Who is handling Lowe better.......

I will say this; I think Omar miss-read the starting pitching market and may have over played his hand. If Omar had started with an offer closer to his ceiling, not only would it have attracted Derek Lowe but it would have warded off other suitors. If the Mets started at 3/40 not only would Lowe have been impressed but other clubs would have immediately looked in other direction, the Braves may have gone all in on Smoltz instead of thinking they had a chance on Lowe. Now they're all in on a bidding war that they can't afford to lose ( Wren is under a lot of heat after striking out on Peavy, Burnett, Smoltz and Furcal). Omar thought he was in the drivers seat and put out an offer with very little more.

Meanwhile, the Braves courted Lowe making him feel special and will start with a bigger starting offer. You can't under estimate a players ego and if the deals are equal the Braves did everything possible to obtain him while the Mets brass once again came across as arrogant. Now, I do believe money will drive Lowe's decision and while we may not have been in this position in the first place if they handled it different, now it comes down to who will pay him more. It appears that there are varying opinions on who that will be. Dan Graziano formerly of the Star Ledger now has his own blog had this to say ( rem. Dan was on the money last year with Santana).

From what I can tell from taking to Mets people today, they're sure they'll get either Lowe or Perez and they still expect they'll get Lowe. They'll probably be willing to go as high as $42 million for three years and may be willing to talk about a fourth-year vesting option. They believe the Braves want Lowe, but they don't think Atlanta will actually outbid them. This jives with what I'm hearing from people familiar with the Braves' thinking -- that the Braves hope to make an offer comparable to the Mets' offer and convince Lowe that Atlanta is the better place to play. source NY Baseball Hack

However, reports from Atlanta say that the Braves are preparing a deal that could include a fourth year. It might come down to who will guarantee the fourth year, the Braves may offer less but for four years while the Mets fourth is an option but the total amount is more. As I've said if the money is equal the Braves may win on how they handled it....

After completing preparations this weekend, the Braves could make an offer to Lowe as early as Monday. It's still unknown whether they're willing to provide the 35-year-old right-hander with a guaranteed four-year offer. source MLB.com