Keith Law

You're late.

Dude, you should start your own radio network.

Or Podcast; get Joe Meade on the line.

You've even got the correct call letters for a radio station if you do it in the Western part of the country.

Thanks!

Absolutely correct! Just hire better umpires. When you see the consummate gentleman announcer, Vin Scully, actually criticizing umpires as he has more this year than any year I remember, something is really wrong.

Norm, if the Mets offered him arbitration and Wagner signed elsewhere, they would likely have gotten only a 2nd round pick. The top 15 picks are protected, and since Wagner wants to close, he would much more likely be going to a bad team in need of a closer.

The Mets would also assume the risk that Wagner take arbitration and get way more money (around 8 million) then he'll get anywhere else.

I should add that they would still get a supplemental draft pick.

The Mets chose instead to dump 3.5 million instead of likely getting two later draft picks. As a die hard fan, I was very disappointed with this (both losing Wagner and the possibility of draft picks), but I think Fred Wilpon lost so much money because of Bernie Madoff (almost 1 billion) that he is "broke" by baseball owner standards.