David Wright Signs With The Mets Through 2020

Once a loser, always a loser? Not so fast. Because first off, that's not true; and secondly, David Wright clearly believes he and the Mets are turning a corner. To show that, Mr. Wright is now officially signed as a New York Met through the 2020 season. "Signed as a New York Met through the 2020 season" doesn't have the best ring to it, but lets be honest, his $138 million offer could be a bit convincing no matter where you play.

(video from www.mlb.com)

Now having personally spoken to David Wright, 1 on 1, years ago, I can tell you that he is the kind of guy who will go out of his way to help any person in need, not just a fan. He has his own foundation called The David Wright Foundation. He could not be a friendlier guy, and I am happy he is not seeking an escape to a team like the Yankees. It is a move that a guy like David Wright would do, meaning he would work as hard as it takes to get to his goal. This is one example of a major contract that does not bother me, for I am confident a lot of that money will go to very necessary causes. On the baseball side of things, and being a Mets fan for many years, I have seen him go through tremendous slumps in which he works out of. David Wright seems very determined to turn this team around, and has shown confidence in the front office. I hope his contract turns out to be the "wright" decision for him.

Coast to Coast: Nationals Ink Dan Haren

Hey GM, better make a move on your targeted player...FAST! On day two of the winter meetings, players were going off the market at the rate of a Stephen Strasburg fastball. The Nationals had entered the meetings with three key pitchers in mind; Zack Greinke, James Shields, and Dan Haren. While they did not have enough money to sign all of their asking prices, Washington did manage to pick up Dan Haren from Anaheim. Haren's signature on this one year, $13 million contract (pending a physical) is final. The Washington Nationals will have three very reliable, solid pitchers in Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Dan Haren.

Haren, very similarly to Strasburg and Gonzalez, records a great amount of strikeouts. During the opposite halves of their innings, Washington will swing their bats that just squeaked into the top ten amongst overall team batting average and overall team runs in 2012. While they only had one every-day hitter batting .300 or above (Jayson Werth), the majority of their lineup was in the high .200s. We all know pitching is incredibly vital to winning rings, and this move by the Nats was just one more step in the right direction for the organization. Good for them for going out and getting one of their targets early on in the winter meetings.

Roberto Luongo: Maple Leaf Edition

No is the answer to your immediate question, Roberto Luongo was not traded to the Maple Leafs. However, unlike the Leafs, a store named Pro Image at the Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket decided to test the market. Well, thats not entirely true. The Van Riemsdyk jersey is not wishful thinking. Toronto did trade Luke Schenn in the offseason for the purpose of, well, so far, thanks to the lockout just a new jersey to sell. But the Luongo jersey was not only wishful thinking, it was a business idea for Pro Image. The store's NHL jersey sales are down during this lockout. On their website, you can buy one for $179.99, but in the store they offer a 30% discount to all NHL jerseys while this lockout is taking place. Roberto Luongo's jersey's guest appearance in Pro Image is a deceiving one. While it looks like there is a whole rack of them, there is really just one in front of the many other non-selling leafs jerseys.

"It's just like a conversation thing we got going on. Trying to get people to talk about something other than the lockout," explained Luigi Taddeo of Pro Image. (quote retrieved from http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/)

Taddeo's goal seems to be working to some extent, as customers will come in and ask, "Did Luongo get traded to the Leafs?!" Although, it is not certain that this jersey will sell.  (quote retrieved from http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/)

I like this idea, but it's definitely risky. Why not, though? I mean if NHL jerseys did not sell for the first few months of the lockout, why would they start now? It's only one jersey the store had to buy. And it's not out of the question that the team could land Luongo. I believe this idea by the owner of Pro Image is a good one, even if the jersey does not sell. It will most certainly attract attention to his/her NHL jerseys. Also, you got to admit, putting it next to the newly acquired Van Riemsdyk jersey was pretty clever!