And away he goes....and with him, the probable chance of the Mets winning the NL East. Derek Lowe signed with the rival Braves for four years, $60million, which will come back to haunt Omar Minaya and the Mets. Minaya was convinced that there was no market for Lowe, and his low-ball three year offer would be enough to sign Lowe. But Minaya should have known better than to low-ball a Scott Boras client. And so now, Lowe will be pitching against the Mets for the next four years as opposed to being their number two starter in what now remains a suspect pitching rotation.

Sure, the Mets signed Tim Redding. His career record: 34-51. In eight MLB seasons, Redding has pitched more than 101 innings just twice. And the only two years he won 10 games, he was under .500 each of those two seasons. So clearly, Redding is not the answer. In fact, he is nothing more than a middle reliever who played for a poor team that needed an arm in the rotation. His career ERA is 4.92. John Maine is solid, but he's coming off arm troubles. Mike Pelfrey stepped up big last season, but is still just 18-20 for his career. Santana excluded, Maine, Pelfrey, and Redding are a combined 85-98. Did Minaya not think that the rotation needed a solid starter? The Mets have not discussed Ben Sheets or Jon Garland, and watched as top tier pitchers like AJ Burnett signed elsewhere. What good will K-Rod be, if there are no leads to protect?

Derek Lowe was a perfect fit for the Mets. They needed him, and he was open to playing in New York. The Mets could have had him. They have more money to spend than the Braves. They refused to go another year for Derek Lowe. While Minaya felt that Luis Castillo was worth a four year deal last season while having chronic knee problems, he felt that Derek Lowe, who has never been on the DL, was not worth a fourth year. Shame on Minaya.

One last note: Is it me, or does it seem that Minaya is disrespecting Pedro Martinez? I'd much rather have seen the Mets give Pedro a shot at the rotation than to have signed Tim Redding. Granted, signing Martinez may be more of a courtesy than being a difference maker, but the Mets owe it to Martinez to give him a chance to earn a rotation spot. His signing opened the way for the Mets to bring in talent.

One more last note: With the Yankes low-balling Andy Pettitte, and Pettitte being upset with the Yankees, and the Mets unwilling to sign Derek Lowe for longer than three years, wouldn't it make sense for the Mets to inquire about signing Pettitte to a two year deal? He's proven he can pitch in New York, and would be a perfect compliment to the Mets rotation, who need a southpaw. If Pettitte wants to "get back" at the Yankees, he should consider having his agent make the call to the Mets. Just a thought...

More MLB Views

....No free agent wants to sign with the Orioles, so it was no surprise to see them sign Japanese import Koji Uehara. Being in Japan, he hasn't able to see first hand the debacle that is the Baltimore Orioles....Trevor Hoffmann seems to have something left, but the Brewers should have learned their lesson when they signed aging veteran Eric Gagne last season. This could be a replay. He is more crafty than dominant, and that may not work well for ninth inning duties....Where are the A's coming up with the money to acquire Halladay, sign Giambi, and look to Orlando Cabrera? I like the moves, but where is the money coming from?...Rocco Baldelli had to decide between Pittsburgh and Boston. Seemed like a difficult decision, didn't it?.....Why do the Mets refuse to improve their lineup? Would Manny not make the Mets the team to beat in the NL East? ...Crede to the Rangers makes sense, but why has Texas continued to overlook pitching year after year?.....Sad to see John Patterson retire from baseball at 28. He had tremendous promise before injuries ruined his career. His one healthy season he proved he could pitch at a high level....Why aren't more teams (including the Mets) going after Jon Garland? He was 14-8 last season, 18-7 in 2006, and 18-10 in 2005.....Milton Bradley's contract may prove to be as bad as the one the Angels gave Gary Matthews Jr. a few years back. A good, but oft-injured player is not worth $10mil a season.....Sayanara to Tadahito Iguchi. It's surprising that he couldn't contribute to an MLB team while Kaz Matsui has.....Why hasn't Alex Gordon lived up to expectations? He was a blue chip prospect in 2007, but has looked mediocre so far. The Royals seem to have a way of hurting young player's development.....Wasn't Bobby Crosby supposed to be a franchise player for the A's? Oops.....You have to like the Burrell to Rays move, and at an affordable price too..... The Yankees made a smart move in acquiring Nick Swisher, but are now looking to trade him. Perhaps Swisher isn't the one who should be going......The Pirates should have taken a bucket of balls in a trade to rid themselves of Jack Wilson's contract. I'm not sure which was worse... Wilson's contract or the ridiculous contract they gave to Jason Kendall years ago.....Kudos to the Indians for obtaining Mark DeRosa. He's a class guy who will be asked to provide leadership on and off the field.....I still believe that Matt Joyce will have a breakout season. Hitting .300 and hitting 20HR is not out of the question....Who says the Pirates don't sign free agents? They just signed shortstops Anderson Machado and Pedro Lopez to minor league contracts Tuesday with invitations to spring training. After all, Lopez did hit .234 in AAA last season. That's certainly worthy of a spot on the Pirates, don't you think?.....In 2007, Clint Hurdle managed his team to the World Series. In seven seasons as Rockies manager, that was his ONLY season of managing his team over .500. In his final three minor league seasons as manager, he finished under .500. Therefore, in his last ten seasons of managing, he's finished over .500 just once. He has never led his team to a first place finish.....The Red Sox are loading up on injured pitchers. Bringing in John Smoltz, Takashi Saito, and Brad Penny is risky, but they have the depth. I'd just hate to see Justin Masterson wind up in the bullpen.....I just can't seem to get excited about the World Baseball Classic. And as players from my favorite team commit to play, I cringe for fear of injury rather than rejoice. I still find it a bit odd that a foreign born player like Carlos Beltran or Bobby Abreu can play for a team hoping to beat the American team, while they make their living in the very country of the team they're trying to defeat. So, I can root for those players for the entire season, but not for that two week stretch of the WBC? There's something wrong with that.....

Court Adjourned!