Oh, you think this post is a Florida primary post, do ya? Well, you couldn’t be more wrong, for there is far more important news coming out of the baseball world than whatever might have happened in Florida. Perhaps more on that another night. But tonight we’re talkin’ baseball winners and losers. First, the winners:

The New York Mets – landing Twins hurler Johan Santana gives them a very big #1 starter who will now propel the Mutts to the head of the National League class. Their spectacular collapse last year was primarily due to them lacking a true #1 stopper in the starting rotation. Now they have one. If only Willy Randolph could manage.

The Boston Red Sox – simply put, the Red Sox don’t need no stinkin’ Johan Santana. When you already have a set rotation of Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, and Jon Lester, and talented up-and-comers like Justin Masterson and Clay Buchholz refining their skills a mere hour away at AAA Pawtucket, one can argue that the Sox were only in the Santana sweepstakes to try and get the Yankees to give up their top prospects. And probably vice-versa.

Now the losers:

The New York Yankees – I think they made a BIG mistake not getting Santana. Sure they would have had to part with Philip Hughes and/or Ian Kennedy and a couple of other young ‘uns, but having Santana as a #1 and Chien-Ming Wang as a #2 would have put the Yanks very close, if not equal, to the Sox. Of course, the Yankees didn’t want to part with their top pitching prospects, but in the end, regardless of their potential upside, prospects is still all they are. Wang has still not proven to have the stuff to be a #1, but he would surely make a fine #2. Without Santana, the ‘Bombers may well end up with a decent starting rotation, but it can’t match Boston’s, which is something obtaining Santana would have done.

The Minnesota Twins – sure they got some decent prospects from the Mets, but everyone agrees they could have done better with either the Yankees’ or Red Sox’ offers during the winter meetings. Of course, I think they knew they had painted themselves in a bit of a corner by not waiting, and they did end up with a better deal than they would have if they had waited until the July trading deadline, when everyone would be offering pennies on the dollar for someone they knew the Twins couldn’t prevent from becoming a free agent next fall.

NESN viewers (male gender) – OK, so her questions were never the most insightful, but one can’t disagree that the news of Tina Cervasio leaving NESN means a serious loss of eye candy during the Red Sox broadcasts. Sure some would question her journalistic credentials. Me, I always liked her and looked forward to seeing what she’d be wearing on any given night. Call me a male chauvinist pig if you will, but would do you expect – I’m a guy, ain’t I?