Mets not planning to pursue Sabathia

A person familiar with the club’s plans, finances and, in general, fiscal responsibility, said flatly the Mets would not pursue the most attractive pitcher in the 2008 class of free agents.

“It’s a business,” he said. “The Yankees are going after him. We’re not.”

A year ago, the Mets eventually came to see Johan Santana as a solution to their problems—a pronounced need for a No. 1 starter and a need to reiterate to the public their determination to win after their collapse in 2007. The team’s situation is different now; they have a No. 1 starter in Santana, and they can demonstrate their determination this time by importing Derek Lowe and either Brian Fuentes or, if his price drops, Francisco Rodriguez.