Man, the good old days. Derek Bell, living on a boat, wearing Hammer pants, looking like Droopy Dog. "Operation: Shutdown" was no joke.

The Mets are not smart enough to sigh someone like DaVanon. They'll just trot Cedeno and Timo out there, with maybe a dash of Gonzalez. Sweet.

Francesa, a known pro-yankee anti-met fan, was OUTRAGED that the Mets didn't get Vlad, saying "they have turned bungling big negotiations into an art form", and if you're going to get your fans hopes up like that, go all the way and make a big splash. Compared the potential effects of Vlad to when they got Piazza, plus the marketing effect of all the millions of Dominicans in NY. A caller claimed to have $11,000+ worth of season tickets and was throwing them away. Right.

But wait- who needs Vlad?
"Mets re-signed outfielder Esix Snead to a minor league contract. He finished last season with a .220 average and a 581 OPS for Triple-A Norfolk."