Enjoy New York, Johan

I got to know Johan Santana a little bit when I spent a summer interning for KFAN covering Twins games at the Metrodome. At that time, Santana was in the Twins' bullpen, and he was one of the more engaging personalities in the Twins' clubhouse.

I fondly remember Johan, David Ortiz and Eddie Guardado goofing around behind the batting cage, emulating the swings of some of the all-time greats. Johan was also very pleasant--and considering I was a college pup at the time, it was appreciated. And that's just one anecdote. Those of us who are Twins fans have enjoyed no larger prize over the years than to watch this maestro perform on the mound. His passion, his intensity, and most importantly, his other-worldly change-up.

So it is then that I use this space that we talk about the Gophers on a daily basis to simply say goodbye to Johan Santana, who is on the verge of joining the New York Mets. I was holding out hope that somehow, someway the Twins would find a way to pay Santana so he could someday be inducted to Cooperstown with a Twins cap on. That's not going to happen

I personally don't like the trade, considering the other packages that were reported to be on the table. But I'm not an expert on minor league baseball prospects, so I'll point you to Aaron Gleeman. If you follow the Twins and don't read Gleeman, you should. To steal a phrase from one of our favorite commenters here "He's That Good."