Lowe situation makes me nervous....

I've believed that Derek Lowe was the perfect fit for this team since he was pitching in the playoffs for the Dodgers. So for the Mets to be in actual contract discussions with Lowe, of course the neurotic Mets fan is going to come out and believe at any moment, just when everything appears to be going right that the rug will be pulled out from under us. But there is very good reason to feel that way and that reason is Scott Boras. The master of negotiations will do his best to get his client the biggest contract he can find and the one player we could use as leverage to give the appearance of competition (as we did with Fuentes ) is also a Boras client ( Ollie).

Now I still believe that we have the upper hand, after all a close friend of Lowe's was quoted today as saying the pitcher himself believes he's going to be a Met and he does prefer to be in the northeast with a contender but until that contract is signed I'm going to be concerned.

Lowe recently told a friend that the Red Sox, who signed Brad Penny to a one-year deal this week, have never showed serious interest in him, and indicated that he thinks he'll wind up as a Met, telling the friend the two sides had exchanged contract proposals before Christmas. source Daily News

At 36 y/o this is his last big contract, no matter how good he is he will always be giving a discount for his age; just ask Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling and Greg Maddox ( to name a few). So every year he can get on this contract is very important and while the Mets sound willing to negotiate the dollar amount it sounds like they're against giving a fourth year. I'm hoping in the end that if the fourth year is a sticking point they do a mutual option or an incentive driven fourth year that automatically kicks in if he reaches certain milestones. My biggest fear is that Omar believes he's read the market correctly and calls Boras' bluff on the fourth year while there's an actual team that steals what should be our #2 pitcher.

They’re offering Lowe a three-year contract for about $36 million. But as much as the Mets like the veteran right-hander, they are not expected to radically improve their offer. Another million a year, for a total package of $39 million? Maybe. But there won’t be a fourth year added to the deal. source NY Times