Santana to the Mets...meh

We here at The Young Lefthander are unabashed Braves fans. The news yesterday of the Santana has greatly altered not only the NL East, but potentially the NL. Let's get this out of the way, Johan Santana is the best pitcher in the game. You will hear from rival teams a lot about how last year was a down year, and Santana is potentially regressing as a pitcher, "that's not true."

Over the last four years Santana has been early 2000s Pedro Martinez. His averages over the last four years have been:

228IP 246SO 3.10ERA

No one has been even close to that. He has also won two Cy Youngs, and probably should have won a third. His numbers for last year were pretty much in line with his career averages, the only number that really jumped was his HR total which went from 24 in 2006 to 33 in 2007. That would explain the mild increase in ERA, however, all of his other periphery numbers were in line with his career averages, including his WHIP (see ESPN).

The more distressing thing for Braves fans is the fact that the Mets did not give up anything regarding major league talent. We were all under the impression that the only way this trade would happen is if the Mets gave up Reyes and Heilman. Reyes is one of the best young SS in the game, though not the best, and a little overrated (that is a topic for another day). Heilman is an excellent reliever who has the potential to be a closer, and still relatively cheap. I am not going into all the prospects the Twins received, but none of them are considered upper tier prospects, with Carlos Gomez considered being the best of the bunch. The rap on Carlos Gomez is that he is the typical "toolsy" outfielder who many scouts feel may not hit well enough in the majors.

The Braves are going to have a potent lineup and the only seeminly week area would still be the back end of the rotation. The rotation has a lot of potential, but we are relying still on the health of a few aging starters (see Smoltz and Glavine). If you asked me right now I would have to say that the Mets are probably the team to beat with the Braves slightly trailing in the NL East. I reserve the right to change that assessment before the season starts.

The President's on! He's on every channel!

While you watch President Bush's last State of the Union address, here's a quick update on ACC hoops.

1. Duke (17-1, 5-0) Not sold on these guys yet. Tough to take them seriously when Scheyer continues to see meaningful minutes
2. UNC (19-1, 4-1) These guys are good. Hansbrough is a beast, and they'll be battle tested by March. Be prepared to see lots of them later in the season.
3. Boston College (12-6, 3-2) Haven't seen alot of them, but haven't been impressed from what I have seen.
4. Clemson (15-5, 3-3) Too much like their football team: fast start, fall apart late.
5. Virginia Tech (12-8, 3-3) Athletically gifted, they seem to have a little trouble staying focused. Could have beaten Duke if they weren't so preoccupied with playing physical.
6. Georgia Tech (10-9, 3-3) Left for dead after Young and Crittendon defected to the NBA after last year, they seem to have found their legs somewhat, playing Kansas and UNC very tough, and ripping off three straight conference wins over Virginia Tech, NC State, and Virginia.
7. Miami (15-4, 2-3) Talented backcourt, but not sure they have all they need to make it to the tournament.
8. NC State (13-6, 2-3) Probably better than most expected. Need to be able to steal a couple of tough road games before they are considered legit.
9. Wake Forest (12-6, 2-3) Again, haven't seen much, but unless Tim Duncan's walking through that door (and he's not), it's not their year.
10. Maryland (12-8, 2-3) Probably the most dangerous of the three loss teams. The win over UNC could signal good things to come.
11. Florida State (13-8, 2-4) If they can't get Jenn Sterger on board, why should anyone pay attention?
12. Virginia (11-7, 1-4) Trendy preseason "team to watch" hasn't lived up to expectations. Solid backcourt, but they need to put it together. Losing at home to a less talented Georgia Tech team is definitely not a good sign.

We'll try to be back tomorrow with more fun.

Cloverfield

We just got back from seeing Cloverfield, and our official verdict is: meh. The monster was pretty cool, but we've seen Blair Witch before. To the right, you see the funniest opinion we have seen on what the monster looks like. We were marginally excited to see it, but we did enjoy this trailer. Also, we can't wait for this. Should be a good summer for movies.

Here we go...

We would like to post here more often, but we have a difficult time finding enough content that we have enough of an opinion on to post that much. We do, however, know a good idea when we see it, and we're not above borrowing it (with proper credit given, of course).

• This is sure to send obnoxious, neurotic Bostonians into a frenzied panic.
• This guy just might be the antidote to all things Federer, and winning the Australian Open could put him on a roll.
• Here's some proof that models are crazy people.
• We just started playing with this, and it's dangerously addictive.

We might be back later in the day with some more random fun.

Note: We'll give all our link sources credit in the tags. That way, they'll all stay organized and you can find everything easier.

Finally!!!

After a 6+ month layoff, we have decided to wander back to the keyboard, and start banging out useless crap nobody reads. We are just over a week away from the merciful end of the football season, and we absolutely can't wait for it to be over. As with most folks who grew up in the hotbed of college football that is the southeastern United States, we love us some football, but, by the end of college football and the NFL playoffs, we feel like a kid at the end of the school year: exhausted and ready for a vacation. Such are the consequences of living and dying with your teams. So, we eagerly anticipate the ending of the football season, and the rejuvenation that comes along with March Madness, MLB, golf, and even tennis. After all, it won't be that long before training camp starts and it's time for fantasy drafts. Enjoy the respite people, it doesn't last long.

A little visual evidence that backs up that whole tennis thing.