lefthander. "We have to sign him as if he's a free agent, plus you have to give up major talent," Steinbrenner said Wednesday. "That's a tall order." GM Brian Cashman reiterated that sentiment last night on the YES Network. "I think we're probably closer to going with what we've got than making any substantial changes at this stage of the game," Cashman said. "Discussions can always change and that's why you stay engaged with the opposing teams as well as the ownership side of this. Every day could be something different, but right now I'd say we're going to go with what we've got." Cashman also said the Yanks have agreed to a minor-league deal with and extended an invite to training camp to Jason Lane. The 31-year-old outfielder/first baseman batted .175 in 171 at-bats with Houston and San Diego last season. He belted 26 homers with the Astros in 2005. With Peter Botte

Just because that's what the Twins are asking for, it doesn't mean the deal can't be done for less. Who are we competing against? If recent accounts are to be believed, it's at most, two teams. Perhaps less than that. Play it cool and let them come to us. Keep talking about Blanton. Let the Twins know that we can go elsewhere. Don't just leap at the first expensive package that will allegedly "get the job done."

It's too much. Deolis GuerraCarlos GomezKevin MulveyPhilip HumberFernando Martinez I might consider it if you remove Mulvey or Martinez. But both of those guys, plus the other three? No. If that's the price, the Mets should just focus on Blanton.

Hey Awesome Mario, how did you happen to find us anyway?

Exactly! You'd think at some point we would have heard the "fun fact" that John Maine's dad once pitched in the Mets farm system.