Steve Phillips may not be the most honorable man (given the marital scandal he was involved in two years ago), but he has actually done a terrific job as the Mets' general manager. He managed to pull off the Mike Piazza deal without giving up an exorbitant amount of talent in return, signed Robin Ventura as a free agent, made the deal to acquire Mike Hampton (who helped the Mets get to the World Series), and showed some creativity in making the three-way trade with the Dodgers and O's that brought in Armando Benitez as a replacement for the overrated John Franco.

I also applaud Phillips for having the courage to stand up to Scott Boras and his demands. Based on all that I've read and the sources that I've talked to, I firmly believe that Boras did make all of those silly demands of the Mets--without Alex Rodriguez' knowledge. Yes, it would be great to have A-Rod, but every negotiation has its limits.

I'm not a Mets fan, but I'd be surprised if they don't make the playoffs this season. I also believe that Phillips will make a deal either during spring training or during the regular season to bolster the weakest link of the team. He has been an aggressive trader in-season (making deals for Bubba Trammell, Rick White, Kenny Rogers, and Shawon Dunston, among others) each of the last two years.

I'm here! Wow. Reminders of the beginning of the end of the Phillips Era. He was coming off the 2000 WS then -- who saw how quickly it would all fall apart.

'Course, Sheff now has made it to New York . . . other borough, though.

Who needs Gary Sheffield and his stinking 167 OPS+ when you could have these studs instead?

Timo Perez 70 OPS+