It won't be long until the last remaining original Blue Jackets follows Jody Shelley out of town.3 bright lights on the night1. He is the one returning asset Twins fans can feel good about.Hurlers Kevin Mulvey and Phil Humber also come Minnesota’s way. He should slot into the Twins leadoff spot and start in center-field next season. Many rave at Gomez’ wheels and some compare him- at best- to a Carl Crawford like talent. The Mets #3 prospect- outfielder Carlos Gomez- is the only guy the Twins got in return who has some big-league play under his belt. Deolis Guerra is ranked as the Mets #2 prospect, but at 18 years of age, he is a very raw pitching talent several years away. Maybe he was off-limits like Buchholz and Chamberlain, but the bottom line is the Twins did not get him.

I personally don’t agree with that philosophy (shouldn’t you just worry about getting the best players available in return?), but hey, I’m not a major league GM either.However, if we assume the offers from Boston and New York were in fact real, tangible proposals, and we continue to understand the fact that Johan Santana should have demanded at least eighty cents on the dollar, then it’s hard not to feel like the Twins ultimately came away from this process- two months after the winter meetings- with far less value in return from the Mets.So what did they get?The Mets best prospect is 19 year-old infield prospect Fernando Martinez. Maybe seeing Santana go to New York (AL) or Boston was counter-intuitive to the overarching goal of the Minnesota Twins: getting to, and then winning, a World Series. Maybe Hughes and Cabrera were never a package deal. Furthermore, maybe Smith didn’t want to deal Santana within the American League. We heard the speculation, but maybe the package of Ellsbury, Lester, and two minor-leaguers was never a real offer. Ultimately, we don’t know for sure what Boston or New York definitively put on the table.

He also had to have known the relatively short window of time he had to deal his most prized possession.And yet, he dealt with these dual realities horribly.He dilly-dallied He stalled He couldn’t get the car started He didn’t make a move. Smith must have been cognizant of the fact that he wasn’t going to get the best prospect plus other mid-range talent from any team’s farm system in return for Santana. No loss for them considering the talent they already have.Furthermore, Boston wasn’t giving up Clay Buchholz or any package that involved Ellsbury plus substantive other developmental talent; the Yankees weren’t giving up Joba Chamberlain or a package involving Hughes AND fellow pitching prospect Ian Kennedy, and that was just the awful truth. They could take their chances then, when losing a Jacoby Ellsbury or Phil Hughes was no longer a sacrifice they’d have to make. Boston and New York were both content to wait until Johan entered the bidding process after the 2008 season. If he wasn’t going to deal Santana at a slight discount now- which was inherently non-negotiable- then he wasn’t going to be able to deal him at all. With Santana a soon-to-be free agent, Smith had to deal with the reality that his leverage after the winter meetings was only going down.

What Bill Smith didn’t realize, is that those were the best offers he was going to see. He had both juggernauts right there, wavering most of their top-level prospects in his face, asking him to bite. So how, and why, did Bill Smith mess this up? He started off following the game-plan, ratcheting up the offers by tapping into the divisional and regional paranoia inherent in the Boston-New York dichotomy. Twins GM Bill Smith is generally considered a pretty savvy, clever front office executive... I'm slightly confused here. It’s a tribute by one of our major partners and we are entirely comfortable with it.”Who do you think is behind it? This article is also featured on Republik Of Mancunia. It’s just a group of mindless idiots who have vandalized a tribute to the Busby Babes.”  In response to questions about the AIG logo he said, “It’s not an advert.

When playing Chelsea for the FA Cup-Semi two years ago, they covered our grounds with graffiti about Munich.Club spokesmen, Phil Townsend, had this to say:“A couple of paint bombs were thrown at the Munich tribute on the East Stand last night. It was only last week that David Gill suffered the wrath of United fans who vandalized his home, scrawling the phrases “Judas Gill” and “Glazers Out.”Of course, it is impossible to rule out any group and the Liverpool fans are certainly familiar with vandalizing our property. If that is the case, they’ve only reinforced our opinion of them as complete scumbags disrespectful of the Busby Babes.However, if angry United fans are behind this...well that’s even worse.Whatever our feelings about the AIG logo, it is completely unacceptable to deface the picture in any way. United has responded quickly and restored the picture, but with such strong feelings mounting against the AIG logo, it is possible that our own extremist fans are guilty of the act.I’d like to think that only the bitters could be capable of such a disrespectful act, and I do imagine they are responsible. Anticipating an uproar, the team has issued pleading letters to those holding tickets to the game, asking them to behave for the sake of Frank Swift and his family, who will be at the match.It was announced today that the memorial picture has been vandalized with paint bombs. It is entirely appropriate that a partner as closely involved with the club as AIG would want to remember that extraordinary team, cut down in its prime.”There has also been major concern over how the blue side of the city will respond to the anniversary, with the derby day game held on Feb 10.