http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/sports/baseball/11chass.html ?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin The Game for Santana Is Stretching On By MURRAY CHASS Published: January 11, 2008 The most popular baseball game of the winter seems to be endless. If it were being played in July, it would be in extra innings, and the innings would be whizzing by with no end in sight. This is very likely how Twins pitcher Johan Santana feels. He is the game, and he eagerly awaits the outcome so that he will know where to go for spring training — Tampa, Fort Myers or Port St. Lucie. Those cities are in Florida, but different airports serve them. To which one should Santana buy a ticket? Peter Greenberg, Santana’s agent, said he had told the Twins that Santana would like to have his situation settled before spring training. Bill Smith, the Minnesota general manager, didn’t confirm that conversation Thursday, but he said: “Peter Greenberg and Santana have been phenomenal through this whole process. They’ve been patient. They understand it’s a big deal to them and it’s a big deal to the Minnesota Twins.” Other than acknowledging that something is happening, Smith has declined to discuss his efforts to trade Santana. But he has spent much of the last 10 weeks trying to get a deal that would make it palatable to trade Santana, who could wind up in Boston, in the Bronx or in Queens. ‧ The Yankees and the Red Sox have been portrayed as the pitcher’s chief pursuers, but their inability to consummate a deal indicates that either they aren’t willing to give the Twins the package of players they want or the Twins won’t accept the packages they are offering. The Mets have been lurking in the background, waiting for such a circumstance to develop, but they don’t seem to be in any better position than the Yankees or the Red Sox, despite a report Thursday in the Minneapolis newspaper The Star Tribune. People with the Mets and the Yankees suspect that the report, which said the Mets “might be the best fit,” was an idea generated by the Twins in an effort to induce the Yankees to move. General managers have been known to use reporters to stir another team’s interest. The Yankees, after all, compete with the Mets as well as the Red Sox and have to guard their flank as carefully as they do their front. Still, there is no question that Omar Minaya, the Mets’ general manager, covets Santana. Who wouldn’t? Right now, the Mets’ starting rotation has Pedro Martínez, John Maine, Oliver Pérez, Orlando Hernández and Mike Pelfrey. Maybe they could get by with that group, maybe not. But if Santana were in there, Mets fans might forget last season’s September swoon. A member of the Twins organization said that a month ago the Mets were barely mentioned in internal discussions about Santana, because they didn’t seem to have enough talent to trade. That assessment lends credence to the idea that a game within the game may be afoot. The Star Tribune report said the Mets had offered pitchers Phil Humber, Kevin Mulvey and Deolis Guerra, as well as outfielder Carlos Gómez. But a Mets official said they had made no offer, only discussed players in the context of what kinds of players the Twins were seeking — major league-ready players or minor league prospects. The newspaper report suggested that the deal would be done if the Mets put a fifth player, Fernando Martínez, an outfield prospect, in the package. But the Mets won’t give the Twins five players any more than they would give them José Reyes, whom the Twins wanted. A deal would already have been made had the Mets been willing to trade Reyes. The Yankees’ interest in a Santana trade is uncertain. There has been an internal division among Yankees executives, and on Thursday Hank Steinbrenner, the leading (perhaps lone) proponent of a Santana deal, said he was leaning against it. “I’m starting to wonder myself,” he said in a telephone interview. “I’m starting to waver. Would we want him? Of course. But it would be a tall order. ” He referred to the combined price of a player package and a new contract. ‧ Steinbrenner, the club’s top-ranking executive, said he did not want the Twins to think the Yankees were completely out of the picture, but he said their offer of four players, including Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera, was no longer available for the taking. “I think they like our offer best,” he said. “But that offer isn’t on the table, where it’s up to them to take it. It’s up to what we want to do.” Santana, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, has indicated he would accept a trade to any of the three teams. He has said privately that he was intrigued by the idea of playing in the National League and possibly winning a couple of Cy Young awards in the N.L. to go with his two in the American League. On the other hand, the Red Sox hold spring training in Fort Myers, where Santana is building a home. The club that gets Santana will have to sign him to a contract extension or allow him to become a free agent after next season. His asking price will be steep — six or seven years for $25 million a year and a signing bonus to waive his no-trade clause and effectively increase his 2008 salary of $13.25 million to current market value. The game goes on. --

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