Braves buy high on Lowe

I am sorry the Mets didn't get Derek Lowe, and sorry that the Braves did. But four years and $60 million is a lot to pay for a pitcher who is good, not great, and will be 39 at the end of his contract. The Mets have spent the last two years paying Pedro Martinez $13M a year and getting nothing in return. Next year, Billy Wagner gets $10M to rehab his arm.

But when Wagner and Pedro signed their contracts there was the potential for them to perform at star levels as long as they were healthy. Lowe has been solid, but isn't likely to be having any breakout seasons at his age.

And while any team would be pleased to have similar results to what Lowe produced the last four years in L.A., bear in mind that Dodger Stadium is a pitchers' park and Lowe's numbers were a lot better there than they were on the road:

2008 Home: 2.30; Road 4.42
2007 Home: 3.51; Road 4.19
2006 Home: 3.18; Road: 4.13
2005 Home: 3.74; Road: 3.48

Let's hope nobody else makes a play for Oliver Perez, so the Mets can get him back at a fairly reasonable price.

Whatever you may think of Ollie, if the Mets don't get him, they are going to go into 2009 with a suspect rotation. If Omar Minaya is really planning to turn to the likes of Randy Wolf, he'd better bring along Cardinals' pitching coach Dave Duncan, who has worked miracles with reclamation projects like Jeff Weaver.

Wolf has been with four teams in four seasons, and with good reason. Along with his varied injuries, he has had an ERA under 4.23 once in the last six years.

Last year, Wolf pitched for San Diego. Check out his stats in pitcher friendly Petco vs. on the road:

2008 Home: 2.98; Road: 5.76

If the Mets end up going with the likes of Wolf, they'd better use the money they'd be saving on pitching on a corner outfielder that can hit.

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Squawker Lisa, thanks for pointing out that Mo Vaughn got six votes for the Hall of Fame. Other ex-Mets who got votes included the actual Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson (though somehow I doubt he'll go in wearing a Met cap) and Jesse Orosco, who got one vote.

Along with Vaughn, David Cone got 21 votes while Jay Bell got 2 votes. All three appeared on the 2003 Mets, along with three players who actually can expect to be in the Hall someday: Mike Piazza, Tom Glavine and Roberto Alomar. But Fame was quite fleeting for this Met team - they finished 66-95.

If the Mets give out another good-sized contract, would you rather see it go to Oliver Perez or to an outfielder like Adam Dunn or Bobby Abreu? Tell us what you think.

Mark Teixeira deal has me in Lowe spirits

This has not been a good week. First the Jets choke, then the Yankees steal Mark Teixeira away from the Red Sox.

I hope I'm wrong, but I think this is a great move for the Yankees. With Bobby Abreu and Jason Giambi no longer in the lineup, the Yankees needed someone like Teixeira just as much as they needed CC Sabathia.

I can't believe that Boston would once again let their main rival grab a top player over a few million dollars. If you're going to go as high as $170 million, isn't it worth it to go to $180?

First the Red Sox got outbid for A-Rod. A championship soon followed.

Then the Red Sox got outbid for Johnny Damon. Once again, a championship soon followed.

Now the Red Sox are outbid for Teixeira. When will the misery end?

But wait - after the Red Sox lost A-Rod and Damon, it was BOSTON that went on to win the title! The first two times, Theo Epstein had the last laugh.

I still think getting Teixeira is a great move for the Yankees, but as we've seen before, the road to the title is unpredictable.

But while I hope Theo has the last laugh on Teixeira, I now see that the Mets are suddenly the front-runner for Derek Lowe. Apparently, the Red Sox are unwilling to give Lowe the money and years that he wants.

The last time Omar Minaya was willing to give an aging pitcher more years than the Red Sox were, the result was four years of Pedro Martinez.

It's one thing if the price drops the way K-Rod's did. But if the Mets sign Lowe for anything close to what Scott Boras is asking, I won't be able to give Squawker Lisa grief about the A.J. Burnett signing any more.